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Peiyang Women's Hospital
Tientsin, China.Dear Miss Turner;
Your good letter dated Thanksgiving Day came th[e] day before Christmas. We had no celebration this year whatever for every cent was put in emergency fund to help the poor. Japanese invation [sic] has not killed so many people as the suffereing [sic] which brought upon us. Tientsin city was under martial law and day laborers could not get out to work for days. Many died from want of food and clothing. Indeed it was a happy day to get some mails from America and to know our friends are thinking of us in time of distress.
Your gift of book to me and picture books to children were received on New Year's day. We thank you. Abby and Mary Jean are very happy over their books and they read them everyday. [sic] They know Agnus and the cat very well now. Root book is little bit harder for them yet. The box of colored crayons I put it away for the present as their sister at Bryn Mawr has sent each a box also. They had great time in opening up their packages. They said that they are going to ask their sister to thank you as they do not know how to write yet. Mary Jean can ready [sic] some English. Abby can say many things in English but I have not started her in reading yet. Abby is very bright girl. Both are doing very well in their school work and are well physically. Milk and butter have much to do with their good health this last year. Since my return this time I have altered their diet and added butter and milk in their food. Chinese children as a rule do not have these two items in their regular diet. Then with my year of special study with children I do know a little more about handling children.
My work is not too heavy. There are too many people after me for other things than professional service. I have refused outside activities. I feel that I must give all my time for medical and health work. Since my return I have established a little maternity and infant welfare station some distance from our hospital. We have two graduate nurses who take care of this station. They are doing well. They are given chances to do all normal delivereies. [sic] We have certain regulations for them like those regulations used in Denmark for midwives. We sent three graduate nurses to flood district. Our Dr. Li is at Philadelphia just now. Dr. Chu is away for sometime. So our hospital was short of help. I have not had a week of vacation yet since last February. I am not tired as I feel little bit irritating. I think this is a sign for a change. I am going to take a vacation to Peiping next month. Then this unsettled condition is rather nerve wrecking.
Members of this hospitail [sic] have shown good spirit all thru these troubled days. For some days we did not have fresh food. Everybody volunteered to give her share to hospital for patients. Then for days and nights we had to sleep with clothes on in fear of firing from Japanese quarter. Every one worked quietly and smoothly without shirking any part of thier [sic] duty. All hospitals in this part of the city were closed - our little hospital was the only one did not close her door to the sick. Our nurses and doctors went out any time during night or day when people would not venture on streets. During month of November we lived in anxiety. We have now a very capable head nurse from P. U. M. C. who kept our student nurses busy with studies during these trouble days. We could not be out in the open very long as shells were coming any time any direction. Our head nurse kept every student busy with extra studies so they did not have time to talk about thier [sic] trouble. We all lived in the hospital as we had to be prepared for emergency. The experience was hard for us but every one showed self control.. [sic]
People want to go into war with Japan. Probably a war would help in some respects. But I am against war for we have too few trained men and women. The best would go froward [sic] leaving the others behind. we are already a weak race and we can [sic] afford to have our best killed now. Disease, famine, flood, war are staring at us. China might survive by one of these but certainly not all the same time. China has not the resistance to withstand all at one time. Let us first devote our energy to get rid China of disease, flood, and famine. These are our major problems of the day.
We have heard much about your business depression. We hope America would enjoy her former days of prosperity. Letters from other colleges also indicate that many students cannot return on account of financial difficulty. Just now we are having great deal trouble with students. Some of them are under Soviet influence. I am afraid that the communistic influence is bad over youths for they have no respect for authority. They do not seem to understand that law and order are necessary for all. It is so hard to have control over our students today. They actually think that they know more than their elders. These students are so hot headed that it is hard to exert any good influence over them at present. Our women students are more sensible and are devoting thier [sic] time to studies. It is no doubt that Japanese invation [sic] has made our people as a whole nervous. The air is full of disturbance.
We are making progress altho slow. When we study history we speak in terms of decade and century. When we are actually passing the days we naturally feel slow. We speak of "The Seven Year War" in history. Today we cannot imagine such length of time. When I was a child my mother and her friends probably talked only things concerning thier [sic] homes. Now our women are active in various fields. Time is changing. Anything worthwhile take[s] energy and time. So we must be patient.
This letter brings you much love from your name sake Abby and me. Soon I would send you a kodek [sic] picture of Abby. She is very tall for her age. I can see now that she is going to be a fine student. She learns without any effort. I hope that soon she would be able to write you personally.