South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1921-08-07


Cross in the relief work IN the far
east IS told by o. c. SoUenberger. /
who with his wife Is stationed in
Ping Ting Hsein. Shansi, China, in a
letter TO his mother, and a copy OF
whi-h has been received here by
his brother. J. Y. Souenberger. 1921 .
Miami 81. TIE letter, under date Of
June a. follows:
Dear Mother and ALI
It is time 1 am sending something
10 you. I am not writing much Of a
letter but thought Hazel might copy
this information about our work If
she has time and send il 70 YOU
Last fall when millions of people
were threatened with starvation
and death we were moved with com
passion for them and began to pray
and give our means for their relief
until word could reach America and
! funds come from there. 1t is re-
markable how people there respond
/ ed TO the call for help. Far more
1 came than we had planned for. It
kept us busy planning how to best
use it, Besides the help from the
church, the Red Cross. learning of
orr great need here. came TO our
help with thousands Of dollars this
/ sprlng. | do not know how many
thousands they have spent and they
are still helping SO this road We are
working on can be completed. 1 am
sure il has gone past the $50, 900
mark.
Red Cross Aids.
/ Last fall we first began TO buy
grain and have it shipped in and
distributed TO the needy. Discretion
/ was used in it's distribution. At first
/ kitchens were fitted UP in the diff
erent villages where the food was
l cooked and daily distributed TO those
who had been searched out by some
| Of our workers together with the
| village elder and thought TO be the
most needy Then it was decided
\ by the mission that as many of the
| able bodied men as we could supply
work for ought 10 be given work. 1t
would also save our mission board
/ considerable expense later if we
could get wells dug, walls built, coal
carried, cisterns dug and a few such
/ things that are needed as new build
/ ings are erected.
When the Red Cross came 70 our
] assistance they continued practically
/ the same methods only on a larger
/ scale. With the consent Of the
/ Chinese government and the money
/ 10 be furnished by the Red Cross
we were permitted TO start a road
/ 10 connect Ping Ting and Lao Chou,
our two main mission stations, with
\ the railroad which Is several miles
north of Ping Ting. Lao Chou is
about 75 miles southwest, l think.
! 1 have never been there but Will
/ soon be sent near there to oversee
road construction. The work was
| begun in a real business-like way
! the last Of February. Two engin-
/ GERS. one an American, the other a
| Russian, were sent in to do the sur
veying which indeed was no easy
task. Having lived in Chic where
the country was level, and coming
20 such a mountainous province as
| Shansi, one cannot help but note a
/ great contrast. While the mountain
I scenery is beautiful one cannot but
/ sometimes wish for the plains with
their level fields Of ripening, waving
grain.
Worked In COmmlsary.
II was not long after the survey
ors came in until all our foreign
force available were organized for
work. Some of the sisters were put
10 work in the recruiting Depart
ment. They went here and there in
the villages round about, at night
sleeping in old temples or any place
they could find searching out men
for work. None were taken unless
they had at least three in the fam
ily. They must also be among the
poor and needy classes. Then some
were placed in the cCmmissary de-
partment who had charge OF all
supplies and the buying and trans
portation OF grain. Besides these
were the engineering. medical and
accounting departments.
I was first put TO work in the
commissary. Had charge of a grain
store about 10 miles from home.
Here it was my duty to receive the
grain which was brought from the
railroad station on the backs OF DON
keys mules and camels. weigh il.
pack the sacks away and when the
workmen got TO that place distri
butte It out in exact amounts each
day to them.
The workmen are organized into
gangs of so, each gang selecting
their own boss and two people TO
cook for them, many Of these COM
ing miles from home. When they
arrived IL was our business. to-
gether with our Chinese assistant, to
verify the list. They would come in
gangs Of 90 each, often many gangs
came together. tell you we had
some interesting times. All Were
to be within a certain age limit ana
only one man out Of family. IRE
quentIy the strong. middle-aged man
that had been selected would get
substitute TO go for him. They had
IL all planned out so thoroughly that
we could not always tell unless we
could see that the substitute was
Younger or older than the one listed
on our paper. They can tell an IN
truth as easily as the truth. Afcer
sizing them up and down and taking
them on our working list we gave
each a tin tag with a number on i
which entitled him 20 several pounds
of grain each day and also grain for
his family.
Fatal TO Many.
Cne night % gangs came from
some distance about O'Clock. We
gave them grain and found places
for them 70 sleep. You likely Won
der where so many stayed. Well,
they just piled into old temples as
thick as a bunch Of sheep. No won
II der .hat many were sick. Sometimes
,fr 1900 -g,fr r-ha