in Camps With the gradual decrease of the flood waters at Hankey, the greatest difficulties confronting the relief authorities "are the prevention of disease among the thousands of refugees who are huddled within the stricken city and Wuchang, and the return of these sufferers to the di tricts from which they were driven the swollen Yangtze, -according to Dr, E. Cundall," Medical Superintendent of the Union Hospital in that city who arrived here on September 8 from the devastated area by plane.
"Despite the fact, that members of the public safety forces are being hasty" trained in sanitation, work, it Is becoming increasingly dimeult to enforce on the refugees measures Which ave indispensible for the Jnaintainance of health," Dr. Cundall In addition to this, camps of sufferers are discovered continually, improvised camps without the slightest Attempt "at sanitation, where epidemic may break out at any hour fand spread like wildfire among these People weakened by privations.
"But a few days ago it was ascertained. that a" camp containing 16,000 refugees, by actual count, had been established at He-shan, the site of a former cemetery on the Han River above Hankow. No one apparently knew of this camp prev Ously and when investigators arrived the conditions found were intolerable Dead and dying were strewn fo sanita-the mail pouches were stolen in common with other things, the Reds returned then several days later with adject apologies, "With even the gradual fall of water in the ex-foreign concessions and the native city, merchants are making a desperate attempt to resume business, With the exception of that district affected by the breaking Jof the railway embankment, the loss in merchandise has not been as heavy. as anticipated, the ample Jwarnings giving the merchants an opportunity to move stocks of goods ito higher levels. In instances where the stocks have been saved, merchants ar8 now attempting to recom-Imence business through windows in [two-storey houses. Of courst stored im godowns "have stered severely.
"One indication of the falling waters is the lon certain Pull them waist high in water, the passenger sitting on top of ' the lwehicle to keep dry. train is said to have been operated directly [through from Hankow to Peking but the regular service on this run be-Jgins several stations above Hankow, where the water has not invaded the right-of-way.
In an effort to facilitate pedestrian traffic, the municipality has built wooden walk-ways_ on framework above the water. The planks, how-. ever, are very narrow and scores People are shoved off into the flood daily. In other sections, free fertries are operated between points; about the city, but these are always overcrowded with natives.
"Mow they came to be at this spot no one seems to know, except that they were forced. to" disembark there." Dr. Cundall continued, "and the worst feature is that 30,000. rote ave expected to arrive cre from the flooded Han areas within the next few weeks, "Despite optimistic repo
invert: gradual, the gauge cran inthe Teal of the xivee Union Hospital, which is-neat the Chinese. Ree Course, only" show: riga fall of two feet four. inch from the peak of the Snundation With piactiealy everything thely farms swept away he log Swollen waters. except the. land itself, it is going to be © terrible Poblim to tngacy there people to Feturn'to their. former "holdings, Dr, Cundall explained.
Tighey have" nothing left.
weds to plant, No. impiiments Work with, "No. house to. live the desperation of despair, they We ieelared, "Conseguenty, with going. to cling to whatever fefoge. they have now, whether it is church, private godown or mere-Jy camp. Of course there is food Gough for the present but the unrtars these people occupy will required for private business Tater' any to, say nothing of the sanitary' problem involved."
"iw the gauntry districts there 18 hardly' a house of any kind left Minding: Onsmy fight to. Shang-passed Svet scores of places That had been occupied once Thriving. villages, Now, nothi to be seen but a vast lake of Wwith the exception that. here and there grouped. of refugees can "teen clustered on high ground. How ihey Gare maintaining life, nobody mows! "At one point, where T remember, a parsetiasly thriving set-Hement, nething could be seen bat a high' knoll on which vere, two Jonely, isolated water buffalos.'
Even in the, city of Hankow itself, particularly in" the native Guatter, the majority of the small-for houses have collapsed in. the food Tenving vast cal, of del the tailvay. embankments, "Dr, eating around, particularly near
Gundall stated, "Every well for miles around is contaminated and 2 cesspool of infection resulting in the Red menate as we were some weeks ago," Dr. Cundall said, "although bands of Communists are ranging the countryside and looting. anything that is worth while. A. band said to be composed of 15,000 of these people recently raided' the village of Kuan-chi, near Wusueh.
fter stealing everything obtainable They announced, for some reason, that the mail was to be held inviolable, posting a notice to this effect. Ju another smal town where!
"Sampans and boats of all kinds, however, continue to constitute the main form of transport, although the larger junks, utilized to move stocks of goods," ete, fled back to the river the moment the water started to recede and threaten to ground them. It was just ay well Ithat they did, inasmuch as they constituted a distinct danger to the telegraph poles on which are strung many high tension and voltage 0 date everything that can be eaten is being utilized for food by the refugees, even a large quantity creased bean cake, imported as Jcattle foder, having been distributed Jamong these people and gladly received.
"At the present time the Union Hospital is under 17 feet of ware making a continuance of our hosital activities extremely dificult. "The Father Melotti Hospital, a Catholic institution near our own, entirely deserted owing to jet that it is on somewhat lower ground, In our area we have recently observed number of small steamers cruising over land that was nce teeming. with human a Due to the condition of the Union Hospital Dr. Cundall recently. tendered the services of himself and sta to the Hankow Hospital Ship being outfitted in Shanghai by the {international Flood Relief Fond. One of the purposes of his visit here is to confer with offciais of the ing by fignoeis and deface tavestigation aboard that vessel, and. disease investigation Hankow, Sept. 5.
Hankow itself Communist ents are believed to. be secretly Distting's reign of terrors The military, authorities are taking the most "drastic precautions and are. cantinaing to, enforce stringent martial law after nightfall. Raids fon suspected. places have "during the last few days. resulted in the Rounding up of more than 40 Communists." Among the prisoners
wuder of the First. Regiment General Chin "Tehvhwen, "Com: attached to the First Red Army. 'The Chinese City, particularly that. section outside the railway embankment, still presents a "scene of utter' devastation and the gradual, disappearance of the waters only adds to the horrors created by the catastrophe. Dead human bodies pinned underneath the debris. which could not be seen when the water was high, now-come to the surface, being ina state of complete de: composition. The waters are not only stagnant and filthy but actually poisonous. Careasses of dogs, pigs, horses and other animals still to be" seen everywhere.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.