Evening star., 1942-07-22
Missionary Lobors
Not Stopped by War
Writer Tells How Conflict
Hompers Without HoIting
Religious Enterprises
Bu Thomas F. Doyle.

Clflc ISLANDS is no ped OF roses. ram"
inc, pestilence and foed are familiar
catastrophes in times of peace. Now
that the japanese have spread their
dragnet of invasion, existence for the
missionary has become more hazardous
and complicated. "A much too spicy
menu of bombs, typhoons and floods,
is the way one missionary describes his
work in the battle-scarred area today.
In the face of internment or restric-
tions in Japanese occupied zones mis-
sionaries are attempting, wherever pos
sible, to function on a business as
usual" basis Faced constantly with sud-
den and violent death from the air-or
from the seattle thousands of Chris
tian workers in the scattered outposts OF
the Pacific are staying at their posts,
giving help to the increasing thousands
of war victims who turn to the mis-
sion stations for aid.
Roman Catholic Bishop Eugene Massi
| illustrates the spirit of courage and
carry on" which is part and parcel of
| the formula of missionaries. When ter
| rified evacuees were pouring out OF
| HankoW, China the bishop was found
| strolling through the streets calmly read
| ing his breviary. When some one asked
! him why he wasn't leaving, he answered,
"All my people are here-why should
| leave?"
Day-to-day happenings in the mis-
sions seldom make the headlines, but
| letters and reports to mission headquar-
| ters in this country confirm the i'm
preston of heroic steadfastness in the
| face of danger.
There are approximately 1,500 Protest
ant missionaries in the war areas at
present, in addition to some 1890 scat
tered throughout Free China, Burma
and other places. In Burma, medical
missionaries have been working fever
ishly on behalf of the wounded soldiers
| of China's expeditionary forces.
| A recent report puts the number of
| American Catholic missionaries in the
| Far East-priests, nuns and brothers
| at 1878. of whom 706 are in Free China
and Burma.
Besides the great number of mission
| ary and educational establishments,
there are close to 300 hospitals and dis
pensaries In Free China alone, supported
| by various Protestant and Catholic mis-
| sions. These are crowded to capacity
as the number of war sufferers grows
larger.
America is "Mei-kuo"-the Beautiful
Land"-to Chinas afflicted. THE wound
ed soldiers in China always seem so
| grateful" declares a Benedictine nun
who carries on her nursing work with
a supreme disregard Of her own health
or comfort. Her favorite story is of a
Chinese soldier suffering from danger
ously infected and painful leg wound.
AS she finished cleaning and dressing
the wound, the man fumbled at thc
pocket of his uniform and with solemn
| air offered her-of all things-a cigar
| ette
Quite obviously, the Chinese knew
| nothing of Christian ways, but he rec
ognized virtue and in his simple way
| tried to pay tribute to it. His act SYM
bolizes the gratitude of China toward the
white foreigners" whose devotion and
courage have become legendary not only
in China but elsewhere in the Far East.
| MlSSlOlAsA les SclQOul Ud1k dt udIlSeT
when the needs of their charges be-
come pressing. Recent dispatches from
Hong Kong told the story of the Mary
knoll missionary, Father Joseph Sweeney,
who tried to run the Japanese blockade
with a supply of medicine for his leper
colony. Two gunboats shelled his ship.
when the Chinese boat was run down
ftpr ha1f-bnllr'r cteady machine p,,p
and cannon fire" the priest wrote, II
thought the show was ended and took
to the sea.
But it seems that the fellows on the
blockade runner had hand grenades with
which they upset the attackers, and
thus were able to beach their boat and
make their escape.
ut took me a six-hour swim before
I landed on desolate island" Father
Sweeney reported.
"On the third day was rescued by
some Chinese who hid me until we
could get sampan that ran me home
to the leper colony"
The difficulties of feeding and caring
for the refugees defy exaggeration, par
ticularly with food and medical supplies
limited and prices sometimes twenty
times above normal But such prob
lens are merely routine to the hard
working missionaries. In Shanghai
there is one-armed priest who has
earned the title of Father of Chinese
Refugees" He is Father Robert Jac-
quinot de Besange, S. j., who not only
organized refugee camps for tens of
thousands in the Shanghai area, but
travelled throughout China to set up
many similar centers and then went
aboard to collect money to further his
program.
Many times prompt action by the
missionaries has prevented the spread
of cholera and other dreaded epidemics,
When an outbreak of cholera had al
ready begun to take heavy human toll
in the Kweilin section of South China
last fall, desperate appeal for help was
made to nearby Maryknoll mission.
Father Francis J. Daubert answered
the call Immediately At Lo Chin he set
up vaccination clinic. The towns
people, reluctant at first to submit to
the 'shots," focked to him literally in
| thousands when news spread of uanv