St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-09-30
Russian Provinces in a Con-
ditiOn Of Misery That
Passes Belief.
The Government Suppresses
Details of an Appalling
Disgrace.
Statesmen in High Places
See Only Peace Signs on
the Horizon.
Labor Candidates to Be Sup
ported Strongly for the
Commons.

LONDON, Sept 29.-The dispatch
from st. Petersburg to the Telegraph,
describing the situation i'm Russia
arising from the failure of the crops,
part of which has already been cabled
to the United States, adds that not for
centuries has such widespread distress
been recorded. 1t is nothing less than
a national calamity. The Telegraph's
correspondent says that the trouble is
Chiefly due to the government, which at
the beginning of the year was we'll
aware that famine was imminent.
The authorities delayed taking any ac-
ton to relieve the distress until it was
too late. What benefit would have been
derived from the prohibition of the ex-
portation of rye was nullitied by the
action of the government in extending
the time for the decree to go into
effect.
In addition to the scarcity of food,
which has caused untold suffering, the
distress has been intensified by the
enormous number of unusually disas-
trous fires that have occurred through
out the famine-stricken district. IN
many of the districts entire villages
have been destroyed. The inhabitants
of the burning villages, weak from lack
OF food, and with no prospectof improv-
ing their condition, made no attempt to
check the progress, byt stood and
watched their dwellings burn. Some Of
them, more devOut than others, fell on
their knees and prayed the Almighty to
eXtlnguiSh the fire. Added to these
cruel strokes OF fortune came the cattle
plague, which caused incredible havoc.
Thousands of head of cattle took the
disease and persisted. and thus many
families lost their only means of sub
Sistence.
What little food it is possible for the
peasants to obtain is of the vilest de-
scription, but so sharp are the pangs of
hunger that they gladly eat food that at
other other times they would not-touch.
LII many cases their only food is the
sweepings and refuse from the flour
mills. In Saratoff the land owners
FOUND this refuse so I'M furious to their
cattle that they would not feed it to
them. But, though it was not fit for
cattle to eat, the land owners made
bread of it and sold it to the peasants.
Bread made of finely chopped straw and
bran mixed with very small quantity
of rye is considered a godsend. In many
districts the starving peaSantry are not
able to procure even these miserable
substitutes for nourSting food, being re-
duced to the most dire straits to pro-
cure anything that will prolong life
In these districts the starving
alive by making what they call ''hunger
bread" 1t is hardly to be believed that
human beings could reach such dire
necessity and live upon such a COM
pound as this so-called "hunger bread"
yet it is stated as fact that the in
gradients entering into the composition
of this bread are dried dung, the pow
dered bark of trees and ground peas
and gooSefoot plant more commonly
known as pigWeed. This mess is greed
lily eaten by the furnishing people.
Heavy rains have fallen, and the ground
is so soaked with water that the pota-
toes are rotting. The price of potatoes
has already doubled, and is still rising.
The peasant boards have sent petit
lions to the ministry praying that the
taxes and arrears of taxes be wiped out.
The petitioners declare that the govern
ment will be obliged to maintain the
impoverished people for fourteen
months, and that iG will be utterly i'm
possible for them to pay the taxes. A
circular has been issued by the minister
of the interior, which enumerates thir-
teen governments in which the people
are completely famine-stricken and
eight in which partial famine pre-
walls. Inc great fair, which is annually
held Mini Novgorod, and which is at
tended by merchants and dealers from
all parts of Russia, was a failure this
year. This was due to the enormous
number of bankrupts and their conse-
quent withdrawal from trade.
In many villages the peasants have
nailed up their huts and have left their
communes to scour the country in
search of work. Hundreds of them
have failed in their search and are beg
ging along the roadsides. In numerous
cases the seed corn which was fur
nished the peasants by the government
has been eaten instead of being planted
and the land is lying fallow. Not
outstanding the terrible condition of
the peasantry the taxes continue to be
eXtorted from the starving people.
Everything is taken from them to
satisfy the demands of the tax-gather-
ers. Where the peasants display any
unwiIlingnesS to pay over their taxes,
The collectors resort to physical means
to extort the money from them.