To simplify the question, suppose we construct an average Chinese farm the middle of this city. We shall base our model upon. the statistic of Professor Buck and his research staff at Nanking University. It we clear away all the buildings from a city block, we will have an area 500 fect square; that is roughly four acres.
Since the average Chinese farm is but tivo acres (twelve mow), we must frst divide the city block in half. On each half we will erect a mud or brick farm house and tool. sheds costing '$131. In the tool sheds we will put a plough and a few implements costing $9.21 for each household, One water buffalo will be shared by the two families, but each has two hogs and six chickens. That all their worldly possessions.
On one farm we will put six people, the other five, making an average of five and one half. teach family Works hard, and the gods are friendly, the annual income will be $325 apiece. That is quickly spent. The landlord takes $75, because part of the land is rented, The family cats $150 worth of food during the year. Taxes, that is the legal taxes, average $8.2 farm, but special assessments by magistrates and milliary generals average two oF three times that much. Suppose we say the Government takes $20 from each farmer. That eaves $80 for fertilizer, seed, clothing, ancestor worship, marriages and }trom another province can hope to keep his job for long, from the or-Jdinary house-boy to professor at a Jgovernment university, unless he en-{joys specially powerful protection Jand not always then: the Szechuenese faye 2 way of making things too hot for him.
This strong provincial feeling arises partly no doubt from the fact that JSzechuen has been Isolated for cen taries by physical barriers. In time, when the. railways are built (Sian Chengtu, and Chungking to Cheng tu), it is to be hoped that the prov. nee will be opened spiritually as well as economically. But, that long way ahead. In the meantime, if anyone wants to sce China, Jas she was 25 years or so #x0, this Province and its inhabitants will Ho-day afford a very good picture.
All these symptoms of Chinese history can be observed upon the average Chinese farm during the last 80 years As the debis df the farmer ose, and passed steadily into the hands of the gentry, till to-day tone third of the 70,000,000 farm households are anaies, another quarter have lest part of their land only 42 per cent. of the farmers can still call themselves independent. This march to bankruptey from 1850 1927 was the direct cause of the Gommunist evil wars from 3027 to To turn the tide of rural _bank-ripley, the Central Governmot.t in Nanking announced in 1033 several Feconstruction programmes which would end "all civil war. The first plan would undermine the warlord, the second would eliminate the Communist. The medicine for the war Tord was rapid communications—Foods and railways, air lines, telephone, telegraph and radio.' Four years has shown remarkable activity, But so far it is diteult to find any' direct benefit to the farmer,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.