The American Red Cross Magazine (Vol. 8, No. 2, April 1913)

by American National Red Cross

Public Works and Relief in China

In general a report of relief operations published long after the public interest in the emergency which called for relief has subsided, is regarded as a good example of what not to read. When an exception is found, it is entitled to special notice, which accounts for this reference to the report of the Central China Famine Relief Committee, embracing an account of the relief operations in the famine district in China between October 1, 1911, and June 30, 1912. It will be recalled that the headquarters of the committee were in Shanghai and membership included many well known American and other foreign residents of China, as well as prominent Chinese citizens. Bishop F. R. Graves was chairman and Rev. E. C. Lobenstine, secretary, and Consul General Amos P. Wilder an active member. These three gentlemen are Americans. At the outset of its work the committee adopted a program stated in six articles. Two of these articles were:

“That relief be given only in return for work done, except in the case of those incapacitated for work.”

“That in the selection of work, preference be given to such work as will help the locality permanently, and as tends to prevent the recurrence of famine conditions, and that each piece be complete in itself.”

This program was closely adhered to from first to last. District subcommittees of representative foreign and native residents, appointed in various sections of the famine region, had immediate charge of the relief works and distribution, and under the district committees were superintendents who had personal direction of the working forces. So much for the machinery. Now for the accomplishment.

In May, 1912, the number of famine sufferers in the employ of the relief committee was 110,000. As but one member was employed from a family, it is estimated that this work supported about 550,000 persons. The character of the work undertaken and its extent are indicated by the following figures from the report:

Dykes built or repaired	129	miles
Canals built or repaired	63	miles
Ditches built or repaired	1,124	miles
Roads repaired	163	miles
Cubic yards of earth moved	10,155,000

It was estimated that the average amount of work performed daily by a famine sufferer was about two-thirds the average day’s work of a coolie under normal conditions. In Hankow 2,000 women from the famine district were employed for months in making garments, of which 64,000 were made and distributed. Much space is given in the report to a description of the actual methods of conducting the work on dykes, canals, etc. A single extract must suffice here:

“Now come with me to the works. First in number and importance are the dirt pushers (I translate the Chinese term), who dig the earth from rectangular pits and push it on their wheelbarrows to the new dykes. They number 3,400 and work in groups of about ten men each and are paid by the job in this way. As soon as a pit reaches a depth of four or five feet it is measured by the foreigner in charge and the head man of the ten is given a ticket which is really an order on the office for the value in grain of the work done. Measuring these pits takes almost all of one foreigner’s time, and as two-thirds of the workmen are dirt pushers, the foreigner has in his direct control that fraction of the whole. The dirt pushers receive 450 cash per fang of 100 cubic feet. In this and the following statement it should be remembered that it takes about 2,500 cash to make a gold dollar.

CHINESE ENGAGED IN BUILDING DYKES FOR THE PREVENTION OF FLOODS IN THE FAMINE DISTRICTS.

TAMPING EARTHWORK.

“Next in numerical strength are the ‘small workmen,’ of whom we have about 1,000. Their work is to carry water from the canal to the dyke in order that the latter may be pounded firm the more easily. Also many of them receive the earth as it comes on to the dyke, break it up, level it and dig small holes into which the water may be poured. They are paid in grain at the rate of 150 cash per man per day.

“Now we come to the pounders. They number 750 and were divided in groups of ten. Each group has a stone weighing about 100 pounds, circular, a foot in diameter, and eight inches thick. To each stone are attached ten ropes, one for each of the ten men, and when the men all pull in unison the stone rises above the level of their heads and then comes down with a thud. The dyke is built in layers, which are one foot thick after they are pounded. Each layer is pounded until it is of the consistency of rubber and is then tested in this unique way. An iron rod is driven down and into the small hole thus made water is poured from a tea kettle. If the water does not soak away the layer has been pounded sufficiently. These pounders are skilled workmen and were originally paid 250 cash worth of grain per man per day, but they proved to be so lazy that we had to invent a sliding scale of wages. So we considered 1,200 square feet as a full day’s work, and if a gang pounds that amount each man is given 250 cash; if they pound 1,100 square feet, 240 cash; 1,000 square feet, 230 cash; 1,300 square feet, 260 cash, and so on. Now they are not lazy.

“We have thirty skilled workmen who trim the edges of the dyke and give it a finished appearance. Also there are sixty overseers who understand the work. They keep an eye on the stone men and test their work as described above, see that the dirt pushers place the dirt in the proper place and direct the stream of water carriers as they come. Both these classes of workmen receive 250 cash worth of grain a day.”

