The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1880-01-18
DEATH N SILESIA.
Fearful Ravages of Hunger-Typhus Lack
of Clvthing and Fuol-Dyipg in
Despair Work of the
Government.
New York TIerald.I

Such severe winter as that under which
ths population of SiIesia. East and West
Prussia and tho Duehy OF P0sen have been
suffering fnr more than month past, has not
been experienced In Northeastern Europe
since the yeaI 1912. 1t has come like "A doom
upon the uoor people after II long spetl of
Dad times aud an almost total failure
Of the potato crop, upon which the peasant ry
Of these comparatively speaking sterile ra-
Rions maluly depend for their winter susie
nauce. The reports reaching tho German
Home 0flicH from its administrative and
medical officials respecting the condition OF
tha )ab0Iiuk classes TEEN with heartrend-
ing details Of starvation, hunger typhus
nnd death by exposure to cold brought
on through lack OF necessary clothing and
fuel. We fead of parents all but naked IN
wretchtd empty rooms fori0rn OF fire. tho
corp9es Of their children. victims Of typhus.
lying uncovered on the floor, with no means
left to them uf obtaining the ruhest coffin Tor
the dead OF the coarsest morsel OF food for
the living. We hear of women, driven To des-
pair, lying down deliberately In the snow to
die, IN order to put All end to their intolerable
misery, The other day u whole tribe OF gyp-
Rtes was found trnzen to death In wood near
Ryhuik, Upper Siesia Men, women and
children had huddIed close together In the
snow, hoping to keep the vital spark alight
by common contigutty, but they were all
frOZan stif1 and stark aud covered by several
Inches oI snow when discovered by a gem
darme performing his rounds on the morning
been distributed by tho State authorities
throughout tho Ratlhor country and In tho
Olsau and ThuIze districts, where famine aud
sickness have swept away vast numbers OF
the inhabitants, but the general distress
throughout Germany's eastern provinces ap-
pears by tho latest accounts to he nndimn-
tRhed In acutcness and threatens to depopu-
late territories already too sparsely inhab-
tied.
lhe independence Rflgc gives The following
~ # Ep an pf i'm
pner StipSta:
''AIl the manufactures are closed in the
district OF IubretZ, communications by rail-
way are discontinued and any other means Of
transport are too difficult. The expectation
o lime, which Is the principal resources or this
part OF tho country, is now reduced to moth
Ing. The excessive wet weather which pre-
coded the present severe winter has added to
the great difficulties of the inhabitants, whose
situation Is generally preCarious. The after
have nothing to protect them FROM the In
clsmcncy OF the weather but huts with
matched roofs. the walls of which are simply
Of mud. and often tho common room OF the
family Is only separated from the stable by II
thin partition. The assures In the wallis,
which are often filled mp by the
growth OF wild plants, principally
broom, are this year without this protee-
tion. The poor peasants have scarcely any
thing to eat the produce Of tho land
being made rotten by the wet or frozen, and
the people are dying literally of cold. 1t is
true thHt both the State and provincial au-
foreseeinR this state OF things IA
almost inevitable, have taken measures to
remedy II. Besides the loans contracted by
the local authorities, with the authority Of
the government, amounting to about 100000
Of marks, the State In November added
300, 600 marks to provide food for the most ne
cessitoua. The provincial authorities have
given 10000 marks, but the misery and want,
II appears, far exceed what was expected. aud
In certain villages whore there Is no public
school the chliren may b. seen trotttng to
the next village barefoot In the snow. The
southern district Ia In the greatest distress.
II Is calculated that In fourteen administra-
tive districts 1t Is necessary to provide 10000
sacks Of potatoes aud proportionate guam
ftty OF other provisions to prevent the people
lying OF hunger"