The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1891-10-06

for Bread-Children Submitted to Con.
tagious Diseases to Says them from
Death by Hunger.
ST PETERSBURG, Sept. 30.-EX.
tremely unfavorable reports are receive
Lere regarding crop prospects through.
out the Empire. Six provinces reports
PROBABLE failure otcrops, while in scv.
erol others they will be much below the
average. Moscow advices say that q
destructive worm has made Its appear.
ance IN that province. Unless these
accounts are exaggerated there is every
probability OF return oil famine next
year.
Our ST Petersburg correspondent,
writes: While the horizon of the En-
pire is black with war clouds, more
subtle and persistent foe has entered Tho
| Cars kingdom and is making sad havoc
" th his Epeople. Tho failure, of The
crops is every day increasing the distress
OF the poorer classes; and many are The
harass,ig tales which are told of tho
misery they are forced TO endure.
The Iemstyos Coca! legislatures OF
more than twenty provinces have ap.
pcalcd to the relief tuud OF the Empire,
but the answer has not been one to in
slirc hope. Their demands were placed
at the lowest possible amount, but not
in one single instance were they com.
piled with. In some cases but a tenth
of the sum asked was given, though In
others the dlsbursers OF the fund were a
little more generous. Still the sums
granted are so utterly at variance with
the requirements the destress people
the Zemstvos finds it difficult mat
ter TO discriminate as to the most needy.
The peasants in the stricken districts
are grouped so closely that 1t is impossi-
Bile to relieve the wants of all on the
limited supply OF money allowed. The
relief fund is already exhausted aud tho
Government refuses TO render further
| assistance. The ukuse which came into
force on August 27, and which was
promulgated to prevent the export of
rye, instead of bettering the condition OF
the peasantry only tended to increase
their misery. The price ofrye has since
that date risen rapidly. In fortnight
the price rose from GO to no kopecks
per pood. The Russian people com
PLAIN that in issuing the edict sufficient
time was permitted to clapse to enable
the spectators to fulfil their contracts,
and that when August 81 dawncd all the
rye which had been on the market had
been exported. This was a cruel Unjust
| ice, and IL has been followed by the most
serious cOnseQuen
| OUTBREAKS OF THE pEAsANTRY.
Numerous outbreaks have occurred in
| several Of the provinces. In the town
| OF Shawl, which is the corn mart OF the
province OF kovnO. the maddcncd pOpu-
lace took possession Of the railway sta
| ton, while others formed themselves
INTO bands and went out on the high
| ways 10 intercept all carts containing
| corn. The police attempted to arrest
| the rlnglcaders, but the crowd interfered
and rescued their companions. The
| Chief Of police then called upon the Mill
tary TO assist him in restoring order.
Through the efforts Of the latter the rot
was suppressed, but we have not been
informed If violence was resorted to.
Nearly all of the provlences have
passed through similar experience.
On the 18th OF August a town in the
province of Wilma was the scene OF q
wild outburst OF fury Oh the part OF the
populace. a crowd, headed by num-
Der ofJcws, took possession OF IL Quantl-
ty OF corn stored at the station ready for
export and emptied 1T into field alUn !.
line OF railway. The crowd watched
over the precious commodity until night
closed about the scene.
In this latter riot the women were the
most active participants. After the
arrival OF the police the railroad officials
attempted to start Il train, but the peO.
pie prOstratcd themselves Oh the rails,
shouting: 1--WE would rather die is
Siberia than starve here!"
The people in the provinces of Gre at
Russia bear their suilerlr with greater
| iortituGe than those Of the western part
oi the Empire, but when riots do occur
they assume more serious proportions.
| The people are of more phieum ltiC
temperament, but when once aroused
| they are more violent. In several places
the grain repositories were raided and
deprived Of their coveted store. In each
case the pcasantry not onl OverpOwcrcd
the police, but also the military in their
mad struggle for the life sustaining gram =.
| In the kuban Province the officials or.
dered the cattle TO be destroyed, alty-
| ing as an excuse that they were dis.
eased. This the people denied, SAY Ing
that the animals, like themselves, were
slowly starving. The military we're
called out TO enforce the order. but the
| peasants attacked them aud many Of the
| rioters were killed.
| DREADFUL SCENES CIIRONICLED
In some of the famne-strcken dis
!ricts the scenes witnessed are beyond
description. Troops o. peasants wan.
der from village to village, begging
yiteously and crying, Give us bread!
| Bread for Chlits's sake" The appeal
is always vain one, for the cond ton #
one peasant is no better than that oi
his fellow, and the applicant turns away
muttcrlng, ut is always the samc--nO
| bread"
In some OF the villages a small Quan.
Lity Of flour is dolcd out to oach family.
1t is of the poorest quality, and Tic bread
made from 1t is scarcely fiji TO eat. In
many OF the homes no food has been
cooked since Easter, the people subsst.
ing on the small portion Of bread which
has been supplied TO them though char.
| ity.
In some instances mothers, crazed by
| starvation, have subjected their chiidrc n
To contagious diseases, hoping thereby
to hasten the end, believing that d,a lh
by that means would be preferable To the
lingering one of starvation. Tnosc ui
the peasants who are able to make their
way IN iI,n lhrJp riiipa 1,, on i'm thn b.,,,