One of the most worthy institutions in Shanghai is the Door of Hope, the annual report and accounts of which have just been issued. The activities of this organization have been often reviewed in the columns of the "North-China Daily News" but they cán never be sufficiently commended. Hundreds of young girls and women have been rescued from lives of shame and placed on footings of respectability; the organization has lived up to its name in sowing the seeds of hope in the hearts of many whose outlook was nothing but despair, and it has earned a deep debt of gratitude, which has been officially recognized, from the whole Shanghai community. foreign or Chinese, The report for 1940 reveals that the institution has not suffered from the all round increases in cost as much as might have been feared. Though certain sterling balances have to be liquidated. there is still a substantial balance in the bank. This is needed. since the phenomenal increases in prices of foodstuffs and fuel have enormously added to the operational costs. report gives a concisive and comprehensive review of the activities of the institution. First dealt with is the Receiving Home, Where candidates for admission are taken in. The stories of these-candidates reveal a side of life which the average foreigner in Shanghai never imagines. Occasional sordid stories which appear in the papers, of the exploitation and sale of young women and girls and of the prosecution of those responsible may give some idea. But it is sorrowfully true that these prosecutions are so common that they excite little general interest. It may be hazarded. however, that for every one of these prosecutions there are a score of cases which escape the attention of the authorities, and it is no exaggeration to say that there exists in Shanghai a traffic in human flesh which would be incredible in any city more normally situated. Many of the victims of this traffic find refuge in the Receiving Home of the Door of Hope from which they are cared for and tended. both physically and spiritually. in a manner beyond all praise. The Receiving Home also houses a school for the poor, where children are given a good education at next to no cost. The report gives the history of some of those received in this home. and tells' of thais progress from the abyss to health and happiness. Some of these stories mi encouraging reading. The Door of-has two other homes. the First Year which girls usually stay one or two years, and the Industrial Home. in which girls learn some trade, and incidentally contribute to their own support by needlework and other arty which can be sold towards the upkeep of the institution. As an example et this work, the girls turn out Chinese dolls' dresses which find a ready market in the United States, where the fineness of the sewing is much admired. From the Industrial Home many girls have gone out to be married. and most of them have settled down to family life in comfortable surroundings. They have shown their gratitude towards the institution which saved them in many ways, The Door of Hope also has its own hospital, which cares for cases of sickness among members of the institution and endeavours to restore to health those who are sent to the. institution in voar physical condition. The Children's Refuge deals with another and much needed section of the work. With conditions as they are in many parts of China, it can be understood that there have been many destitute children in need of care during the last few years. This Children's Home has 3 a most valuable work in this connection.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.