New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1891-10-25
A STRICKEN PEOPLE.
FAMINE AND PESTILENCE IN A SCORE a.
RUSSIAN PROVINCES.
ST. Petersbhr1- Octoba-

ST. Petersburg, October I,
| The mixture of feasting and famine. the a..
tesque alterations Of plenty and poverty. Ia,
are to be seen in Russia to-day. scarcely ha-.
been eaualled in any other country. They vonI,
be impossible to-day in any land save Russ,
The area of the Empire is so vast, and the p..,.
of communication between different proyine.. :.
meagre. that it may truly be said that one.h,s
Of Russia knows not how the other half w.
While 30,OOOO00 people in certain provinc..
are starving, the prosperous millions In otb,,
provinces are selling for expectation their teen.
| ing surplus of grain and other articles Of fdsx
How great has been the sale Of grain to forei,,
| purchasers in this hunger year may be ssa
mated from the fact, reported by official ustk
! ticians, that about 100000 pools Of rye han
, been exported this year more than last yea,
The expectation of buckwhcat and potatoes wgl
goes on. There is some talk Of the Government,
| stopping it, but no one believes such action Will
be taken Such an cutlery has been raised oyr
the order forbidding the expectation OF OiLcaE,
that il will probably be modified, II not alto
gether rescinded.
Recent travellers through the Caucasus riv.
bcwildering reports Of the profnsion Of grain
| which they saw there. So abundant were No
harvests that the barns and houses were no
I nearly sufficient to hold the grain. The railroad
stations are almost buried under stacks Of ban
filed with grain awaiting shipment The raj.
road managers have refused TO carry any ohs
freight until they can get the grain moved o.,
of the way. And yet, in adjacent provinces
few miles away from the line Of the railroad he
| most dire distress prevails In TambOw, FOR e1.
annie. cows are being sold for SO and horses
! for 80 because their owners have no fodder with
which to keep them alive II is said that speouh
| tors from other parts of the Empire are taking
| advantage of this distress They are buying ne
horses and cattle Of these starving peasants, and
driving them TO other provinces. where tsy
readily sell them again for ten or twenty tins
| their cost.
The worst situated provinces In the whole en-
pire are Kasan and Simbirsk. They are on VI
Volga and that river affords practically the cng
| highway of communication with them, for hsI
have no railroad and no wagon-roads worthy o.
the name The people there are entirely destitute
Some supplies are being sent TO them by the ri'er
But when ice stops navigation the people VIII
be practically out Of reach of help To convey
them food by wagon trains would he lmpoSbe.
Even now the people are in horrible straits ne
Metropolitan of st. Petersburg has been exhibiting
in his cathedral loaf of the bread eaten by TIE
peasants of Simbrisk. 1t is quite black, and s.
closely kneaded that it presents the appearances
clod of earth. 1t is also covered with mlldes
This bread is made Of a mixture OF chan and
plant of the genus chenopodium, sometimes called
pigweed. The loaf was sent to the metropolitan
by the Bishop of Simbrisk, who has been making
a, tour through his diocese TO ascertain the eAtsa
of the distress The herb used in the manufactuR
of this starvation bread is highly injurious 70
health those who eat it gradually losing ther
strength and contracting complaints which oiea
have fatal issue.
Reports of terrible sufferngs come also from The
province of Tambow. Travellers say that a.
along the railroad, and especially around the 81
lions, are crowds of thousands, gaunt, huhp5
diving. They have abandoned their homes, whee
the last crumb has been eaten, ana have nocEei
in despair to the railroad, recognizing IN ne
one link that unites them with the prosperous
world outside. There they beg piteousy Of gu
passengers and there they are dying and oens
buried by their dying comrades where they hL
In Samara only two per cent Of the people nave
a winters supply of food, and more than onethn
of the inhabitants are absolutely destitute
In addition to the famine, pestIlences have cone
upon the people. Scurvy and typhus fever as
raging in many places. Moreover there is nuca
| trouble arising from the baser passions OF some Of
| the people. Peasants beg for grain, for seed "
for food. Having got it, they go away and selIs
and then come back and beg for more Inc
money lenders, too, are reaping harvest from De
woes of their fellows. These usurer, or koosn'
as they are called. are none Of them Jews, DIV
Orthodox Russians. They make business
lending money on mortgages, at eXorbltant n's
of interest; and after the mortgage Is partly pau
they foreclose the remainder and manage 10 cOH
fiscate the whole of the property.
Equally important with the work OF leedns
the hungry is that Of supplying seed grain
that the land may he planted for next Year,
harvest. This is difficult task, for the starving
people persist in using the seed grain for food Sga
is the case all through Taransk, OurlounsK. as S
mysk and vialka. Nearly half of the arabic lal.
is lying fallow although seed for planting rNws w.
sent to the people They had already sold OF nlss
their horses and cattle, and so could not piePSs
the land for planting And they we've starving
So they devoured the seed grain. And next yes.
the famine in the provinces will he worse tnAA
ever.