Since Sian {s: the western terminal of the Lunghai Railway, it naturally Is the focus of a larger number of refugees than any other centres I visited north of the Yangtze Valley. There were between 10,000 and 15,000 refugees of whom 0,000 required assistance In the way of shelter, food and clothing. 'They came ' from Shansi, Hopel and Honan in families and in village groups,. Most of them were from the middle grade class which form the backbone of China' millions.
The Provincial government is pro-Jecting an interesting scheme of co-4 Jonization: They are opening up a tract of land, 60,000 mow in: extent, 900 It northeast of Sion, on. the banks of the Yellow River, They are proposing to colonize this land with minimum of 3,000 refugees, for whom. they will provide 2,000' heads of oxen costing $40 yer head and also make a sustenance allowance of $3 Person monthly for six months, fatter which It would be presumed that they would be self-supporting.
It was in Sian that 1 made my. frst intimate contact with the wounded soldiers—10,000 had been allocated to Sian, for hospitalization, While J was In Sian, a telegram was received from the Shansi_war front that additional 18,000 were on the way, and that preparations must be made them and. give tention. When one realizes hal, (apart from the transient wounded who passed through Shanghai en route "for interior hospitals) provided only §,000 beds, It will be readily seen how great' a Droblem it is for interior ities. like Sian, Nanchang, Changsha and others to receive and minister to 10,000 or more wounded soldiers at one time.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.