Local Committee's Criticism At the weekly meeting of the Chinese Foreign Famine Relief Committee held on December 29 a further $50,000 was voted to buy grain in Manchuria. Grain-trains are now passing through Tientsin daily, and a total of 7,000 tons of grain is expected to be delivered at the famine-dumps by the end of the year.
It was further decided to purchase 10,000 wadded garments for distribution in Honan and Shantung, and Chihli.
The question of the Government proposals for dealing with the pro-Posed $41,000,000 loan (guaranteed on the surtax) was considered. The proposal is for 90 per cent. to be administered by the Government Famine Relief Bureau and 10 per cent. by the Peking International Famine Relief Committee.
This proposal is not to the mind of the Peking International Famine Relief Com" mittee, and the Tientsin Famine Relief Committee has protested against such allocation of this loan. It is of interest to know that the Government proposal involves the spending by them of the surtax-funds in embankment-building, etc., in connexion with the new railways, Chefoo to Weihsien and Shihkiachuang to Tsangchow, and $500,000 has been sent to the Peking-Hankow and Tientsin-Pukow Railways to have this work begun!
In his communication to the Press announcing this arrangement the Minister of Communications o™itted to mention that the frozen state of the ground will not allow of building up embankments or any other railway construction work until the Spring! Meanwhile the people are dying for lack of food and clothing. It is to be wondered how much of this surtax will Lo available for the famine sufferers! The Committee has asked the Shanghai General Chamber of Commerce and the Chinese Chamber of Commerce to protest against the proposals of the Chinese Government, and however effective the Chinese protest will be, it is believed the foreign business interests could make representations through their Ministers in Peking and so prevent this surtax loan from being handled by any but the recognized Famine Relief Committees in Tientsin, Peking, Shanghai, Kaifeng, etc. Certainly there is no guarantee at all in the Government proposals notwithstanding their appointment of an Audit-Board in Peking. What is wanted is that this surtax money be sent to the right people for distribution and that it be used to buy food now. Railway construction schemes are of no avail until the Spring, and it is a matter of speculation whether the Government proposals are anything more than words.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.