Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1892-05-12
THE FAMINE IN RUSSIA.
A Narrowing Story of Destitution and
starvation Oyer Large Territory.
Csn,apnofcnfod
Communicated

n narrowing Story Oi DestitutiOh anu
Starvation owr Large Territory.
On the morning of such lovely day MS
this, when we can see as scarcely as ut any
other time the power and goodness of God
Mt work in nature, It's sad to realize that
there are from fourteen TO sixteen millions
in absolute want of the necessarieS OF life
aud dependent upon measures OF relief for
continued existence. Yet this is the
simple truth. The area over which the
Russian famine prevails is ten times rs
large as tie state OF New York. 1t contains
n population of thirty millions. To say
that one-half of this vast population are in
utter, helpless dcstitution, without food
and without the means of getting it, seems
incredible But this statement docs not
present the full magnitude of the scourge.
Besides the millions who may he described
as completely dependent, there are other
millions who are reduced to ablect penury.
and who can sustain themselves to the
next harvest only, in the. most pre-,
carious way. And TO this reign of
gaunt hunger must be added the
rayages OF disease, the epidemic of
typhus, the suffering from the seventies
OF an unexceptionally rigorous winter, the
decrease of stock and destruction OF ma
terial and the consequent difficulties of re-
covering from this slate of affairs and we
have a picture OF widespread distress
which can hardly be overdrawn. The
great staple Of Russia is rye-and rye
bread is the staff Of life for the peasant,
but the fatal blight of 1891 brought de-
ficit of GIGS. 100000 pounds. of rye-and
that deficiency of rye is equal to the guam
tity Of food lat the rate OF 5z2 pounds for
one person annually needed for the susie
nance of i2,965,5l7 persons for year
While there was a surplus. in some parts,
there was large deficit in others, and
with the limited means OF communication
it was impossible to have the amount in
| full equally distributed.
| But, as said before, the primary ex'
| PLANTATION of this partial failure of the
| crops was the terrible drought in 1891
| Over a large part of the afflicted territory
| five months passed without drop of rain,
and during portion of this time burn
| ing sun blistered the parched soil and
| withercd every vestige OF vegetation
| Through the spring the fierce winds from
the east swept over the unsheltered steppe:
and blasted the early promise. The win
| ter of lS9O-1S9l was one of little snow, anc
| the unprotected frozen soil drank less thar
| the usual moisture from that source
Then. ordinarily, the Volga spreads lik,
the Nile, over the plains along some part.
Of its border, and nurtures coarse gras!
which serves as fodder. But even thi.
Of suroks, or Siberian marmots,
species of prarie-rat, made their ap
pearance in some provinces, anC
having lost their usual granaries committee
great ravages. What the peasants cal
blight ht-clouds-myriads of insects darken
ing the skies--hovered over the land, anS
wherever they rested they left a desert
And. finally, in estimating the causes
something must be attributed to the primi
| "A m hnHl nf ,aItltitrutinn
Through wide districts no potatoes wert
planted. 10 the Russian peasantth yearl,
crop is everything, lie saves. little o
nothing, but one harvest carries him I,
the next. The crop means not only food
but clothing. fuel, fodder, taxes. farm
neccssities, and all the requirements of hi
simple life. When it fails, everything
fails with it.
1t is terrible enough to think OF 1900,
600 OF people on the brink of starvation
and saved only by outside relief-but il
addition the season has been the coldes
for many years--and this year there is
famine of fuel us well as food and il
many cases several families were oblige,
to huddle together i'll single cottage, an
to tear up the thaiched roofs Of abandone
homes, To cut up the planks of empt
barns, to seize even the wooden plough
and everything that would burn in orde
to keep from freezing. The crop of fla
failed and there has been none 10 spin, $
that they are suffering from want of clot1
| ing. Ii is not an uncommon spectacle 10 Sc
wan, pale, hollow-cheeied girl prosentin
herself at the sOup-kitchen i'll the ragge
coat of her father, in the ancient boots Q
her mother, and with some sort Of coars
sacking for her only dress. Think of sue
distress. VIII not each one who read
this resolve to give something, howeve
, small We have each to give IN aceour
of what we have done with olir talents
, stop and think What can | do in thi
case, will do and give what | can in Ill
name" Contributions however small al
| taken at the First National Bank. See
wheat seed and potatoes, or the means
, purchase these, are needed for the Ru
slams. Let Wilmington do her best in tn
! matter. The present question is simpl
, one OF fact and OF humanity. SO lit
, suiiices for the Russian peasant, that SUI
r equivalent to 70 cents, will sustain life fC
q month.
, There are single families in Russi
} taking care of 20,0O0 people. The wome
9 especially have come forward with col
, secraion and self-sacrilicc which con
do? 1t is the belief OF the people OF
Petersburg that the car has given frol
I ! his private purse, gifts amounting
+. fifteen or twenty times all the contrib
tions of all the world outside of Rlissi
! If each person who reads tins would gil
7 even dime, quite Il nice sum would
: realized. THE Lord loveth cheerf
a giver."
Y Bishop Coleman has directed that all Il
4 collections in the Episcopal churches
I this city last Sunday be given to Il
: Russian famine fund. viii not church
and Sunday-schools of other dcnomin
tons follow this example and set apa
the collections of one Sunday?
n W. L. S.