OCR Text |
Show THE FAMINE IN CHINA. Tho dispatches iudicatc that a cruel famine is prevailing in northern China, and that men, women, and children by the tens of thousands aro suffering mortal mor-tal hunger. It is not in China as iu Judia, where tho world hears in loud and repeated tones all about the families fam-ilies that prevail. A fninino may bo very long and very severe in China, and tho world hear little about il. But a famine in India is trumpeted to the ends of the earth, and all civilization knows about tho harrowing details. China is the great ant hill of human it y. Population there swarms iu hundreds? hun-dreds? of millions, and even when, as sometimes happen?, a million people are drowned-by tho shifting of (ho 'bod of the Hoang-ho river, tho world hears little of il, and even that not till a long time after. When a famine occurred in inner China a number of years ago, American relief was hurried there as rapidly as possible. And it is probable that relief will bo hurried to China now from America, and from other Christian lands; because I ho world has become tender to appeals of this kind, and responds re-sponds promptly and generously; so that doubtloi-s relief will bo forwarded in such measure as will presorvo tho lives of tho suffering people. It is one of the great triumphs of modem civilization that distress of this kind can be met with a promptitude and plenitude never before known in tlic history of tho world. Tho world's production of food stuffs is now so massed as to bo available largely at demand; de-mand; and the transportation facilities aro such that most parts of the earth can bo reached as never before. Am! so, while China is iu distress, relief is no doubt preparing, and will soon be on the way. It is a good, kind old world wc live in, after all. prompt ty respond to the cry rf distress, and io do the acts prompted by tho Master, and so pointedly suggestod by tho season. |