The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1920-12-25

Warrington, D. c.. Dec. 31.-Im-
pressiys - the details are, 4 -
hard to move the American people
BY accounts Of famine n China ov-
inT to series OF droughts, there are
about 45 million people actually
suffering from cold or from starva-
ton, and the death list 10 apt to
run into the millions. Whole famf-
lies are committing suicide to save
themselves from lingering death.
and troops Of half-starved wfetches
are roaming the country like wild
animals in search Of food.
Here IL I catastrophe to the hu-
man race, comparable in magnitude
OF destruction involved, to the late
war. And yet It does not move the
average American as much - an
ingrowing toe nail on his own foot.
1t is too far away for one thing.
And for another thing, he regards
it az catastrophe of . sort which
cannot possibly afflict him. After
all, sympathy for suffering is based
essentially on the feeling that you
might be in the sufferers boots. 1t
depends upon imagination. II your
neighbours baby has the collie you
can sympathize because you can
easily imagine your own baby hav-
ing the collie. But when 10000, 900
people in FIVE Chinese provinces are
threatened with starvation you find
it hard to sympathize because you
cannot imagine five states Of this
', country being swept by famine. You
know that, even if the crops Of FIVE
states were to fail for three sue
cessive years, the crops Of the
other states would take care Of the
deficit. There would be hard times,
suffering, bank failures, but few
actual deaths from starvation.
There is food enough for all api
to spare in this country, and moth
ing is SO certain to gain q wide and
equitable distribution Of it as con-
spicuous suffering. When . flood
occurs in the Mississippi valley,
every philanthropic agency in the
country charges to the rescue.
How China Differs.
But what is the essential differ
ence between this country and
China which makes it possible for
five provinces in China to starve to
death, but impossible for five states
in the union to do the same? There
is q host OF differences, but the
primary and essential one is that
in America there is more food per
man than there is in China.
Consider these facts. The part
Of the Chinese republic known as
China proper and containing abou
one-third Of the whole area of the
republic, contains 1,532,420 square
miles. All but three or four per
cent Of the whole population OF
China lives in this area, q large part
Of the rest Of the republic being
mountains or barren. The popula-
ton Of China has been variously
estimated at anywhere from three
and half million to four and halt
million Roughly speaking the land
in which this great famine is &C.
curing contains about three times
as many people to the square mile
as there are in the United States.
That is the great, the important diff
ference. Scientists have listed and
analysed the immediate causes Of
famines at great length-hooda
droughts, insect pests, tornadoes
and many other catastroptes. But
there is always one underlying
cause. and that is q population
which presses upon the available
resources for producing food, sc
that if the food supply fails in part
the population dies in part.
| You will now perceive that w
are not so different from China a
you thought We are headed
straight for the same condition, and
going ~ fast as birth and immi
grafton can carry US. We have We,
to experience a famine, but we have
already experienced q food short
age, and very high prices for food
Both will be much more likely tt
occur when our population is twic,
what it is today. And it is increas
ing At . frightful rate.
i Laws Of Population.
| A few simple principles underli,
this population question, and the,
seem to be well-recognized by tn,
scientists Of all sorts, as we under
stand the books. But they do no
seem to be recognized by the laity
nor by the so-called statesmen, mol
yet by the popular prints ane
preachers who give the layman hi,
ideas.
| The first man to tackle the prob
lem seems to have been the famou,
Nautilus. He pointed out the in
disputable fact that population ha.
natural tendency to increas,
faster than food supply. Hence, b,
pointed out, the greater the popula