The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1899-05-13
7 FAMINE and FRATERNITY


nand means that gave rise in Paris to
the pubic charges Of treachery against
the french war department.. In order
70 satisfy public opinion it was necessary
60 ma scapegoat' and, as the anti
Semitic craze was then at ira, haigb+
Dreyfus, as the. only Hebrew member ~
the general staff, was selected for the
purpose, and 1.-The evidence against him
was 1abr1cate w. It is pretty generally
SHOWN, however, that the person who
furnished Russia with the drawings and
plans of the quick-firing gun was no less
parsonage than Gen. de Boisdeffre, then
cn1e1 OF the general staff, now dying In
olserace from cancer OF. the throat, while
the Russian parties to this conspiracy
were Gen. Obrutcheff, chief of the Rus
sian general staff. and Baron Mohrea-
hein, at that time Russian ambassador
on the banks of the Seine. 1t is a sig
nlncant fact that although Gen. Obrut-
chen, who Is married to French woman
and is the most intimate friend of Bois-
denre, was slated for the portfolio of
minister OF war; he was suddenly and SEN
| sstionally dismissed from office at the
same time as Baron Mohrenheim and
Gen. de Botsdeffre, and, like them, rele-
gated to dishonorable retirement, with
out any reason being given at the time
for this sudden disgrace.
1t Is because the French authorities
know that the publication of the secret
dossier containing evidence of the under
rand attempts on the part of Russia to
OBTAIN the drawings and working plans
or the new gun would bring about the
rupture OF the FrancO-RuSsian alliance
that they are so anxious to prevent the
nature of these documents from becoming
known. -
Although the Russian government has
had the drawings Of the French and of
the German quick-firing gums In it's pos
session for some time, it has not yet pro-
ceeded either to manufacture them or to-
take any steps to equip the army there
with. This delay is due to the enormous
expense which it would involve Russia
cannot spare the $GO, 900, 900 or $40. 600, 600
needed for the purpose without dipping
heavily into her war reserve. and not
only obstructing, but actually arresting.
her policy of expansion east of the Urals.
1t might still, perhaps, be managed were
1t not for the famine. But If, in addition
to the extensive relief made necessary
during the next few months, Russia is
called upon to incur the expense of re-
armang her entire artillery at once, 1t will
be impossible for her to carry on the
construction Of her railroads in Siberia,
toward the Indian frontier and in China,
besides subventioning the emperor of Co.
rea, Chinese statesmen and Central Asian
rulers.
It would be unjust. however to for
bear to ascribe to humanitarian motives
the peace conference upon which the car
has set his heart. Possessed of a keen
sense of the responsible of his lofty
office. he Is overwhelmed with horror by
the description of the misery that even
now prevails in the nineteen famine
stricken provinces. Y He naturally shrinks,
from spending millions upon the construc-
ton Of engines destined to destroy hu--
man life when by devotfng that same.
money to the relief of the stricken sub
jects he save hundreds of thousands
, hnr nf I, 1>x,
1t is difficult for foreigners to conceive
the terrible character of this famine now
raging in Russia. The official reports
adra1t that no less than nineteen prov
iness, with population of 10000, OOO are
affected by it, and it is worthy of note.
that the sufferers comprise not merely
tn peasantry. but likewise the landed
gentry and territorial nobility, who IN
many instances are seeking and obtain
ing government and even private relief.
The very thatch from the. roofs has been
consumed in food for the CATTLE which
have to such an extent succumbed to.
munger. that even in the agricultural dis
tricts least affected by the famine 80 per-
cent OF the rural population are without.
horses or cattle, and, therefore, without
means to plow their land. Hunger ty-
pnus mas broken out among the people,
With its usual accompaniment of bovine
typhus among the cattle, and Russia.
may therefore look for another visitation
OF the cholera, since this pestilence usu-
ally follows in the wake of famine. ..r
In some districts the starving poprlla-
lions have attacked and severely injured
the veterinary surgeons and government
officials sent to destroy the carcasseS of
the cattle which had succumbed to bo-
vine typhus, the meat, though black with
disease and putrefactlon, being ravenous-
~ devoured by the rioters. The loaves
q q 70 ,oo{r hroo
the goose-foct plant, which Is catalogued
IN the Russian .pharmacopoeia an
enetic, and animal dung. There ingredi-
ents are baked into hard, black mass,
like stone, and it fs for the sake of OBJ
tanning one of these loaves that every
committed. A sample of this bread,
which, according to official reports, forms
the sole sustenance Of 100000 men,
women and children, is exhibited in the
great cathedral at Kazan, with the OBJ
ject Of stimulating private charity. But
charity stands paralyzed and powerless
In the presence Of famine Of such mag
nitude. ~. IF -- 2 - b.
The responsibility for this famine. as for
that of 1892, lies at the doors OF the Rus
sian government far more than at the
gates of Providence. The complete failure
Of the crops last-year In almost every lati-
tude and longitude Of European Russia.
except Finland and the Baltic provinces.
was due mainly to the fact that the fields
have not been titled or sowed by the peas
'antry The government, in order to pro-
vide money for its standing army, had
confscated and sold for non-payment OF
taxes the agricultural implements, as
we'll as the horses, the cattle. the sheep,
the pigs and the poultry-in one village,
according to the St. Petersburg "Novoe
Vremya," the tax-gatherers seized every
chicken In the place. about six hundred
In ALL Formerly the peasants were able
to raise the cash requisite for the pur-
chase of seed and implements by pledging
a portion OF the crop to be grown; but
since; the Muscovite government resorted
to the policy of persecution and expulsion
OF Germans and Hebrews, who were the
only persons in Russia possessing the
means &of loaning money to the agricul-
tural population, the practice Of mort
vance has necessarily ceased. The gov
eminent has endeavored to take the place
Of the Jewish and German money-lenders
by establishing agricultural credit banks
for the landed gentry, as well as for the
peasantry. But in this, as In all Russian
government enterprises Of the same kind.
the dishonesty and corruption of the Rus.
sian officials high and low, serve to de-
prive these praiseworthy projects Of their
usefulness, ed render them not a bless.
ing, but a curse
careful Investigation made himself ac-
quainted with all these facts that he u
anxious to reform the service OF his gov.
eminent and to relieve the sufferings OF
his famine-stricken country before vast
Ing any more millions on the military
incubus OF nineteenth-century prosperity
and progress.