Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1920-11-22
Many in Need in
Chinese Provinces

Picking, Oct. 2o-(By Associated Prsss)
The correspondent Of The Associated
Press. who has just visited the famine
district met long professions of men
carrying little bagsfui OF clothes slung
over their shoulders. leaving their
homes to seek new ones where food
can be obtained, They were trudging
from 100 to 800 miles to Tien-Tsin or
Peking in the hope Of finding either
work or charity.
Their women and children have been
left at home, obviously for the reason
that the regions which they have to
traverse is so impoverished that there
is little hope Of successful begging.
Asked why they had not brought
their families, one man produced what
looked like slabs of baked mud. They
were made of miilet chaff, clover and
weeds with minimum Of grain. Can
little children Ind old women walk all
day with such food to aat?" they ask
ed in reply.
In half dozen villages along the
Grand Canal nine out of ten farmers
have sold their lands at one-tenth TO
one-fifth the normal price. Wealthy
business men from the market towns
were said to have bought most of the
parcels OF land. driving hard bargains
with the owners who have no recourse
but to sell or rent. If the owner choos-
es the latter expedient he 10 likely to
get 50 year for his few "mu" of land
Ia ''mu" is approximately one-sixth of
an acre. and the renter takes the
yvhnla orop for tho pariaN ~ tha 1aa.o
In CHA Hwang village was a row
of young elms and locusts. from which
the leaves had been stripped for food.
Four or Eve persons were sick in the viii
lage, two Of hunger. Here the chill
dren have been dying from lack OF
proper nourishment Eight had sue
cumbed in the previous 10 days. The
sale of clothes has been the chief
means of support. Every few days
some man walks 30 miles to Tehchew
as selling agent for four or fiva fami-
lies and with the meager feturns
brings back a few more days rations
For the most part, there have been
few of the outward, physical signs of
advanced starvation; but in the village
Of Shia Chung / saw babies with the
faces of old men, children whose ribs
were pitifully visible under the blush
skin. Hers there had been a 100 per
cent crop failure. All who could had
gone and those left were held by cx-
IRENE poverty.
At a village near WI Ch'eng met
an old man over sixty. He had been
to the market town and sold two long
coats and some boots. The proceeds he
carried In basket on his arm. about
six pounds of red millet. His sons. he
said, had gone somewhere north,
where he didn't know. At home were
his wife and his sons wives and their
seven children. Mixed with leaves and
clover he figured that his purchase Of
miilet would last several days. AFTER
that IL we die. we die" he said. The.
Chinese peasant takes his hunger sfnil-
ingly as he does everything. Despon-
dency Is remarkably rare.
The only practicable way to save
majority Of the sufferers seems to be
to open food Kitchens all over the
stricken district on a gigantic scale
Road and canal projects intended to
afford work for the population, even
were it not attended BY too much de-
lay. will only partially meet the re-
Quirements