Evening star., 1918-07-12

being employed by the PetrOErad
boIshevikI. They are buSying them
selves exclusively with making money
out of the famine-stricken people and
taking the necessary md desperate
steps by armed terrorixation to pre-
vent the great preponderance of the
population, who loathe them for their
want of constructive betterment, from
brushing them aside and stnndinG
shoulder to shoulder I'm the work for
the regeneration of Russia.
BAsSETT DIGBY.
BY BASSETT DIGBY.
Cablegram to The Evening Star and
Chicago Daily News. Copyright. 1913.
STOCKHOLM. Sweden. July Ill
have just seen copy of statement
which a well known Finnish citizen
in Petrograd. DIR. Karl Tiander. wrote
in June. which sums up the situation
there from his point of view. l cable
it practically complete. only minor
details being omitted. First, DIR. IL
ander describes the bolshevik food
administration, whose alleged graft
and mismanaCement are, he says, re-
! sponsible 10 a considerable degree for
the present famine conditions. Food
distribution in Petrograd, according
to DIR. Tiander. is in the hands OF a
food commission which sells to pri-
vate cooperative associations such
scant supplies as are available. The
cooperative associations are organ
lied partly according to the work of
10
the localities. The result of this is
that many persons are members or
two cooperative associations, one
composed of fellow workmen and one
of the dwellerS in the apartment
house in which they live. Although
the population has decreased by many
thousands. food cards are still issued
and the food commission is making
. piles of money in selling these cards
for its own profit.
The worst abuses occur in the COM
mission. Any one with an acquaint-
ance on its staff easily obtains ra-
tions which otherwise could not be
procured. To he employed by the food
commission is considered great luck.
The peoples bitterness against it has
developed into mania for revenge
and this will be wreaked mainly upon
those concerned with the food man.
agement and upon the hangerS-on.
many of whom are Jews. When A
hunger revolt does come. il will take
the form of anti-Semitic pogroms, the
like of which the world has not yet
seen. The severance of the Ukraine
from Russia has deprived Petrograd
of its normal food supplies. In April
the bread ration was reduced from
quarter of pound to two ounces. and
in May it was reduced to one ounce.
Recent arrivals say that recently for
several days together Petrograd was
entirely without bread.
Soviet Point of View Differs.
at is true" says Dr. Tiander. that
persons doing manual work get a
quarter of a pound of bread daily,
but organized factory workers pro-
test that they do not wish to live at
the expense of their starving fellow
men, The soviet commissary sees the
matter entirely from the class war
point of view and declares literally.
We are giving the bourgeoise two
ounces daily. so that they will not
forget how hand to mouth bread
tastes
With the lack of bread proceeds
the disappearance of other foods.
Theoretically a pound of sugar is OBJ
tainable. There is no butter and only
small quantities of sunfiower fat and
OH In March one could still get
horsemeat, but in May it could not
be had. At that time all the supplies
of canned meat had been rationed out
Each one manages to keep alive only
by spending large amounts of money.
Potatoes are half ruble (25 cents)
each. Fish costs s rubles (S4) pound,
and bread. when it can be found, is
rubles .tS2.50) a, pound. A small
family of three or four persons must
spend at least so (rubles (s25) day
to live.
Peasants Defend Tbeir uo.-ds