The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1892-04-15

the domestic animals. the horse in.
uded, have long since been eaten
Tor food. Even the supply of roots,
dug out OF the ground, has failed
And as climax to the horrors of
famine, typhus fever is carrying bund-
reds Of the stricken colonists.
10 save themselves from death by
starvation thousands have migrated to
different sections of the vast Russian
empire, only to find similar conditions
existing elsewhere.
Th )se who rema ned on the Vo'ca
have depended upon charity to exc
out miserable existence. The
Government has extended limited
aid, but not always with impartiality.
Those favoring toe Orthodox" state
church nave beei preferred to Luth
erans and dissenters.
To the misery of famine has been
added the want OF fuel. Neither wood
nor coal is to e had. The fuel in
common use is compressed mixture
of peat and barnyard manure! And
of this there is but a limited supply.
for cattle and horses have long since
disappeared. Countless thousands
have already perished OF famine and
fever AM cold. 1t is no longer
question of how many shall die, but
how many may yet be saved
The outlook for the future is gloomy
indeed. The condition of the rye
and winter wheat sown last fall, under
unfavorable circumstances, is not at
all assuring. Another failure of the
crops would mean the utter extinction
of the Volga settlements. Emigra-
ton en- mdsSe to this country, if the
means could lie provided, would seem
to be the last and only hope of the
starving people. Churches and
schools are closed, for the communi-
ties are unable to provide for pastors
and teachers.
If now inquiry be made, why SO
large an area of fertile country, hither-
to blessed with immense crops, should
be SO completely ruined within so
short time, several reasons may be
given.
The destruction Of the o.ests along
the Volga is no doubt a primary
cause of the drought prevail ,g for the
past seven years. Another reason is
the faulty system of land tenure. The
farming lands are government property
and are leased for term not exceed
ing five years,
Under this system several genera.
tons OF tenant farms have simply ex
hausted the fertility of the soil. Un-
certain as to their lease, and not being
compensated for their Improvements,
they have persistently failed to feed
the land, and so have failed to feed
themselves in the end
In addition to these material reasons
there are moral causes which have
aided in the ruin of the colonistr.
During the years of great plenty
growing carelessness marked the con-
duct of the people. The masses were
content to live in the spirit of the
heather motto: "Let us eat and drink,
for tomorrow we die" And even the
spiritual leaders of the people failed to
read the handwriting on the wall
Besides the churches and schools,
whose development was not such as to
meet the greater demands of an in
creasing population, no societies for
social, moral, or political improvement
have existed. In all that vast area of
farm lands, at least 100000 actual
tillers of the soil, not single agricul-
tural society is to be found to encour-
age an intelligent cultivation of the
soil. All social conditions are exceed
ingly primitive. The people live in all
respects just as they did one hundred
years agol
This reasoning will of course not
save the starving remnants still surviv-
ing. The helping hand of charity, al
ready so nobly extended from this and
other lands, can alone prevent the
utter extinction of these sufferers
Out of their miseries there speaks to
us Divine voice: "But to do good
and to communicate forget not, for
with such sacrifices God is well pleas
ed. ."--Luthsran Observer.
Catarrh Cant Re (jured