Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1918-01-21
HELPLESS To ND
FAMILY IN RUSSIA
CEDAR FALLS JUNK DEALER
FEARS FOR SAFETY OF WIFE
AND CHILD.
BANKS REFUSE TO
FORWARD NEEDED MONEY
Communication With Wife Now 'V'r'
tualy impossible Owing to Strict
ness Of 5olshevlki Censorship
Prices OF Lies Necessities Almost
Prob bItive IN Russia.

/ cedar Fails. Jan. 2l.-W.th his wife
and CHILD IN ;urnuI,u; war-scared
Euss.a needing iifeS necessities and
h.msel" unable TO Get money or sup
pies To- ,agm Jov W.Ssman, Russian
/ J,W punk dealer - ;a> city, is fer
ycnuy hop:rs ,ha, some semblance OF
order N Russia may soon be restored.
It's a good ,hus / am busy" he said
today. i do not then think so much
about L..
| For the ruS, three and a half years
| W!ssman has been sending money back
| TO Russia, sometimes 10y mail, more Of
ten cabling it. but a week ago his
Chicago bankers no;.ued him no more
money could be caoled until the dis
turbed conditions N Russia are
smoothed oun Md Wissman IS sure
his little family nce1 money, much
money. for war prices" IN Russia arc
higher than in America.
W!ssman's wife writes him that
pair Of shoes for herself now cost 10
rubles-$39 in United States money-a
pair Of shoes for the little boy. aged 3,
cost 40 rublcs or SCI. White bread
sells FOR a ruble pound or so cents;
mems boots cost 1870 rubles or $40;
suit OF clothes costs go rubles or $40.
Rent for a single room IS 80 rub!es
week or SIC.
Tried to Escape War Cloud.
W.ssman's family is al Proskurev. a
e.ty Of 5000 n the vicinity Of Odessa.
Where press dispatches of the past few
days tell Of pitched battles between
Cossacks and Bo.sheviki troops. Be
fore the war Wjssman was in the
clothing business AT Proskurev. Sensing
the great world war storm approaching.
W.ssman came to America 70 make
home for his family. intending TO send
back for them as soon as he was
/ financially able. He landed in New
York just one week before the war
cloud broke. All his efforts to get his
/ lit:lo family out Of Russia and to
| America since then have been in vain,
! tho he has never given up hOue.
Wissman has been in the junk bust
ness in Cedar Falls since his first six
| months in America, being a partner in
the firm of Rottman & Wissman. The
senior partner. Max Rottman, left
father and mother in Russia and his
wifes parents also are there.
Communication Now impossible.
The extreme difficulty Of communi
eating with his wife in Russia was en-
phasized by Wissman today. He said
he had received no reply from cable
gram he sent her six weeks ago. tho
| bo OF &c % e
an answer He is certain. too that
much of the money he has sent 70 his
family has never reached them. He he
l!eves the bolsheviki may have appro
pr!ated part Of II. The last $500 he sent
two months ago reached Petrograd
safely, because Wissrnan RECEIVED a re-
ceipt Of It's arrival at bank there, but
that It went forward TO his wife at
Proskurev he doubts as he has had no
confirmation Of this from his Wife.
Many other times. he says, his money
has disappeared in the same way.
W!ssman can only guess at the exact
conditions in PrOskurev for the boil
sheviki censor obliterates all mention
Of distressing things there. Several
letters W!ssman has received from his
wife have contained only the first line
and her signature, all else being de-
leted. One letter was cut into ten
pieces the censor merely clipping out
whole sections with shears. But the
censor passes all things telling of i'm.
proved opportunity for the Jewish race
in Russia, WIssman says. He is
pleased TO learn from his wife that the
Jew in Russia Is now on equal footing
with all others, that there are Jewish
police and other officers in Proskurev,
land that newspapers are published
there in the Hebrew language-thing s
never possible before the revolution.
America Is Only Place.
Would YOU like TO go back to Rus
STA 10 live?" Wissman was asked.
Not me. America is the only place.
And my wife is just crazy to come over
here, too. If l could get some Amer
lean TO go over to Russia and bring my
family back I would pay him well.
don't care what 1t costs.
Il may get a chance to go over and
fight the Germans" Wissman contin-
ued." I am registered for war service
and may be accepted. I have taken
out my first citizenship papers" He
. seemed eager and willing to go, but
expressed great anxiety for his family
. hoping he could get them safely to
|