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Show ?r:m fee I M M 2 M Daft, A«IK, Feb. 19. 1S35 SOCIAL SERVICE L\ PROVINCES A Study of Chinas Greatest Problem-Raising Standard of the Fanning Gas* BY GOBI W Sanaa Toward She close of Unreported in these columns ft ed Chinese meg and vomer, acre letting the comforts of urban haaes, aad the attractions of ealte rounding, to live aad work an.i s: the people of the villages. Readers BUT be interested in some things they bare found. These >••:•_-.£ nan and w e e ia.- had a angle objeetive-orginizatioE of society u.taDin violence. The farm houses in utoch they dw«U, and the fertile valeys over which they now rut amongst the most peaceful land. Directly behind one village school; ill fields M Baa «"..; till During Jfce t occupation of that Chinese citizens were executed oc flute few square rods of earth. The so- m so beached .1 human blood • J now too sacred to It is doubtful if any farooe.- _iene.~i.o-r. liD inch del r :: "wA a plough, or a hoe. **" The villages themselves fcear better kept torn finer: younger farmers attend ever13 classes, and most of the c t It tetanl The m a n bne kmt '.2 and sewing clubs, while the yonrger | ch-irer. nay tognftei arc. iro_ re habits of riHffllinws is the tooer-l garten. Village granaries are gvertaring against the lime •. or the price of rice will soar, and die poor have to borrow from . landlords, land taxes are and 00 longer a heavy bur: fee lfficials by and large are ; w m honest set than fee province has had in many years, Matail Beating Ar.injtmenfc QananjEaBSj 1 las. ce-i-sre; htaelf as opposed to any increase in taxation. In fee more recently recovered Hsien the farmers are not plying taxes, but they are paying ret: to their fanner landlords. The deeds are being rewritten and the land, sate ihided by the riffflwitaiiili has reverted to its original owners. In sane districts landlords now receive fonr-tenths of the crop, aad the tenants six-tenths. This is some improvement on fee old rate of ifty-fifty. So far so good, but this agrarian problem is one feat Dust have rr. :re attention if China is e «f to be a nation of free people. There is far too large an amy of landhrds Socking to fee villages in fee harvest season. The disturbances of c a st nan but ir.ven these gentry ;• seek safety in fee cite, but feey still own the land. Many ancient homes are decaying.. ID a share in the rice cror. remains. The life of toe farmer circurasenbea. He is ruled febBgs within his own frflTgn ^t e local atnosprere it everything to tins; fee itowtpW of other evamtas 1 matter of indifference. Sisal tvm-strurtion must directly benefit toe tamer within this narrow ranee, aad gra:.ia.,y enlist h^r; :n the wafer bnsiaest of fee nation. The fanner's home, the health of fee peopt> in that tree Ik ad, bua oops he animals fee ownership of fee land he tills, the marketing of his produce, where he borrow money and the rate of interest feat he must pay, these are a'J within his horiasn. If his life a v. te rrcrcvea me work MM first of all confine itself» these well ietmed limits. Kerosene pays 44 cents per gallon import duty, and in consequence oar oed at dark. It is too bad that we cannot increase the pice of efcetr. age the people To request OK supply oil for liool so flat young man, who are I fee ihiee "R's," is to ask r something beyond their power to respond :her lower the tax or strike a gusher in the earth beneath our feet The recently opened Hangehow-Nanchang Railway is to be congratulated upon providing spacious, comfortable third-class coaches, and where needed, third-class sleeping cars. On this railroad fee poor nan is coming into his own. Taxes far State Medicine reach of the fanner, so are .- the other public sen nation would have bhn enjc most of the hsien in Kiang;. I a percentage of the taxes ear-marked for stale medicine. Tnis amount .• round $810 a month in the average baea. WeB-lrained doctors Up salaries modern ec •" nal Economic and Dr. P. C. Hsu of the ::an Sural Service Or. A. Stampar's 1 ed this roe. His report on the cen- -.s recently visited is "erest : comer; were aided through small loans . it co-operatives Kai-shek. This enabled them to "aents and seed for toe firstsowtng, and was greatly :.' the farmers. Since gptMM be prepa propriare- Government directed movement Up to toe :?en competition has given the fanners aore satisfactory service. se of cooperatives. 'ieti Ifach of what passes for rural re-consiructian is concerned with the cultural aspects of life. That is not aateieat, at mast be -or? practical Government adminatration. transportation, health service, education. these must all cease within the DBoanra rroriiry. The? should net become so expensive feat nothing short of an increase to land taxes will sustain them. The study of public expenditures is equal in importance to the study of taxation. The nonet >xa;.voa_y rear; of scbem-es for increasing taxation, aad lastly complains mat he hears nothing about a reduction to public expenditures. to addition to being practical to the things we train the fanners to do, we mast keep ail Government service and community activities wifca bis power to support To fee extent that rural reconstruction units neglect this principle, jast to felt extent will fee) i t Haatjcaaptof Highways We nave perfonned airaefcs to toying down national aad : highways. On the other hams we tax gasoline 52 cents per g a t e aad put modem transportation beyond fee mat extravagant dreams of W per Stat of be population Lo the r:<-r-tatos Southeastern Kimgs: mere