The Washington herald., 1922-06-04
SHANTUNG FAILS
TO REPAIR DIKES
AS FLOODS NEAR
Famine Looms for 300,-
900 With Crops Un-
protected.
RUIN DUE IN JULY
Red Cross Relief Workers
Turn Efforts to Fore
stalling Waters.
RUIN DUE IN JULY

TSINANFU. shantunE. June g.
One who has spent two years amid
famine and flood conditions in Chi
na knows what is in store for
Shantung this year. The normally
rich province is millions in debt. is
overrun with bandits. is struggling
to get the Shantung railway back
into its control and on top of 1t all
100000 souls, with all they possess.
which is next to nothing, are
doomed TO destitution and many of
them to death when the foods come
down the Yellow River in July, as
they always do. In addition, an
economic loss Of S1O.O0O.0OO will re-
suit in the destruction of crops, of
buildings and in sustaining for a
year the thousands that will bs
homeless. Two months from now
and A merica will hear again the cry
for aid for the starving in China,
but will respond less eagerly, for
China was warned in time and
turned a deaf ear.
1t is characteristic Of the Chinese
that they are Indifferent to fate.
The correspondent has seen a man
fall from a boat in the Yangtze with
not one to turn a hand to rescue
him Far up the Pei-ta-ho. in the
famine region Of Chilli, he saw an
81 epileptic boy topple from the skift
his father was about to shove OF
from the bank. The father merely
stared at the boy while two Amer
leans, one an army officer. waded
waist deep into the water in mid
November and got him out before
he drowned. Never is a hand raised
in a preventive or protective way
for a fellow-being II is fate. II is
as the gods have willed. Such Is
China
So the destiny of 800. 900 persons
in ShantunE province. only 100
miles northeast of Tsinanfu. the
capital. and sixty miles from the
railway. is left to fate. It could
have been averted. but II is too
late now. Oliver ]. Todd. a civil
engineer from San Francisco. now
building with Red Cross funds and
famine labor a roadway in the dis
trict stricken last year. reluctantly
has abandoned hope for these peo-
pie and now is striving to get Red
Cross aid for the erection of dikes
around two large towns on the
edCe of the area that will he flooded
This will be accomplished with
funds for ration wages donated last
year and the year before by SYM
pathetic Americans. The dikes will
save the town dwellers. herded like
rabbits in warrens and possessing
but little, but the farmers are to
lose all
The Yellow River flood last year
sent down its torrents as usual. but
the dykes held until most Of the
people could get out Of the way.
When the break came thousands Of
acres were inundated. Had the dyke
been repaired a more serious ca
lamity this wear could have been
avoided. But the province had no
money and Pekin had neither
money or the time to listen. what
with cabinet crises. militarist and
other corruption and factionaI ma
neeuverinCs for what yet may prove
civil war.
In July the food will come. A
great gap many miles long awaits
the torrent that will spread out
over the vast area The estimated
cost OF the dyke. made by an Amer
lean engineering firm. is $3.50 900
CMex) without anything but A mere
supervising 0rOft hut at a price
reckoned actually without squeeze
Or commissions to authorities and
with labor at current prices without
additional book charge to the infu-
entail recruiters Of labor Philan-
thropv does not exist in China-not
even in ShantunE. In mid-ApriI the
generous contracting firm passed up
the case as hopeless.
The doomed area is in the delta
section. on land reclaimed by the
silt swept down in the centuries the
Yellow River has been wa Shing the
mountains into the sea. The owners
of the land are poor people. or else
they would not be there China Is
nverpopulsted. In 2 desperate struC-
Gle for existence the less fortunate
were glad to get even this lowIand.
They built their mud and brick
houses and they planted their
crops. The wheat is all wavy green
now. but cannot he harvested until
July. Before the reapers can work
the floods will rise. All the seed
sown last year in the hope the dyke
would hp repaired will be wasted.
And with II possibly many lives.
Such is China.