The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1899-06-29
POOR HUMANITY.
Millions Starving in Russia.

While Car Nicholas is posing as a father
of his beloved Russians and a champion of
disarmament and suspension of war pre-
parations in the interest of humanity, the
VOlga and other provinces of Russia are
scourged by the worse famine that has ever
visited the empire. The scurvy epidemic
resulting from the famine has swept away
the populations of village after village. The
lowest estimate of the cases of scurvy in
VOlga territory is about half a million, but
according to reliable advices, this number
should be doubled Last winter fuel was
scarce and the horse flesh put by in the
autumn rotted for want of salt. and the
peasants crowded together in their poor
huts to keep warm and, of course, scurvy
broke out through the unwholesome condi-
tions. The government has granted $780,
900, 900 for relief, but. millions are suf-
fering in the Volga district, and elsewhere,
the money has not gone very far, especially
as the government officials are known to
have pocketed considerable portion of it
for their own detection. 1t appears that
this awful famine led the car to send out
his peace propositions on the suggestions
of the finance minister that the demand for
vast ornaments had impaired his fine pro-
gram for the betterment of Russian agri-
culture and produced a famine, through lack
of means to carry out the benefcent pro-
gram. Doubtless the necessity for COM
plotting the Siberian railroad had something
to do with the cars desire for breathing
spell for expenditures for army and navy
Also Tostoi ascrbes the famine to the de-
generacy of the peasants, which means that
they are very imprOvident and drink too
much strong native brandy for their own
good. OF course the peasants can't make
rain, and the lack of it has, In some dis
tricts, caused the famine. Even the sum-
mer crops in the Odessa districts are threat
ened.
Meanwhile medical attention is entirely
inadequate to the necessities of the people
tens of thousands Of whom have literally
nothing and women and children are the
chief sufferers. From the Ural mountains
to Moscow and for 10 or II degrees north
and south this CHASTITY plague spot stands
terrible rebuke to Russian ineficiency to
deal with emergencies The visitation is
worse than that of 1892. An autocratic
government ought to be able to prevent
such suffering and to perfect system OF
agriculture which would minimize the
effects Of drought. But Russia is helpless.
and even the relief funds for the destitute
are plundered by the Russian officials. The
cars kind of government is conspicuousy
paternal and it should be an object lesson
Just now to paternalfstically inclined
Americans 1t may serve to disillusionize
them and take the glamor from their eyes.
This concluding comment is mis-
placed. The men in this country, who
are talking about "paternalism," are la
boring to make our government as
much as possible like that of Russia.
They want the people to have no voice
in affairs; they want military bureau
cracy and an aristocracy of wealth;
they want rings, trusts and combina-
tions of thieves to reduce the people to
COssack conditions.
The "paternalism' the Populists
advocate is that in which the people
will look after their own affairs with
paternal care and will eliminate those
who plumber them.
Is it not dreadful to think of Russias
immense armies, the universal social
rottenness, the cost of royalty and no.
bility, while millions are starving?
And then a fool charges the drought
to drunkenness! AS if, when men suf-
fer for lack of sufficient nourishment,
they do not inevitably turn to stimu-
1ants to create false life. The best
cure for intemperance is prosperity,
growing out of just laws. The greatest
breeder of drunkenness is injustice and
oppression.
The Russian tyranny, and every royal
government of the same kidney should
be wiped of the face of the afflicted
earth. Id.