Tientsin, China.
July 9th, 1937.
My dear Miss Turner:
I want to thank you for all your papers. They reviewed vividly of Mount Holyoke seminary Days and Mount Holyoke College Days. I read from the first page to the last. I still have them on my desk for occasionally I like to pick up and reread them. Last night I read an article in June Number of A. A. U. W. by Marion Talbot. The arctile's [sic] title is "Looking Backward, and Forward in A. A. U. W." The educational path for the American woman has not been an easy one in the past. Men objected high education for they believed it destroyed the grace and charm of women. Men also belived [sic] high education ruined their health and the last objsction [sic] was most annoying _ high education should not be given to women for their brains were not equal to it. China is an old conservative country. So far we are not having difficulties along the path of education. Our problem is a legal problem. The single standard for women does not apply to men. The law is single standard for both but the law is in name not in reality. American women have ceertainly [sic] worked hard for their education. They are now in many professional activies. [sic] Thru thier [sic] activities they have contributed much toward America's betterment as a country in comparison to other countries.
Another phase I have noted of American life is that you are paying spcial [sic] attention to childhood education. We have very few good primary teachers. Our pay for primary teachers is so meagre that every few enter this field as a stepping to something else. I have one nephew who wants to enter the teaching profession. He would be poor but we would all be very proud of him. His younger brother said that he would send to his teacher brother help occasionally of farm products. The younger brother is going to study farming. But there is a movement on now to improve pay to primary teachers. Our high school teachers do not get enough pay either. Our university professors are fairly well paid for their work.
Just today's paper announced that there is a clash between our soldiers and Japanese soldiers. For months Japanese soldiers have been provoking us. They marched thru our streets with pistols pointing direct at us. We paid no attention as if they were little tin soldiers. Then they went further by searching from house to house by the prtext [sic] that a soldier was missing from their camp. (Japnese [sic] camp) No other people will stand these provoking affairs but we have been patient under all circumstances for we do not have time for destruction. Life is so valuable that I do not feel angry any more at these unreasojable [sic] Japanese soldiers for they are taught from chilhood [sic] to manhood to be unfair and unjust. I pity them for they spend all their energy for highway robbery. Under Japanese military influence their citizens do all kinds of illegal trade like morphin [sic], opium, smuggled goods of all kinds. Japan is trying to demoralize us by opening houses of prositution [sic], gambling dens etc. However all these bad influnecs [sic] will evantually [sic] reach theirwon [sic] people also. Bad influnces [sic] like diseases for they spread by contact. We have not started for beach yet for cobdition [sic] is getting rather uncertain.
Where are you going to spend your summer? Are you going to do any piece of special research work this summer? How I wish that you can come to visit us. The Dollar Line now offers summer reduced rate for a round trip. If you should come we want you to stay as long as you can. We have now a number of good laboratories where you can do special piece work also. At Shanghai there is Lester Institute for all kinds of research problems in Physiology. At Peiping there is P. U. M. C. Then we also have a number of smaller laboratories in connection with our medical schools. Thus you can combine your work with vacation.
Your good picture just came this evening mail. I am so happy to have it. The picture looks little bit sterner than your dear self. But it is a good picture of you just the same. It stands right on top of my desk now so I can see you daily in my work.Tomorrow when I go to office I will show your picture to your name sake Abby.. [sic] She is very tall. She will be eleven this coming fall but she is almost as tall as I am now. Abby is going to be a slander [sic] tall girl from her general built [sic] now. She has just finished her fifth grade this summer. She has one more year before entering junior high school. Mary Jean enters junior high school this coming fall. My third nephew will be a junior in college and my fourth nephew has just finished his high school.
There is another interesting experiment that is on rural reconstrution [sic]. College students are being sent to rural districts under the supervision of their professors to work out different problems. Students are acting as bureau heads to different departments. There are four departments for this rural educational program. They are education, hygiene, modern farming and citizenship. College students are asked by General Chinag to be volunteer workers to help out this program in summer vacation months so as to hasten the success of this work. Many students are working this summer for our government as volunteers. There is no doubt that our people are all united on this one standard to make our country a stronger and better nation.
The third important experiment is military training for all boys for six weeks during their junior year in high school and sophomore year in college. My third nephew has gone for military training this summer for six weeks. This is compulsary. [sic] No student is to get his diploma without such training. Evry [sic] school must report names of students who are of class for training. Our boys today are much a [sic] healthier group than twenty years ago.
China is getting vaccination minded, radio minded, highway minded and airplane minded. These kodek [sic] pictures are not so good but they will show you something about our vaccination campaign this last spring. With a car we were able to get ten thousand people young and old vaccinated against smallpox last May in ten days. This coming spring we will immunize all youngsters above six months old against diphtheria. China is giving all medical help toward better health of her people. In province of Kinagsi State Medicine will be tried. The auguement [sic] is that police force, army, navy air force are all under government control. There is no reason why the medical force should be a private affair. That is the government has the right to bring this profession into state control like education. This is going to be a costly interesting experiment for our government. We are also in favor of this experiment. In fact our government is going to establish a medical school for training of these doctors who will be mobilized to do work under state control.
Girls of same group must have nursing training. One hears training for every boy and every girl. Actually in China today a good student can get education free. Take for Nankai University one fifth of student body can get scholarships for high education. Thera [sic] are so many free schools in Tientsin city. If children do not go to school the fault is with parents and not with our government. Soon education will be compulsary [sic] for certain age group.
When you come to China I would take a vacation to show you all these experiments. Our children are ebing [sic] trained for citizenship today. A child studies citizenship from six years old up to graduation from university. The text books of today are quite different from my time. We studied only few subjects but today our children study so many subjects. In my day we never studied anything about blood elments. [sic] Mary Jean and Abby can tell you about red corpusles [sic], leucocytes, blood plates [sic] etc.
I hope that I have not tired your mind with progress of China. But these are actual happenings of the day. Ofcourse [sic] we have room for improvement but we are on way for a better country. This letter brings you much love from all of us.
Top: "Public Health houses."
Bottom: "Open air lecture by nurses."
Top: "Old man seventy years old getting ready for vaccination."
Bottom: "Boys."
Top: "School children vaccination campaign."
Bottom: "American car gets our staff anywhere."