Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-12-19
GOVERNMENT FROWNS ON
EFFORTS TO AID STRICKEN
Starvation Threatens Large
Numbers of the Peasants
in Russia.
Foreign Correspondence Of The Star.


ST. PETERSBURG. December 4. 1911.
The Russian duma, the public and the
press are much concerned to find out,
more or less suddenly, that the much
talked OF partial failure of the crops this
year. as so often before in the history
OF Russia's chronic harvest deficits. is
not merely failure Of crops. but down.
right famine Of a serious kind. The
Russian Bureaucracy has always tried
to hide a real famine under the name of
partial failure Of the crops. and the
mistake has generally been discovered
only after much suffering on the part OF
the populations remote from the great
centers.
In the present case the accounts Of the
terrible state of affairs given by duma
deputies and members of the clergy have
quite swept away all moderate views
The premier recently made a long
speech to show that by assigning 12O,-
exchequer and ordering relief work
everything necessary and possible was
being done. This has been the subject
or heated debate and severe criticism i'm
the duma for several days, and evidence
from this source and the papers proves
that Russian administrative business i'm
spite OF constitutional reform, il still be-
ing run on the old lines. One duma ora
tor proposes the dismissal of all the gov
ernors OF the affected provinces for not
OF the extent Of the calamity.
Starvation Threatens Many.
With starvation staring large num-
bers Of the rural population in the face
omcial Journalism interferes every
where with private initiative Local
onicials still go on suppressing all the
combined efforts of public charity
which are not first sanctioned by the
government. for fear of political prop
uganda. While the Moscow papers were
allowed to collect about 10000 roubles
this month for the bankrupt and fam
ished peasantry. the local press organs
OF Perm. In the east. and Archangel, in
the north, have been forbidden to con-
ttnue the subscription lists already
opened in their columns
The prime minister was visited re-
Gently by q deputation representing
twenty different medical. benevolent and
technical societies in st. Petersburg fol
the purpose of persuading him to per-
NIT them to send relief and doctors to
the distressed districts on their own
1t. No public organized relief would be
allowed. Everything must be sent
through the Red Cross Society. which
Is entirely government military insti-
tuition.
M. Purishkevitch, one Of the members
of the duma. has proposed that all dep
uties should forego half their salaries
for this month for the sake Of sending
immediate relief.
Worse Than 1891 Famine.
The present famine in some eleven
provinces of eastern Russia and ST.
IBERIA is said. to be far worse than the
great one Of 1891, when foreign money
was gathered for the Russian suffer
ers, who were living, or rather dying
on bread made from birch bark and
sand. Even NJ. Kokovtseh admits tina,
the result of the harvest-for instance
in the province Of Orenburg-is SO pel
cent less than the requirements of thai
ono large territory. There are dis
tricts where less than forty pounds OF
wheat has been gathered from nearly
three acres of land.
Public relief work Is SO badly plan
Il ned a deputy from Samatra states. that
in the absence of anything more ra-
tional peasants are to be employed In
removing snow from one district to an
other. Bishop Dionysius Of Chelia-
imploring the clergy to prepare them
for death by receiving their comics.
sions and administering the last rite:
of the Orthodox Church. A special ap.
peal has been made to the duma fol
the rural priests. who are more threat
ened with starvation than the members
of their focks. as they aye not sup
posed to participate in ordinary relies
from the government