Page 70 - GFA – A Different Drumbeat
P. 70
GFA – A Different Drumbeat 70
In connection with the funds distributed through the International Famine
Relief Commission, the method of distribution was somewhat different. Apart
from the actual menace arising through the wandering hordes of destitute
refugees throughout the province, the denuding of the drought area of its
population created a very serious problem for it could easily be foreseen that
if the exodus was not checked, when the rains eventually did come there
would be hardly anyone left to plant the fields in these districts, which under
normal conditions formed a large wheat and grain producing area. It seemed
most advisable then to try and retain as large a portion of the population as
possible in their villages. Ii was decided that with these particular funds,
labour giving relief projects, such as road and bridge building, should be
undertaken in certain centres and that payment for the labour should be in the
form of food, not money. This enabled many who had small stocks of food to
augment that supply and eke it out till the rain came, thus obviating the
necessity of leaving their villages and forsaking their homes to swell the
numbers of the destitute, Of course, the question of the labour was secondary
to that of getting the food to those who needed it, but the scheme of making
those benefitting work in return for their relief was sound in that it kept their
minds, as well as their bodies, employed and also aided considerably in the
difficult question of selection as it practically assured only those who were
really in need of food applying for the work. All worked out according to plan
and in several centres in the drought area, before I left the province in July,
we had labour projects going forward satisfactorily. The work was directed by
a small Committee of Chinese and foreigners in Lanchow, of which committee
our C.I.M. superintendent, Mr. Mann, was the able, energetic Vice-Chairman
and the principal executive officer.
And now concerning the question of the food supply. As will be readily
appreciated, the possibility of bringing food into the province, with the railway
hundreds of miles distant and transport so scarce, was not to be considered.
Fortunately, there were some stocks of food to be bought in the Sining area
and this grain was brought down to Lanchow in large yak and bullock skins,
which were partly filled with the grain, then inflated, lashed to a wooden
framework and thus navigated downstream as rafts. We were able thus to
purchase some stocks of peas and barley. This was first roasted, then ground
and mixed in equal quantities, so making a most nutritious flour, which, when
mixed with a little water, either hot or cold, made a really satisfying meal. This
flour was then made up in bags weighing fifty pounds each and these were
transported by refugee labour right from Lanchow to the works centres in the
drought area, a distance of up to one hundred and twenty English miles.
Payment for transport was made at the rate of one catty of flour for moving
one bag twenty five li (just a little over eight miles). Of course the porters had
to travel in large parties so as to assure the safety of the precious flour
In connection with the funds distributed through the International Famine
Relief Commission, the method of distribution was somewhat different. Apart
from the actual menace arising through the wandering hordes of destitute
refugees throughout the province, the denuding of the drought area of its
population created a very serious problem for it could easily be foreseen that
if the exodus was not checked, when the rains eventually did come there
would be hardly anyone left to plant the fields in these districts, which under
normal conditions formed a large wheat and grain producing area. It seemed
most advisable then to try and retain as large a portion of the population as
possible in their villages. Ii was decided that with these particular funds,
labour giving relief projects, such as road and bridge building, should be
undertaken in certain centres and that payment for the labour should be in the
form of food, not money. This enabled many who had small stocks of food to
augment that supply and eke it out till the rain came, thus obviating the
necessity of leaving their villages and forsaking their homes to swell the
numbers of the destitute, Of course, the question of the labour was secondary
to that of getting the food to those who needed it, but the scheme of making
those benefitting work in return for their relief was sound in that it kept their
minds, as well as their bodies, employed and also aided considerably in the
difficult question of selection as it practically assured only those who were
really in need of food applying for the work. All worked out according to plan
and in several centres in the drought area, before I left the province in July,
we had labour projects going forward satisfactorily. The work was directed by
a small Committee of Chinese and foreigners in Lanchow, of which committee
our C.I.M. superintendent, Mr. Mann, was the able, energetic Vice-Chairman
and the principal executive officer.
And now concerning the question of the food supply. As will be readily
appreciated, the possibility of bringing food into the province, with the railway
hundreds of miles distant and transport so scarce, was not to be considered.
Fortunately, there were some stocks of food to be bought in the Sining area
and this grain was brought down to Lanchow in large yak and bullock skins,
which were partly filled with the grain, then inflated, lashed to a wooden
framework and thus navigated downstream as rafts. We were able thus to
purchase some stocks of peas and barley. This was first roasted, then ground
and mixed in equal quantities, so making a most nutritious flour, which, when
mixed with a little water, either hot or cold, made a really satisfying meal. This
flour was then made up in bags weighing fifty pounds each and these were
transported by refugee labour right from Lanchow to the works centres in the
drought area, a distance of up to one hundred and twenty English miles.
Payment for transport was made at the rate of one catty of flour for moving
one bag twenty five li (just a little over eight miles). Of course the porters had
to travel in large parties so as to assure the safety of the precious flour
