Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1922-01-12
EDMUND I. LEE,
Secretary Famine Relief Committee.

The Chinese famine of last winter
was held to be the worst experienced
here in the past fifty years. We were
hoping that when the summer brought
in good crops in many sections that a
prosperous year would enable the peo-
pie to recuperate. Unfortunately,
however, the long drought was follow
ed this summer by furious and in
cessant rains, which were the cause
Of food, that has been over a more
limited area and even worse disaster
than the famine itself
The Continuous rains OF the latter
part OF the summer caused the yell
low river, rightly known as "China's
Sorrow" to break its banks and its
waters sweeping everything before
them TO find new outlet to the sea.
The Grand Canal in the same way
OVERLOOKED in number OF places, and
Shantung and Kiangsu are under wa
ter. So suddenly did the floods come
that great numbers were unable to
escape, whole villages were swept
away and thousands were drowned
Great numbers Of the people from the
flooded area have taken refuge on the
dikes, with little food and no shelter,
and their condition is pitable in the
extreme
The worst floods, however, have &C.
Cured in our own province of Anhwei.
The overflow from the Yellow River
! served TO swell the great mass Of water
from the torrential rains, and the Hwai
River, the perennial source OF food in
our province, burst its banks and has
become one great inland sea. Large
parts of thirteen counties are submere-
ed. The Governor estimates that the
hooded area is about 100 miles BY Sc
mics, or some ten thousand square
miles. Over vast stretches of this the
villages have been entirely DESTROYED:
those VIM have escaped, have only es
7 NSpSN NANi NIClT lives.
Fu' errore, it will probably be
, imposs'U ole 10 drain large sections OF the
flooded area unless extensive enei-
neering works are put through for the
purpose. This means that the dibnos.
sessed people will be unable 10 return
to their homes even when the water
in the rivers has subsidized.
Mr. Rustad, OF Tientsin, writing after
a trip to the flooded area OF Anhwei
says: "Severa' new lakes have been
formed, covering enormous tracts OF
country before cultivated, and these
lakes having no outlet will remain
there for years, evaporation is the on,y
way by which the water will be dis
posed Of"
Another from Mr.. Burbridge, who
is stationed at Pens Pu in the center
OF the province, tells Of a trip from
which he had just returned. He saws.
The whole country on either side OF
the Hwai River is one vast lake, the
crops are destroyed for a distance Of
some eighteen or twenty miles on
either bank. made this trip in a
motor boat drawing about 2H feet. a
distance OF about seventy miles. We
were only on the actual river for a dis.
tance OF about eight miles. The res,
OF the time we were going over wha,
mad been fields and possibly villages
on one stretch Of thirty miles we were
the whole time over fields and never
on the river proper. On two occasions
We discovered that our propeller was
louied with what we took to be weeds
one OF the crew went over the sido ,,
eiear II, and brought up the t,as, r.
kao-Iiang tmillet), and as kao. Iiane
grows to about eight or nine feet y,u
can nave some idea Of the smount os
water The whole coun,ry looks lie
an inland sea, only trees showing in
an eNpanse of water and occasisns,ly
roof showing through"
1t is impossible now to give exac,
heures, but it is practically cer,,;,
that many thousands of people in m,
provinces of Shantung, Anhwei and
kiangsu have been drowned. and ,b,,
hundreds of thousands have los, o,,.,...