A 50-year old Viennese specialist, who gave up a responsible position with the University of Vienna in order to come out to China at the request of the Chinese Government to play a leading part in Red Cross Work, is now living in a miserable hut in Canton, his sole meal a day depending on what he can buy for a few coppers from a coolie kitchen or on occasional meals at houses of friends. If he wishes to send a letter back to his helpless family, he!s forced to go without a meal in order to pay for the stamp.
He is one of a party of seven Viennese doctors who came out to China a month ago. Of their number, one has now gone to Batavia, having at last accepted an earlier offer; four of the younger men have left for the United States to try and enlist public support; one is in Shanghai, attempting to get into touch with the responsible authorities; while the fourth has not been heard of since he went to Hankow.
'The surgeons, Drs. E. Milch (who is now in Canton), L. Router, E. Winkler, S. Gottfried, L. Tillinger, and H. F. Erben, all held responsible positions in Vienna. In October last, they received a cable from' Dr. Hermann Ettinger offering them free transportation to and from China, with full maintenance in this country, and a contract calling for a minimum of six months, if they would come out to China for Red Cross work.
Through the Chinese Embassy, they received confirmation from Dr, J.
Hong Liu, then Minister of Health, that this offer had the support and bore the authority of the Chinese Government, the "North-China Daily News" was informed.
On arrival in Hongkong, the doctors called on a Dr. Wu, the Red Cross representative in the Bank of Canton building there, who asked them to proceed to Canton immediately, as the hospitals were crowded out with wounded soldiers, all badly needing attention. In actual fact, they only found one wounded man, an aviator, who was being taken care of in an American hospital.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.