The China mission famine committee to the church of the Brethren in the homeland

              Pingting chou, Shansi, China,
Oct. 30, 1920.
To the Church of the Bretheen in the Homeland;
Some of the provinces of North China are afflicted with 
a great famine this year. The section effected comprises the Southern
part of [Chili?] Province, parts of Shantung, northern Honan, and the
eastern part of Shansi. The area of the famine region contains a 
population of something like 40,000,000 people, or about 2/5 of the
population of the U.S. Not all the people in this this area will 
need help, for some have sufficient wealth to buy grain at most any 
cost while others have a supply on hand to use. But in one township
of Pingting County of our province of Shansi careful investigation 
by the Government and also by our own people shows that the propor-
tion of those who must have help from now until next years harvest in
June stands to those who can likely get along themselves as 33 to 40.
Or of the population of this township which is 73000 there are 
33,490 who must have help before this letter gets to you or they will
starve by the thousands. There are large sections of the other 
provinces named above that are just as destitue as this particulare
township. Therefore it is easy to see that the total number 
who will certainly need help in North China is many millions.
	Our Mission has no intention of doing any large percent of the
relief work that needs to be done. We shall confine our efforts to
our province and most of that to the fifth township of Pingting County.
In this township there are forty villages that need
help. Of these we have selected eleven villages for our efforts. where
we will have at least 5,000 wholly dependent on us for food. Before
this letter gets to you we will have to be feeding these people
or else they will have starved to death.
	The severity of the famine can best understood by knowing what
the people eat. Many letter were recieved during the great war in
which people complained that they had to eat cornmeal, bran, rye flour,
etc., They thot they had to eat what the stock in the barn usually get.
It was considerably inferior to what you are eating now, but compare
that menu with what the people by the tousands in this section are
trying to keep alive on: tree leaves and roots, weeds, pumpkin vines,
corn cobs ground to meal, a mixture of chaff and millet and sand briers.
The frost will soon be here and then most of this supply will be cut
off. Many of us have ofen sat in church and have seen men and women
weep in pity as they listened to the story of the prodigal who came to
the point where he had to eat husks with the swine. But he only needed 
to return home where his father awaited him with outstretched arms
and a fatted calf to feed him. Where are the Chinese to turn? Those in
the villages where we are working can tun [sic] only to the Church of the
Brethren, and that means YOU.
	Will you please consider your daily wage? Sox [sic] dollare [sic] will keep a 
grown person here alive until next wheat harvest. Why not give 
a days wage out of each month until then and save so many lives? You are
considereing how you may express your gratitude this year at Xmas time.
Why not let it be expressed in maintaining life to men, women and 
children in China? All may help, from the cradle roll to the Bible class,
C.W. Societies, Aid Societies, individuals, and other agencies. May you 
bring glory to His name in Shansi this winter.
	Yours in His Name,
		China Mission Famine Committee: