The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-12-26
CHINA HAS BECOME
 VAST FAMINE AREA THOUSANDS PERISH
Parents Seek to Throw ChiI- dren Into Rivers Because of Lack of Food-Trees Are
 Stripped of Leaves
By Associated Press


 Peking December 25.-The area and extent of the famine situation in China has recently been brought out in a number of reports reaching here. Tho region chiefly affected extends east and west from the Gulf of Chihli to Hanchinga in Shensi and north and south from Mongolia to Shangching in Honan.
 Forty-two years ago China was swept by a memorable famine in which millions of persons perished from cold and hunger. In 1878, however, condi- tions were less serious than at present, for at that time wheat crop pre- ceded the drought, whereas today, due to two years lack of rainfall, only limited Areas have produced even the scantiest yields.
 The reports have told how the trees of entire districts have been stripped of their leaves for use as food. The starving people mix them with millet chaff, clover or weeds, with mini mum of grain, and bake them into cakes which resemble clay. Thousands of refugees who are endeavoring to migrate afoot from the famine areas. are said to be living on such food" hoping to reach the more fortunate cities and towns where they may pos sibly purchase necessaries of life.
 BABIES ARE SOLD
 Extraordinary means to obtain money for. food are reported from all sections of the five provinces. Little children are found deserted in the streets and many have been rescued from the rivers into which they have been cast by their impoverished parents. The sale of children Is often reported. much despised girl babies being offered for sums as low as & dollar boy of five years, whose mother had died and whose father was 1 i'll, was rescued from the father who declared that if no one would feed him he intended to throw him into the river" There have been suicides of entire families
 l Reports from numerous points in the 1 famine area which, it is estimated will require $2oo, ,0o0, 900 worth of the plainest food to avert the greatest loss | of life, have been received as follows: | One thousand deaths from starvation are occurring daily in the Peking dis 1 trict; farm and draught animals in Tehchow and Siaochang, in Shantung. | have been sold by their owners for a song, because of lack of fodder to keen them and fuel to cook them if slaugh- tered; every road northward from | e>H $ toi'o, ih IiondH, SWdrmS with hunger -pinched humanity, many of whom fall exhausted out of the weary procession to die by the roadside NATIONS TO HELP
 The district southwest of Paotingfu, denuded of vegetation. looks as though It had been swept by plague Of locusts; at village near Wu Cheng. an old man with basket on his arn, containing about six pounds of red milet explained that he had traded two overcoats and a pair of boots for me mlllet which he was taking to his Wife and their seven children
 Efforts that so far. have been made to relieve the famine situation include the following: The Chinese ministries or finance. agriculture and the interior
 nave appointed a commission to dis
 nense s1,000.000 fund to be raised
 by a short-term loan Shanghai re.
 ports that another fund of s1, ,S00n00 is
 pelng raised by seven provinces at the
 request of Tang Shaoyt the chic
 southern peace delegate; the Japanesf
 government has supplied 500, 900 bush. els of rice. In addition, representatives of American and British commercial interests in Shanghai raised s5.0OO. Oot for the Chinese Relief association. Ihe Peking- Hankow railway is al. towing refugees to travel free or tralns bound for South Honan anf i Hupeh. and these have been crowde,
 with little children or old persons un apIe to- trek over the mountain roa d, to points where food is obtainable.