The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1907-03-03
The President of the Committee

The President of the Committee,
PRINCE GEORGE LWOFF,
Volga Kama Bank. MOSCOW.
Shshkoff dcclcres that the present
famine bids fair to become one OF the
worst calamatles that his country has
ever experienced. In his own province
{ Samara, the grain gathered during the
past summer could barely keep tho
people alive until January. After the
first of the year the peasants We're
Obliged to subsist either on governs
ment or private assistance.
Two Million on Charity.
He estimates that about one third o..
the entire population Of Samara, or one
million souls, can exist on, the money
procured from the sale of cattle and
other property The remaining two mil.
lions must depend wholly on charity or
government relief, and to keep these pco-
pie from actual starvation there must be
| u generous response to the appeals for
| funds
| Two million dollars to keep 100000
people from starving in one province OF
Russia alone! That Is NIr. Shishkof.'s
estimate of the need in his home province
In more than twenty-five others thu
crops have been far below the average,
and in eight or ten there have been vir-
tually no harvests whatever. In Sana.a
the average quantity OF grain harvested
III 1906 was less than one hundred pounds
per acre; or less than half of the grain
sown Back as far as tho middle OF No
vember more than 100000 horses and
$4,000 mich COWS We're killed or per-
ishcd in this province alone.
Even now hundreds of thousands Of
people are on the verge of starvation,
and scurvy and tSphus are commencing
a N 10 no nj nna tl,n
want of foods thta makes the
peasants life so bitter; he has
sold most of his belongings, his
cattle have gone; his clothes and
tools have been sold. Even the
matched roofs have in many cases been
torn away exposing the occupants to
the frost of q Russian winter. Often two
or three. families crowd together in one
log house and tear down the other cot
tages to feed the remaining stove.
Soup kitchens" similar to the San
Francisco makcshifts for fccding tie
hungry after the earthquake have been
provided in many of the villages. Once
4 day the weaker members of the COM
munity can get q piece of black bread
and bowl of soup at these kitchens,
but too often many Of the most destitute
!. cannot come because they dare not. Mr..
Slish.Soff says that he has seen q, peas
ant carry one of his children to the
Kitchen. wrapped up in the remnants VI
n sheepSlSin cloak put the child, per-
fectly naked, on a bench, and return
TO his miserable shack to bring an
I other baby.
Suffering Terrible.
/ TOO often" said Mr.. Shishkoff. mat
4 ters are much worse than that; we are
4 powerless 10 give any help whatever u
4 large number OF villages In this case
the distress rapidly becomes truly tor
rlbc. Tho unfortunate peasants, after
selling al that can be sold, try to exc
! ont their last supply of rye flour or NIL
let by mfyng All kinds of eatable bu.
! useless ingredients with itr-bran, grass
seeds, chatt, and even straw. strongly
doubt II oven animals would touch this
stuff which was do!cd out In small por-
I tions to weak caildren'
1 The Russian government fully appre-
clates the crisis. and is doing its best
TO provide grain for the villages. But
al its efforts are insufficient, and private
charity can give but little.
Commenting on the famine of 1901 90.
4 Nh. shishkoff says:b
when the resources of the State We're
not crippled by " disastrous War, ana
when private charity in Russia alone gave
millions to our peasants. America ana
England, by their timely aud generous
aid helped US TO save thousands of
lives that would otherwise have Sue
eumbed TO the tortures of hunger. And.
nevertheless In our province of Samara,
the population was diminished by $4,000
souls.
what are we to expect now, when
the harvest is twice as bad, when the
crops have failed for two consecutive
years; when up to this time priyai1
bcneyolence has given barely two million
roubles instead OF seventeen!
when sixteen years ago, ] was ut
work on the famine relief committee of
sur province, and helped to distribute
the money contributed by English friends,
thought that a happy time would come
when my people would he able to repay
their dent 10 our generous brothers
abroad. But fate has ordained otherwise
and after four months spent in fruitless
efforts 10 relieve our starving millions
With our own feeble means | have de-
termined TO appeal once more 10 the
humanity Of the world.''