Circulars of the most character are being sent the Seventh Indiana district, urging my constituents to do all they can at once for the relief of millions of fathers, mothers, and children in China, who are repre: sented as starving. The circulars quote State Department informa-Hon to the effect that 4,000,000 of the starving may be saved from death if funds are made available' at once. Literature accompanying the letter says that 57,000,000 Chinese are affected by the famine and that, of these, 20,000,000 men, women, and children are' actually facing' starvation. I have seen nothing in the newspapers about these terriable conditions in China. Te seems to, me that, if '20,000,000 People anywhere on the globe were starving—one-sixth as many people as there are in all the United States —there would be some mention of it in the despatches from the Orient.
"Of course, I have unbounded sympathy for people who ate in the condition that these are represented to be, and it is my desire to help rather than to hinder, if conditions are as represented, and Tam writing this letter to' you solely for the purpose of asking you to send me a letter talli what your advices show in regard to starvation in China"
No Dependable information The text of Mr. to Mr. Ludlow follow:
Replying to your letter concern-famine conditions in China, the honour to inform you that. the department has no information which it is able to regard as entirely dependable, indicating how. many individuals throughout China are actually confronted with faming conditions. As you are aware, means of communication and methods of compiling data are not well-developed in China, and it is dificult to obtain reliable inform: tion regarding.the condition of affairs throughout all the vast area of the country.
"The American Minister at Peking telegraphed in February' that the American Advisory Committee, acting in that city as an allotment, committee for the China Famine Relief (headquarters in New York), expressed the opinion that conditions were such as to permit of, relief measures on behalf of 4,000,- 000 Chinese suffering from of the food supply due prims to natural, as distinguished from political causes. The—Minister stated that he had no hesitancy. in accepting this preliminary estimate of the relievable famine area as a satisfactory basis for relief. The Department is informed, however, Win elt Saar! eas in excess of 4,000,000 000, Fcc Tang doe in China by the Chinese Govern-
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Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.