Dr. Wesley Peter conducted a health campaign between June 7 and 12 at Foochow which was attended with considerable success.
Dr. Peter, who is affiliated with the National Committee of the Y.M.C.A., and was assisted by the Y¥.M.G.A.' of Foochow, had large group of helpers and it is estimated that his message of health reached no fewer than 300,000 people in one form or another.' His programme included a health talk four or five times a day to audiences of 1,000 to 1,800 each, a health exhibition, health cinema pictures, aid a health parade.
The parade was given every day in a different section of the city, with an estimated crowd of 25,000 to 50,000 seeing it each time. Of course the Boy Scouts assisted and the Governor's band loaned for the occasion gave the parade quite a "front," and made it quite a good show as it glided through the narrow opening left by the crowd. There were no elephants in this show, but it had flies and mos-quitees man-size, flying through the air, and rats running along the street. Then came float after float illustrating Chinese life. Perhaps it was a restaurant, with food exposed and flies travelling from nearby gar-page pails to the food. Following was a float, which in contrast, showing a restaurant with all the food screened in and the garbage cleaned up. Sprinkled all through the parade were dead corpses carried on_ stretchers and the wooden coffins carried in the customary Chinese fashion. Those in the parade who know tell us that in several instances as the parade went by one place a restaurant keeper had leamed his lesson and when the parade returned in an hour or so, they saw the food screened in with brand new wire screening. In fact it is said that one man tried to buy some wire screening and was informed that there was not any to be had in town, as it had already been sold to the travelling restaurants and food stores. Three shops which carry wite screening sold 1,500 ft. in one week after the campaign. Each float carried its own message, but students followed with certain sections of the parade and explained their particular float.
Never before has the city been so completely moved by one idea. A great wave of voluntary service enlisting 2,600 workers, men and women, put the campaign over the top." Special meetings for women have been held in 14 sections of the city. All types, classes and grades of Chinese were reached including the boatmen, ricsha coolies, students, clerks, business men and officials, Such an effort, backed by all the constructive forces, cannot help but have a remarkable reaction on, the sanitation of this provincial capital.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.