Scope and arrangement
The records in this collection fall in the period 1928-1947 and are arranged into four series: I. China Aid Council; II. United China Relief; III. United Service to China; and IV. China Child Welfare. The files within each series are arranged by subject and, with few exceptions, bear the original folder titles. Many of the reports and memoranda are in the form of typed transcript copies, some of which were probably made in New York, possibly from originals on loan, while others appear to have been made and translated in China. Many of these documents are not identified by author. Some of the correspondence is likewise in the form of transcript copies. Taken as a whole the records reflect an important part of American private humanitarian aide to China in the two decades preceding the Communist takeover and the severing of contact between the two countries, as they reflect on the Chinese side the frightful suffering and destitution of a people afflicted by war, civil war, occupation, and famine.
The United China Relief records are arranged in four series:
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1938-1947.3 boxes
The records of the China Aid Council, which coincide with the period of World War II, include reports on the medical and public health problems created by the war and by the Japanese occupation, some clinical case reports of medical treatments, reports on the manufacture and use of penicillin, and reports on the politicial, social and economic conditions in the Northwest regions occupied by the Chinese guerilla forces. Only a smattering of correspondence is present; some of which relates to the difficulties of transporting medical relief supplies during the renewed civil war between the Communist and Nationalist forces in the Northwest including copies of correspondence between Chou En-lai and officials of UNRRA.
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1938-1944.3 folders
The records classified under United China Relief consist of copies of reports and memoranda relating to the military situation in China including eyewitness accounts of battles and conditions there.
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1946-19474 folders
The records classified under United Service to China consist of minutes of meetings of the Child Welfare Committee at Shanghai and Nanking relating to the development of a national child welfare program for China.
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1928-19441 box
The records of China Child Welfare include correspondence and minutes of meetings of the China Nutritional Aid Council at Shanghai and Chungking relating to the implementation of a program of soya bean nutrition through the manufacture and distribution of soya bean milk and cakes to needy children. This file includes correspondence of Mrs. Owens Roberts, James A. Mackay, Julean Arnold, and Dr. Arthur Young. Present also is correspondence and minutes of meetings of the National Child Welfare Association of China. This organization sought to expand welfare work from the traditional emphasis on relief of destitute children and support of orphanages to a program more comprehensive in nature including child health, guidance, recreation, and education. This file includes correspondence of J.S. Nagle and Garfield Huang.