The New York herald. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1920-1924, 1920-11-15
Vast Area Without Food for
Man or Beast Through
Failure of Crops.
NO REFUGE FOR PEOPLE
Whole Village Moves, but Only
to Encounter Same Con-
ditions Elsewhere.
BY w. III. DONALD.

have become better known. Apparently
the monumental work OF Hoover in
stricken Belgium must be surpassed in
China during the coming winter, or q
population greater than that of Belgium
will perish.
By the few people who know, the
situation has been viewed with anxiety
all summer. First the spring crop with
cred just before 1t should have filled
due to lack of moisture. Then the sum-
mer crop either could not be planted or
also soon shrivelled from the drought
and hot winds Locusts in some locali-
ties even took the little green that was
left But still the proverbial luck Of
China was depended upon to bring late
rains which would mature sweet pota-
toes and buckwheat enough to get over
the winter But this hope has faded
and q region roughly 800 miles north Of
the Yellow River and 100 miles south of
It. and extending from close TO the east
coast westward. no one quite knows how
far, Is without food for man or beast
and without seed for next years plant
ing.
Approximately 100000 people are
known to be affected Twenty-Five mill
lion are in straits, and at least 10000
600 will perish If relief measures of
heroic proportions are not forthcoming
before cold weather sets in. Lack of
communications has prevented knowl-
edge of conditions in other regions, and
whole villages have started migratory
movements which merely lead them to
another stricken district and back to the
home soil to die.
Hopeless Outlook for Trade.
What this means to the business of
Norfh China ia Nyap fa1t hint rA.ol1.
ably Is not widely realized. The price
of food is now double that during nor
NAL conditions In every town OF North
China What 1t will be next year with
no farmers to plant crop. may be mag
ined. If rural China starves this year
urban China starves next year. Unless
the famine can be effectively countered
North China as q factor in the worlds
commerce drops to the vanishing. point
international finance also came in for
it's Jolt. Some $500, 600 600 OF mortgaged
bonds on Chinese Government railways
are held abroad. The man who got
blood from a turnip will have to be
brought to China to get the interest OF.
these bonds out Of the earnings of the
railways. Nor will likin or maritime
customs securities be of much avail il
trade stops. The ravages Of the TAPPING
rebellion were not more appalling than
Will be the effects of this famine II tn
ing be done to meet It.
In 1913 gross operating revenues OF
( the Chinese Government railways We're
1 in round numbers $77,650,000 When
revenues derived from Government SER
vice and similar items are subtracted
/ the actual commercial revenue is left at
| about $40, 600. 900 even. OF this, $780,
I 600 900 was passenger revenue and s40-
J 100000 goods revenue, leaving $4,000, 600
| to come from several miscellaneous
sources Out of this sac, 900 Of goods
revenue nearly s20.000,000 came from
agricultural and animal products. What
will happen both to passenger revenue
and TO revenue from agricultural prod
ucts next year Is plain TO be seen. What
effect this will have upon the ability
of the railways to meet their interest
obligations follows as night the day.
Plans for Relief.
To be sure. the traffic in agricultural
products on lines like the PekingMull
den Railway and the Shangha!-Nanking
/ Railway, which run from regions Of
plenty to regions of want. will be heavy,
/ for there Is still a considerable purchas-
! ing power in these districts. The traffic
/ In live animals is heavy now. Before
long practically every animal In the
| stricken districts will have been sold
for a tenth of It's FORMAL vaiue-and
! shipped out. Traffic IN 1920 Will hold up
but what about 1921?
| The Picking Government Is making
every effort to meet the serious situation.
II has ordered reductions in grain rates
from the food producing points to famine
points and increases In the opposite
direction. 1t has shipped considerable
amounts free. Government officials In
heir private capacity are organizing
vast relief committees, to which they are
contributing literally. Action In this
private way will be more swift and effi-
cient than by Government agents. as
much red tape will be eliminated. And
a degree OF cooperation with foreigners
even foreign superintendent be pos
sible. which the Government, as such,
would not consider safe.
Almost over night the minds of all
neople have turned to the subject Of
public works as a means OF alleviate
ing the distress and at the same
time achieving something substantial
Though not formally decided upon,
there Is little doubt that the method OF
operation will be the division of the
population into two classes-able bodies
and helpless The able bodied of both
sexes will be assembled upon jobs Of
public work such as river dlkes, high
way construction, railway building and
irrigation projects.
Grain will be purchased by central
lied agency financed by the combined
funds Of all relief organizations. Food
kitchens will be established al the works
and in villages where the helpless Will
be concentrated. Each class will be put
on a ration, and will have food tickets
issued to them by the directors in
charge. which tickets viii be surren-
dered to the food Kitchens.
N VIII Build Railroads.
The Ministry Of Communication has
4 authorized the building OF two short
n railways as beginning One Of these
is the line from Shih-chia -chuang TO
\ Tsangchow, which will serve TO connect
the province OF Shansl with Tientsln
more directly, and will pass through
one of the worst famine districts. An
other will be the line from Chefoo TO
connection on the Shantung line, prob
ably at weihsien. Az the same time
work Is to be pushed on the extension
Of the line now building toward Suiyuan
on the Monaghan border.
II IL sincerely hoped that funds win
shortly be available from the Dutch
Belgian loan for the continuance OF
work on the Lung-Hai line, for this also
trayerses famine district The Stems
Carey Grand Canal project is another,
but the hesitation OF New York inan-