The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-12-17
Conditions of Peace Are Due
 Largely to England
FAMINE IN RUSSIA
Duma Attempted to Keep Secret the Real Conditions of Crop Fail- ure-Trade Conditions In
 Italy Very Serious
By FREDERICK WERNER

| eign policy of Great Britain clearly de- 1 fined by Sir Edward Grey, the political sky now looks brighter than 1t has done I for many months and diplomats are pre- l pairing to enjoy the holidays in peace | Not so, however, those who govern Ger many for with the election drawing nearer it becomes plainly evident that I the statements made by Sir Edward Grey. in the English House of Commons
 some three weeks ago, have given the
 German voters much food for reflection The feeling is gaining ground even | among the more conservative element that the fact that Germany is not now 1 engaged in a war, which might easily l be disastrous to her prestige, Is due
 mainly to the firm and dignifed politics of England.
 | The people of Germany have learned to see if they are to be allowed to con tinue their evolution in peace they must
 first of all put their own house In order | The danger of a great catastrophe, such as threatened Germany during the whole
 summer and fall. has aroused, In the
 people, an earnest determination to pre- | vent a similar condition from occurring | again.
 No longer will the voters be satisfied
 with promises and minor reforms they demand a thorough and widespread re-
 form of the official press, and they real l ize that the greatest danger lies in the
 ract that ministers are chosen without | the cooperation of the people that they run the country without consulting the people or their representatives and that | they remain in office not as long as the I people want them, but as long as their | politics please the kaiser
 | The intimate relations between gov | ernment and people, which are absolutely necessary to the healthy evolution of the German empire, are to be brought about only by a powerful and democratic reichstag and there is every indication I that the one now to be elected will rep resent the German people better than any of it's predecessors.
 While the general international sit uation has momentarily improved, warning voices are not lacking against overconfidence in the future, for the many realize that crises like the one just passed are likely to occur again. The interests of the great powers now adays practically take in the whole world and 1t is next to impossible to avoid a clash somewhere A germ of danger exists in the question of what is to become of the Spanish colony of hlO MuIll ana Ol VI OAl HiiASh Germany holds an option. French news papers are even now asserting that England will veto the transfer of the coast of Spanish Guinea and Fernando Pc to Germany, though this is at pres ent denied in England. The question of the Portuguese colonies in Africa is bound to become acute some day and the final disposal of the Belgian Congo state is also apt to give rise to com loIi time in the future.
 There are explosives enough stored in Africa but if the people are to be allowed to have a voice in foreign pol tiles all these troublesome problems will be solved without any breach of peace.
 A power like Germany of today with its immense commercial expansion, with it's rapidly increasing population cannot go back and once more become merely commercial and agricultural state. It must develop it's exports, open up new mark cts, acquire new colonies, but the whole nation is firmly deter mined that this must be done without bloodshed or war
 The Russian duma, the public and | the press were very much concerned to | find out that the much talked of par I tial failure of the crops this year is not merely a failure of the crops, but | a downright famine of a very serious kind. The Russian bureaucracy has always tried to hide a real famine un- der the name of partial failure of the
 crops and the mistake has generally
 been discovered only after much suf- fering on that part of the population
 remote from the great centers.
 In the present case, the accounts oi 1 the terrible state of affairs given by duma deputies and members of the | clergy has quite swept away all mod | crate views. The premier recently pad, | a long speech to show that by assign I ing 10000 roubles out of the overf1owins
 exchequer and ordering relief work, ev
 erything necessary and possible was be
 ing done. This has been the subject O | heated debate and severe criticism il
 the duma for several days past, ant
 evidence proves that Russian admins trative business. in spite of constitution
 al reform, is still being run on the ol' lines. One duma orator proposes tn dismissal of all the governors of tn | affected provinces for not having fore
 warned the central authorities of tn extent of the calamity.
 With starvation staring large number of the rural population in the face, of ficial Journalism interferes everywher with private initiative. Local official
 
 efforts of public charity, which are no
 first sanctioned by the government 10 fear of political propaganda. While tn Moscow papers were allowed to collec
 about 5000 roubles this month for tn
 bankrupt and famished peasantry, tn
 local press organs of Perm, In the eas | and Archangel, in the north, have bee
 forbidden to continue the subscriptio lists already opened in their columns. Dtp h blrax ifah nna
 of the duma, has proposed that all der uties should forego half their salarie for this month for the sake of sendin immediate relief. The present famine l
 some eleven provinces in Eastern Rus
 sia and Siberia is said to be far wors than the great one of 1891. when Amer
 can money was gathered for the Russia
 sufferers who were living. or rather dS
 ing. on bread made from birch bark an
 sand. Even M. Kokovtseff admits ths
 the result of the harvest. for instance,
 the province of Orenburfi, Is 86 per cer
 less than the requirements Of that or large territory. There are districts wner
 less than 70 pounds of wheat has pea
 gathered from nearly three acres of ian'
 Public relief work is so badly planne
 that a deputy from Samatra states Una
 in the absence of anything more T. !, tional. peasants are to be employed
 removing snow from one district to ar
 other. Bishop Dionysius of Cheiie ) btnsk declares that the peasants ar imploring the clergy to prepare tnel for death by receiving their conies
 sion and administering the last rte ! of the Orthodox church. A special ar
 neal has been made to tho duma fc the rural priests. who are more threa ened with starvation than the member ) of their flocks, as they are not SUI l posed to participate in ordinary reil'