are a tow places where bucks have gwtt- :y r?3o:^e•:' rie cast oi COTS? freight. In one short haul of forty miles toe price has dropped from six cents a catts to two cents a catte. la many other sections of the proraw nether ssasal tmms, tor ftcadtt ;an hene-i : by, r:r -el: 00 ra^.a^ fc ba ittfjai i>_- bag iystaa • It jarse* of going deeper and deeper onto debt. ~^.i cos) n tra.:terir^e i; beyond the econanic power of the people. CEOCP OF EVTHTSIASTK WOIKIKS file hundred miles from Shanghai, zealous endeawurers coMriiute Uieir part of as organized elort toward potting a e iamer fa his proper place ia toe scheme oi mings. In toe background, the Nandieng Bridge, 500 years old. hospitals, comfortable boats ana otoer privileges unknown in the country. Quite often too targe a proportion of toe appropriation goes into toeatnf djease. Doctors who can make both ends soeet ana internet the fanners how to enjoy good health, are very rare. That we have a high . mortality tad a hear.- death rate, a common immense Other investigation! irn- ant :a.~?ri bane vegetable gardens, grow all marm^ of nans, raise chickens. Jocks geese. aid pigs, and yet suffer from malnutrition. They seS these products of the farm to the city dwellers, aad go hungry themselves. I all they need the cash, and secondly they do not know bow one food txTem ban another except at fatcc. it difficult to teach fanners stomach full of rice and \ not sufficient to sustain life under normal coedtons. Fttd iatlysei BaBetias What every school child to toe West j- notr learning tboat vihmtos and food values is precisely fee practca! kaoarledae Bat tar farmmg people need. Simple bulletins giving fee analysis of Chinese food stuffs, as worked out in the research departments of the Lester tost Shanghai and the P.UJtX ping, should be in eve? fans house to China. Only thus can the family be healthy and its members go about their daily tasks with a light step. Under a little guidance, the tamers can grow in their own gardens, aid raise on their own farms, all that is necessary for a diet containing adequate amounts of various food essentials. Farms to China, as elsewhere, ought to be toe best places to fee world to eat At present they are toe worst Gc.eminent admin.stra'ion .s always to danger of being too occupied with correct methods of proceeds*, aad too litfle with the welfare -of the people. One 0' the tat-naodtog caanihaltoai of ike atltore centres _-. Ivangsi has been .n Kb lent naiad men tad maaa have been giving their time to sscoverag ntl R -ay atnatt C e.iare -of fee people. That they have been successful in some fields is already apparent As yet they do not have aa infallible propamme, but they have developed toe right sot COM»B fkt Frtpwed Governor K i n g Shih-hui has re-assfly ask*; these fomt enfeasawtt to airy the administrative responsibility for toe areas to which they wort On February 14. at Nanchang, fee Governor held the first cader-ence v i a leader; bani esacrbnoM districts to find a common aim, to devekp CSOUMB leadership, and to adoi* c-mmor. methocs af work. Two of fee outstanding figures to atoj n^emtrit e^ort are Mr Chans wonen is weS atosg the road to progress. The movement will go for- -rageously faces the -.tal frobtes of toe fanning pop'uiation aad does not suppose that moral cowardice than of poo: luetic. Ine provisoes of China ought to be toners of thdXaning Government. rafter then sabng on Nanking's doorstep holding oat a bowl To accons-e next great step in national teenaataeaon. -owoent is being subsidized by a few real friends of (lie people so that we miy get at toe facts and taow fee road feat leads to solid re°»si™ctton. That way is becoming clearly defined. Within fee prov- :nces s e must eSeet economies in public expenditures. Some important steps to this direction have already been taken. The Pao Hsueh (school) tystem is perhaps the most outstandtog «ample in Kiangsi. VOlagB communities organire their own schools »ad stgjport ftem from local endowments. Iratotog Vilage Sebtol Teachers TnePrortoeal Bdncational Buwu is relieved of heavy expenditures and » * to use its resources to brief " "% for the teachers of 2 « e village schools. One young padusto of fee Univeretty of Shanghai came to 'us last summer as a volunteer worte. He has charge of fifteen schools and it now joyfaDy tramping1 ferough the mountatos spending 1 *«ek or ten days with each village teacher, helping him understand some if fee implinifiMti of fee ton -.eek'? comae of ttttaing thai has bat beat completed at wr field headquartets. Remember the yoimg man receives not one « t to salary as he provides toe* country teachers with training-in- service. Wito all his soul he is anxious to see China Strang and to- =ependent, and he and his family are williag to do sane thing about it May I nut aeriy cite this excellent example of modern Chinese manhood -.:.-. more Hog that college mem • • a and men Jean us in the PWrioces. Seal patriots are wefl advised to forsake parades and slogans and toil along side fee people cf toe villages, far it is ftey who detemtoe whefett the nation shall be weak or stoasg. Baral reconstrtxttoii is more feat pratotfeg edtieation, health agriculture, vfflage todtatriet, ai » torts. Out of all these activities the Pnwaees wiB emerge to cany a greater state a pwridtog the national aad to truly unite the people of China »der one Government of feeir cwa choosing. Then, and only then, will it be passible to orrvide cheap transportation aad to control isd to distribute toe benefits of modern lift to ill the people. |