The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1905-08-23
IMPENDING FAMINE IN RUSSIA.
Comment on the Calamity That Has he.
fallen tho Hack Earth Region.

| WARSAW, Poland. Aug. "a great misfor-
tune has befallen the hundreds OF thousands
OF peasant farmers In the Black Earth OF
wheat raising region OF southern Russia.
series OF terrific storms has beaten large
part Of the standing grain into the Ground
and It 10 now certain that tho Russian wheat
crop. on tho whole. will DO q failure. This
| crop In good seasons is second In quantity
only to 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 Ia all.
Few persons outside OF Russia have . real-
lzing sense OF what suoh . calamity means
to the Russian peasant farmer His allot-
divided until each tlller Of the coll can barely
eke out q wretchod existence. II there 10
. partial crop failure he cannot procure
sunicient food. to say nothing Of the other
essentials OF life. This was the cause Of
the famine In 1891. . repetition Of whose
horrors Il now threatened.
The ofaolal rgess has very little TO SAY
about tho misfortune. but the opposition
newspapers are making the most OF 1t TO
advance their political ideas. Hero Is an
extract from the Russkva VisdomosH tRusslsn
Eews) OF yesterday:
The speoter Of famine again threatens
many provinces Of Russia. Tho dreadful
calamity 10 intensified by the present I'm
poverished condition OF the larger part Of
the farmers. Its effects might DO mitlgated
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 tho land2 The Government itself,
the benevolently inclined and the whole pub
lilo should be prepared to fight tho soourge.
But We cannot learn from the orfioial
press that the Government is doing any
thing TO avert the disaster. We hear Of
single handed efforts and OF city councils
advising immediate action. But how far
can private societies and civic organizations
extend helping hand when they have no
right In law fully to develop their philan-
thropio work. How far will merely pailia-
tive measures reach when We have before US
not cloudy vision Of hunger. but real hunger
with all It's awful consequences in the form
OF typhus. scurvy and other diseasesf-
The paper adds that the fight with famine
can be carried on succe ssfully only By asencles
near the people and possessing their full
confidence. and asks that full power In tho
matter be given to the zemstvos.
The Noratd Zaria NEW DAWN, q new
paper In Wilma. says that each succeeding
report from the wheat belt Is blacksr than
its Predecessors. 1t declares that the storms
oan be regarded only a. 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 Uspienskis
stories, who. when asked why he was 90 Door.
said: Merely lack Of food. sir No small
addition to his holding OF land will save the
Russian peaaant from the insufaciency Of
food. Tho Finnish peasant has no moro
Land than the Russian peasant, and 1t u much
poorer In quality. but he does not suffer
from hunger. But the Finn IL master OF bis
land. while the Russian Is it's slave.
Tho article asserts that the dense isno-
rance OF the Russian peasantry Is at the bottom
Of their misfortunes. II intellectual light Ia
ever permitted to illumine their darkened
minds they will have resources IN themselves
that will ward OF hun ger. There ID no ex-
cuse for fsmines In Russia. and they will
disappear when tho school has its proper
place In every hamlet of Russian PEASANTS.