A common source of supply for the underworld of Shanghai is the surrounding countryside. There seems to be a myth similar to the London myth that the streets are paved with gold, and many young women are persuaded to come here to pick up the easy jobs that are going, Once here they' soon learn that there are no vacancies, and then those who have misted them point out an easy way of making a living until a post obtainable Some stories of almost incredible callousness, derived in many. cases from ignorance, "are revealed from time to time in cases which have come before the local courts, In one of them a eddie confessed thal, for a wage of twenty cents small money a day and his food, he was accustomed to prow! about the streets of Wusih and entice children from their homes by offers of sweets and other delicacies. The oblldren were then brought to the Shanghai market, 'A recent epidemic of cases origin= ating in Lungyu in Chekiang can be taken a3 typical of the largest num~ ber. The first case arose out of genuine hardship, Parents resolved sell their two young girls and brought them to Shanghai for the Purpose. They obtained $120 for one and. $70 for the other, Their corns parative affluence on return to their native city excited the cupidity of others. There. began. a regular Htraffc in young girls from Lungya to Shanghai, which was echoed in the local courts, In the majority of ceases the offence arose from ignor~ ance of ethiec and laws, Curbing the Evit great number of cages of a similar nature could be quoted, but what would be the use? Action by the Shanghai authorities has done great deal to curb the evil. her Gangs of trackers are less frequent than they were, since the authorities charge them with kidnapping, for which the penalty is death, The Anti-Kidnapping Society has done of to make the export of children from Shanghai to the South unsafe, Chinese charitable institutions have broadcast the necessity for measures to put a stop fo the nefarious trade, Rescue homes have been organized by foreigners and Chinese, doing an invaluable work, In saving those Who can and are willing to be saved, Of even greater importance, perhaps, in checking the trame is the growing public opinion against it. This pinion has received a remarkable support from the movement for the emancipation of women, and as these movements grow in power and the status of women in this country Is better defined and understood, 50 should the worst effects of the evil be minimized
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.