In 1911 the American Red Cross sent to China Mr. C. D. Jameson, a well known engineer, to study the conditions which cause the frequent great floods to devise and suggest a system of river conservancy which will reduce the number and extent of these floods. Mr. Jameson was an advisor of the relief committee and was familiar with its public works at all times. He praises in the warmest terms the thoroughness of the operations and the judgment and ability of the missionaries who were in charge of much of the work. These missionaries, in fact, proved themselves practical men and capable administrators, who did not spare themselves, but under adverse conditions gave from twelve to fifteen hours daily to their unpaid tasks.

In connection with the relief operations an interesting experiment in colonization was undertaken under the leadership of Prof. Joseph Bailie, of the University of Nanking. After many difficulties Prof. Bailie, with the co-operation of Dr. Sun Yat-sen, at that time Provisional President of China, secured a tract of waste land at the foot of Purple Mountain, near Nanking, moved some of his more trustworthy men on to it and began its cultivation. Huts were first built. A school was started for the children, so that they would be cared for while the men and women were at work. The land was gradually broken up, drainage ditches were dug, and potatoes and strawberries, wheat and other cereals were planted. A large number of fruit trees were set out. Some of these were Chinese, but many were obtained from Japan and other countries. The land is now being used as an experiment farm and as a testing school for the men. The soil is of a poor quality, and is in many ways unsatisfactory; but Prof. Bailie is persevering in the faith that he will succeed, not only in doing a piece of work which will be deeply interesting to the officials and gentry near the city of Nanking, but will prove of value to the larger enterprise which he still expects to see carried through.

Mr. Jameson, the American Red Cross conservancy engineer, after traversing the famine districts, says of the prevention of the recurrent floods which have caused many famines, including this one of 1911-12:

“There are no engineering difficulties in the way of controlling the rivers, lowering the flood level and reclaiming the waste land in North Kiangsu and North Anhwei; it is purely a question of money and time. Under the present conditions at least three crops out of five are lost over an area of some 30,000 square miles. The soil of this area is exceedingly rich, the climate such that two crops a year should be possible when the conservancy and reclamation work had been completed. Not only will heavy crops be possible over this whole section year by year, but some millions of acres (English), which now are absolutely worthless, will be available for cultivation. All of this makes the expenditure of the necessary money justifiable from a commercial standpoint.”

It is hoped that the Republic of China will accept the plan prepared by Mr. Jameson as a basis for a system of river conservancy which will put an end to the greater part of the flood devastation which has cursed this land for many centuries. Chinese records show that since the year 494 A. D. sixty-seven famines have occurred in this region. All but two of these famines were caused by floods.

The Central China Famine Relief Committee held its last meeting and closed its work on January 21, 1913. At that time an unexpended balance of approximately $75,000 (gold) remained in the treasury, but the committee disposed of the greater part of it by a series of resolutions, which were in effect as follows:

The sum of $11,250 was placed in the hands of a special committee for the purpose of carrying on “a campaign covering three years or more, to draw attention of officials and people to the seriousness of famines which are occurring with such frequency in different parts of China; to educate public opinion upon the subject of famine prevention and to show how the condition of the people in the famine area can be permanently improved.” The treasurer of this educational fund is the treasurer of the National Committee of the Young Men’s Christian Association of China.

The sum of $2,500 was set aside to assist in the care of “famine children” in the orphanages of the Catholic missions in the famine areas.

The sum of $5,500 was appropriated to be applied to the carrying out of a plan already begun for colonizing destitute Chinese upon unoccupied lands under instruction and supervision.

The sum of $22,500 was set aside to be used in the repair of dykes in the neighborhood of Wuhu on condition that the Chinese of Anhwei Province raise the sum of $45,000 to be applied to the same work.

The sum of $7,500 was voted to be used in the education of Chinese young men in forestry, with special reference to conservation against drought and flood. The purpose is to select a few especially promising Chinese students from the institutions of higher education in China and send them to the American School of Forestry at Manila, P. I., or possibly in some instances to the United States. These young men, after receiving their education, will be expected to return to their native country and enter actively into efforts toward that reforestation which is regarded as essential to any great reduction in the number and severity of floods and droughts.

After making the allotments above mentioned there remained a balance in the committee’s hands of about $22,500, which was transferred to a permanent committee of trustees, consisting of the following: The General Consular Officer of the United States at Shanghai, the Commissioner of Customs, the Manager of the International Banking Corporation, the Honorable Wu Ting Fang, Ch’on Jen Fu, Esq., and the Chairman of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce. This committee will hold the balance of the relief funds for use in future relief work which may be necessary in China as the result of famines.

[A part of this article was published in a recent issue of the Survey.]

HOUSEBOAT USED BY MR. C. D. JAMESON, AMERICAN RED CROSS CIVIL ENGINEER, EMPLOYED IN CHINA.