May 25.
Efficient to the point of ruthless ness in the construction of his vast fortune, John D. Rockefeller brought the same dynamic quality to bear on his philanthropic activities. Many wealthy men have served their community well by the exercise of the power given them by their riches, The history of education abounds with examples. Fortunately, too, the breed of benefactor does' not' seem to fail. Yet! the wide-spread charity of Rocke~ feller secured and has preserved a magnificence of its own. At the moment of mourning his death, if mourning be the word for saluting] the easy passage of a tired frame from a world which for him had' long outgrown its novelty, it is fitting to contemplate the memorial created in his lifetime and likely to. stand as a symbol of discerning benevolence for many generations to come. China, like other countries in the East, has good reason to bless the name of Rockefeller because she has benefitted much from the famous charter which in 1913 exhorted the—Rockefeller Foundation "to promote the wellbeing of mankind throughout the world", To quote from its latest report, "the advance of knowledge with research as the chief tool, has been the definite objective ' and. method of Foundation action".
Rockefeller was too keen a business man to permit his charitable en-' terprises to suffer from inept direc tion. He took precautions to get the best possible advice and to pay for the best possible brains Dangers of attempting too much, of spreading itself too diffusely were thus avoided. Selection of the most essential lines of research was made and care was taken to concentrate rather than to sprawl. "Social security, international relations and} public administration" in social Sciences, experimental biology in natural ' sciences, psychiatry medicine, cultural techniques, 5 og radio, amateur drama, museums, libraries, in the humanities, comprised the Foundation's programme. Elasticity was retained to permit strategic change of attack for the better attainment of the main objective—the championship civilization.
In the war against disease the! Rockefeller Foundation has played a noble part. "China was among its first beneficiaries, First a commission was sent to study her medical needs. Thence sprang the China Medica! Board Me., to which the Foundation has given' over US. $1444 million, and the Peiping Union Medical College, toward the building and support of which the sum of about U.S. $18 million has been contributed by the Foundation. In 1934, recognizing the pressing need of China for assistance in oth social activities, the Foundation] appropriated a million U.S. dollars for a three-year programnie of rural reconstruction and correlation of its medical programme with public health work. "During 1936_ its donations to the programme China included U.S. $50,000 fo the Chinese Education Movement, Ting Hsien (Ting Hsien Experiment"), 'US. $95,000 in fellowships, US. $29,000 to the University of Nanking, U.S. $24,575 to the Yenching University, Peiping, U.S. $30,000 for Research and Development US. $38,350 to the National Health Administration Nanking, US$12,240 to_ the Ministry of Education, US, $10,000 to Lingan University (Canton), U.S. $15,000 to Nankai University (Tientsin) U.S. $13,350 fo the National Agricultural Research Bureau, Nanking, US, $11,675, to the National Central Uni versity Nanking and U.S. $13,350 to the National Economic Council all. This did not include the cost of maintenance of the Shanghai office or the sum of U.S, $485,000 spent on the China Medical Board Me, New York City, or grants of U.S. $25,000 and U.S.'$15,000 to the National Library and Orthological Institute of Peiping respectively or special grants to American institutions for promoting the study of Chinese. In an special degree therefore China has reason to be grateful to the memory of John D. Rockefeller.
The Foundation has taken a lively interest in the rural due problem here and thus has admir~ ably encouraged the Government's present concern in rural reconstruc~ tion generally. Mr. Selskar Gunn, one of the Vice-Presidents of the Foundation, is the emeer who Gireets its activities in China, with Dr. J.B, Grant as the resident assistant in charge in Shanghai, Mr. Gunn, who is now in New York, has been giving close attention to rural problems. He has a close ac~ quaintance with them here and in other parts of the world and it is understood that he has been special~ ly struck by the Report which Lord Linlithgow's Commission over ten years ago published on the mair. Teatures. of rural administration and development in India, The parallel between the two countries is so striking that there is little Ooubt that the Linlithgow Report is 'a document of intense value to China. In the current survey of the Foundation's work in China, its President, Mr. Raymond Fosdick, points out that the Chinese Government is attempting to "make over a mediaeval society in terms of modern knowledge" and that in this endeavour the condition of the Chinese farmer who constitutes 85 per cent, of the Population §s easily. the "crucial figure. The per capita income in the rural parts of China which have been investigated approximates US. S10 per year. Figures for the United States (1929) published by the Brookings Institution indicate that the lowest per capita income of the farm population in this country. (USA) was US, $137 Un Ten nessee) and that the average per capita farm income for the tour lowest states was U.S, $150, Any programme for rural reconstruction in China has to be realistically based. "Tt would be a disservice to China to create in a rural region an ization which, although able from an ideal point of view, ould be obviously beyond. the wanclal possibilities of the local population. China. is therefore driven to' the hard necessity developing a programme involving local government, security, educa tion, livelihood, and public health which can be supported with the meagre existing resources, That shows the practical spirit in which the Foundation docs all its work. Tt also enshrines a useful definition of China's real needs and supplies a salutary corrective to those who underestimate the magnitude of the task which General Chiang Kai-shek and his colleayes have accepted in pressing on with their people's economic reconstruction programme, vires for China sympathy, but it enjoins patience, for the pace can= not be rapid. Patience is a suitable virtue to associate with the career and achievements of the great man whose passing so much reminds China of her deep indebtedness to him,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.