The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1905-08-23
IMPENDING FAMINE IN RUSSIA.
Comment On the Calamity That HAS mo-
fallen the Black Earth Region.

WARSAW. Poland. Aug. "a great mislor-
tune has befallen the hundreds OF thousands
of peasant farmers In tho Black Earth or
wheat raising region OF southern Russia.
series OF terrific storms has beaten a large
part OF the standing grain into the GROUND.
and II ID now certain that the Russian wheat
crop. on the whole. win be a failure. This
crop In GOOD seasons Is second In duantlty
only 10 that Of the United States, and many
millions OF bushels are exported. But the
vast majority Of the farming population
does not share In this prosperity. They get
enough TO eat-and that is all.
Few persons outside of Russia have a real
iElnR sense OF what such calamity means
to the Russian peasant farmer. His allot-
nent Of land, originally small, has been sub
divided until each tller Of the soil can barely
exc out wretohed existence. II there Ia
. partial crop failure he cannot procure
sufficient food. TO say nothing OF the other
essentials Of life. This was the cause OF
the famine In 1901. repetition OF whose
horrors Ia now threatened.
The Official press has very little to say
about the misfortune. but the opposition
newspapers are making the most OF 1t to
advance their political ideas. Here In an
extract from the Russkva Vicdo,nosti Russian
Eews) Of yesterday;
The speoter OF famine again threatens
many provinces OF Russia. The dreadful
calamity Is intensified by the present i'm
poverlshed condition OF the larger part Of
the farmers. Its effects might be mitigated
BY prompt and rational measures The
widest publicity should be given to the ter
rible results OF the recent storms. Does
the Government realize that famine IL not
merely impending, but that hunger already
stalks In the land? The Government itself.
the benevolentiy inclined and the whole pub
lie should be prepared to fight the scourge.
But We cannot learn from the orflciai
press that the Government is doing any
thing to avert the disaster. We hear OF
single handed efforts and Of city councils
advising Nimmed late action. But how far
can private societies and civic ORGANIZATIONS
extend q helping hand when they have no
right In law fully to develop their philan-
thropic work? How far will merely pallla-
tive measures reach when we have before us
not cloudy vision Of hunger, but real hun ger
with all Its awful consequences In the form
| Of typhus. sourvy and other diseases7"
The paper adds that the fight with famine
can be carried on successfully only by agencies
near the people and Possessing their full
confidence. and asks that full power in the
matter be given to the zemstvos.
The Nopaid Z1ria New DAWN, new
paper In Wilma. says that each succeeding
report from the wheat belt Ia blacker than
! its predecessors. 1t declares that the storms
can be regarded only az the incidental cause
| OF the approaching famine. and that the real
| difficulty is chronic and is summed up in
the reply of the peasant in one of Uspiensk i's
stories, who when asked why he was 80 poor,
said Merely lack OF food, sir No small
addition to his holding OF land will save the
Russian peasant from the insufficiency Of
food. The Finnish peasant has no more
land than the Russian peasant. and it is much
poorer in quality. but he does not suffer
from hunger. But the Finn ia master of his
land. while the Russian Is its slave.
The article asserts that the dense ieno-
| rance OF the Russian peasantry lie at the bottom
OF their misfortunes. II intellectual light IL
ever permitted to ilumine their darkcned
| minds they will have resources in themselves
that will ward on hunger. There lie no ex-
cuse for famnes in Russia. and they will
disappear when the school has it's proper
place in every hamlet of Russian peasants.