The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1899-07-02
The famine in Russia.

~ ~~thiNss@ ~ 0N~r~-a
cit Il not q matter Of famine. It Il
matter OF whole provinces OF people slow
y rotting to death from disease and ex-
haustIon-" Such was the opinion given to
me BY a retired Zemstvo doctor. whose
acquaintance I had made on the litile
steamer which conveys passengers from
the railway terminus at Syiazsk to the
Kazan side OF the volga. ] was begin
ming to feel disbelief in the existence OF
any serious distress In the district through
which we passed. Nowhere was there
a single trace OF the conventional signs
OF famine. For the last hundred versts
from the frontier Of the Kaxap govern
ment 20 the banks Of the VOlga We had
passed through a great level plain. bound
ed by a horizon as regular as the hori-
ION OF the sea. an immense garden OF rich
black soil covered with the freshest Of
green crops imaginable. That people
could starve here was incredible. And
that they did not starve seemed proven
At every railway station along the line
were throngs OF sturdy. sun-burned nut
Jiks, a good six inches taller than our
own peasants, leaning on their spades in
the fields or sleeping In the third-clsss
refreshment rooms IN every imaginable
position Nowhere was hungry face 10
be seen. At SviaZsk. where the Volga
years past. and laid the whole Of the
low-lying country under water. the same
signs Of prosperity continued. Even the
birds had not been forgotten. and scarce
~ hut was passed without a long pole
and dimlnutive sheaf Of corn on top No
body knew anything about the famine IN
these parts. At kazan they knew less.
And the government agents who came by
railway and steamer and saw a smiling
1ewz~ III
tion. went back to 81. Petersburg and re-
ported that the famine was exaggerated
or that IL did not exist at all.
The fact is, that wherever there Is a
railroad or a ravIgabIe river there IS no
famine. And where there Is a famine II
Is not TO be seen from the village stree.
All along the Volea. and nv the side 81
the KaZan railway the harvest 81 1S9S
failed just as utterly as IL did in the re-
hottest parts Of the government But the
position OF the people here was known
from the beginning. relief was "rra-
nized. and the peasants by the side
railway or OF n river are never wholly
dependent upon agriculture. The famine
existed. nevertheless. In the government
Of KaZan not a single drop Of rain fell
during the whole Of last summer. There
was absolutely no harvest. In most places
the crops were so short that II was i'm
possible to reap them. There was no
straw. there was no fodder. The people
had two failures II harvest. The spring
crops were ruined by the drought; the
summer crops never came up at all. The
potatoes were killed nv the early frost.
II was this that caused the outbreak OF
scurvy. for the Tartars do not eat green
vegetables. and from autumn onward
lived on nothing but black bread mixed
with berries. bark. leaves. goosefoot bran.
and rotten fruit. The horses and cattle
disappeared. In Simbirsk horses were
sold al six rubles n head. and in the
spring had to be rebought at thirty-five
rubles.
The cattle were killed. "You may take
Il from me-" said my steamer acquaint-
ance. who had made a tour Of investlga-
ton through the country that not
single peasant child born this year IN the
government Of Simbirsk will survive. Most
Of them were born already dead. When
they are born alive there is nothing u
feed them on" Wood was not 30 be
had for heating purposes. and the peas
ants ate their black bread. and never
tasted hot meal for months. The
matches were taken from the huts To
feed the cattle. When this was exhausted
the cattle were Killed. The horses had
long been sold. and whole villages re-
manned cut IN from all communication
with the outside world. Then the peooia
began TO die Of hunger and disease. The
newspapers were allowed 20 publish only
incorrect and mi'igated renorts and n
systematic attempt was made by the au-
thorities TO conceal that there was any
famine at all. though the same authnri-
ties were doing their best IN relieve II.
The relief works failed. for they were or
ganized too late. when the people were
tho exhausted tn come 10 the stations
When an American manufacture. near
Kszan. sent 10 the distressed districts, Of
fering good wages for workmen. he was
unable to get any. This fact was quoted
nv the government organs n provo that
there was no famine. The real explana-
tion was that the whole population Was
dGwn with scurvy and exhaustion. and the
few men I'm a condition 20 work were I'M
able 10 leave their families.
At the beginning ot the year scurvy
broke out among the people and has
kept on spreading I'LL there are now 100 .
0n0 down with u In the government ~
KaZan alone. This was particularly bal
among the Tariars and Basklrs The
Russians suffered far less. In The VII
Ees OF Satro and Novo-Tbraiklno. IN thH
TchIstopol TTyezd 81 KaZan. villages %
equal population in Identical conditions
anu SliudAfI 'fllN NuTt+ NFTNNH apart ~
were III IN the Tartar village and only
i25 in the Russian. This IS explained by
che feet that the Russians I've more
npsn-air lives than the TartaTs While The
Tartars. especially the women. among
whom scurvy Is most prevalent. 70 out ~
doors only when obliged ~. and ~ not
cultivate their kltchen-plois OF eat fruit.
Scurvy r. caused moro BY mou0'orous
than nv insufficient food. and IN many
eating - black bread ana the wE -
warm food The symptoms are inSeSorl-
baby horrible, and the pains suffered ir-
tense.
The distress among the Tartar. -
kris. and Christian peoples ~ east
er1 Russia was especially serious Near
the Russian villages a proprietor had
helped tho people out ~ their private
means. and used all their influence %
draw the attention ~ re Zernsfvos 20
the state ~ affairs Ru' the Tar'aTs ara
n-Chris'ian tribes had n rre-snanci-
patton times heIoaged 70 the Crown. and
a. = consequence. IN a hundred sIuars
miles ~ the territory SETTLED by them
sometimes rot a single proprietor Or per-
son ~ influence e. - - found Their
villages or vn1ovfr-Yor generally Tarfa-
villages are found in grV1rs. WITHOUT suy
Russian village intervenirE-a-s jo.-si
together BY oart-tracks and are rom
p1etelv cut ~ from the outside vo-f.
visited occasionally BY Tire leader "a ~
Zsmstvos aut IN mos. respects - iso-
lnted - = thev belonged = another en-
pre- In these villages burger carried ~
the people. and scurvy raEsf f1r rn0nfhs
without any srts-ra1 hei9 =sirs EF'- -
Correspondence London Chronicle. June
II
Southern Kansas Business Men
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