Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1935-02-28

China had o New Deal" 1000
years ago.
Working with the Chinese material
in the Library Of Congress-the largest
Chinese library m the world outside
of China-Dr. Thomas Tseng Men
OF Catholic University is engaged In
studying the reforms of Premier Wang
an Shin of the tenth-centufy Sung
dynasty, which curiously parallel some
of the economic and social measures
now being enacted in the United
States.
There was, for example, something
like an Agricultural Adjustment Ad-
ministration to help farmers burdened
with the heavy taxes arising from ex-
pensive wars. The government grant
ed two loans each year to farmers,
! one to purchase seed for the Spring
sewing and the other to carry them
through until the harvest could be
marketed. The interest rate, how
ever, was 20 per cent. There was
the square field law, providing for
thousand foot square fields to pre-
vent wastefulness arising from small
holdings and adjusting taxes to en-
courage them. There was the equal
distribution law, by which the govern
ment controlled prices. 1t purchased
the surplus of each plentiful harvest
at the market price and threw 1t on
the market again in years Of scarcity
SO as to stabilize the cost OF living.
DR.. MEMS present studies are con-
cerned chiefly with the institution OF
Pao-chia, or family militia system,
set up by the tenth century philos-
opher- statesman to curb the crime
wave which was sweeping the coun-
try and concentrate authority under
a central government. He came into
power during the condition OF dis
organization which followed the wars
against the Golden Horde Of Tartars,
when organized gangs were preying
on the country, and murder, kidnap-
ing and robbery were daily events.
The premier broke up this condition
by instituting a semi-military system
with the family as its unit. Each 10
families constituted q CHA, which
elected its own leader. Each so fam
lilies, or five chias, constituted a pao,
with a leader elected by the chiefs
of the family units. The head Of the
pao was directly responsible for the
welfare and good behavior Of the chias
in his organization to the mayor of
the district, who was in turn respon-
sible to the provincial governor, who
was responsible only to the En-
peror.
Every Winter, during the dull sea-
son which followed the harvest, the
government sent military and athletic
instructors to each pao to train the
men in the use of sword and bow,
as well as to improve their general
physical condition. Every man from
20 to 60 was compelled to serve. The
average family, DIR. Mien finds, had
from two to five members eligible, so
that q CHA would range from 20 to
so members.
Once the chias were set up they
became part Of the machinery Of an
elaborate population and agricultural
census, so that, for the first time,
there was a record Of every person
and farm animal in China. It also
formed the basis Of q Nationwide
police system. Every CHA was forced
to have five night watchmen on duty
every night to prevent crime. Each
also was strictly accountable for the
behavior Of its own members. II
one of them committed a crime which
was known to the others and was
not reported to the pao, every men,
Der of the CHA was held equally re-
| sponsible. The members of each
small unit had to check each others
conduct.