The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1919-07-07
BOUYAKCY Of CHILDHOOD
REFUSES II SUBhURGE
boys r-- G:-.a. ~cri aomp and Play In
RS CT -esr.a. Though Land We
GERS in rfisery and Disorder.

rrss...4aEtor. -1iy S.--Boys and girls
eli. ;sa:f-a -nd play IN parts of Russis.
tha natural bucyancy OF childhood re-
tst4. t. b, submerged IN the weller
* 5t.sorv . aad a.sa~3o- that has all
~. III ~e'?,et. this, f1n-e powerful en-
ofra es-oar tr sh.s ststorrent - found
Ia -oeort dealing With the care, main
ten4acs asd education Of more than
ons hos ssnJ ~s,uBce cnndrcn which
saS lp7. tesc*ad Ara C.oss heaGaucr-
ters from it's comm ssion 10 Siberia.
Tscuya thousands % miles from
h9nlo. et:t = fco@a parents and friends
e,r r~3fe ttan a year these youngsters.
cfiisc.5ez ct Wea'tqy families and OF
reSs2ntz nc.IaeG in che group. are
harry, kea.thy and thriving in the
sa;en colonies estS blished for them
w. - american Red Cross. In hap
pes tigf.es tie children lived in Petro-
grad TER parents and all their rel
atives have. in many instances, been
i;2tel in TIE fienting and rioting about
Fetr9grad TOO young in most cases
to realize the tragedy that has befallen
Their; they ror1p and play as do normal
! youngsters IN the peaceful countries
G. the world
Through the generosity Of the Amer
/ i~an people they are clothed and fed
9nd given the opportunity for study
/ NnljG healthy surroundings. Their
: steady progress as shown by DR.. g.
( Scudder who is in charge of Ameri-
lean Red Cros- refugee work in Sibe-
I H. shows - {ho cost Of their main
I tcnpnco rs n1nntV we'll spent DR.. Scud-
( dor. an American. had been engaged in
r. visionary WORK in CHINA great many
j }ears' al the time be took up his du-
ties In Russia.
The children cared f9r IN these Red
I cross colonies located AZ Petropavlosb.
! [ r. Irhii Tumcn and Shadrinsk are,
/ unfortunately only a small part Of the
! ereat number of youngsters WHO were
sent out Of Fetrograd, by their parents
! in April May and June year ago
when famine and cholera, following in
1 the wske Of anarchy. threatened 1hS
4 lives IF all those who remained IN TIL
capitol Investigation by the Ameri-
ran Red Cross shows there were manS
/ thousands Of these children removed
/ to 0ronburg, Perm, Tobolsk and other
distant provinces where food and
| fresh air were plentiful. The children
| ranging In age from two to nineteen
| years, came from every class in the
! community. PetroGrad teachers anf
physicians accompanied them to their
ing after their educational and physi-
cal welfare.
All went well with the various col
Anies until the advance OF the CZecho.
Slovak forces across Russia TO Vladi-
| vustok The bitter hghting which
marked the attempt Of the German.
Austro and Rolsheviki elements TO hall
the movement of the Czecho- Slnvat
soldiers Isolated the communities ir
which the children were situated, cut
ting off the supplies and funds or
WI tch depended their existence. From
tha' time on these youngsters, known
as Petrograd Refugee Children" have
mad a hard time of II and many q,
ltYem are believed to have persisted ir
the struggle.
Word OF their plight reached tn.
government at Omsk from time to tirs
and the officials promised relief, bu'
as the government itself was In fnan-
cial straits this assistance failed tt
! nateriaiize. Left to their own re-
sources teachers and children RAISED
money by every possible means. con.
certs arranged by hne older cbildrer
/ and lotteries providing most of the
funds for food Through the summer
Of 1918 the children managed to exist
mi one wav or another. but with the
i approach of early Siberian winter their
situation became critical in the ex'
/ trame, Az all we're but lightly clad
I the hrst spell of cold weather brought
| much Illness.
One by one the colonies split up into
smaller groups. each group starting or
! an aimless journey through the coun-
tryside in search Of food and better
protection from the cold While q
/ majority of the teachers and physi-
clans who left Petrograd with the
/ hildren stuck with their charges
! through all the hardships and made
every effort to keep them comfortable
some OF these guardians proved false
70 their trust. deserting the children
4 assigned TO their care at the first re-
! verse and leaving the youngsters
+ many of them nero babies, to shift
! for themselves The fate of those who
were abandoned in the cruel way is
/ too heart rending to dwell upon.
The teachers who remained faith
/ ful to their duty had difficult time as
fthe rnonthsswent by, maintaining the
! morale OF the children, weakened as II
! was bv cold. lack of food and the fact
/ that the winter weather made IT i'm
/ possible for them TO attend school be
| cause Of insufficient clothing. They
grew indolent ana careless of their
personal appearance,-some took to beg
/ ring and others. the weaker charac-
! ters, to stealing In short time, ac-
i cording to the Red Cross report. the
4, children in one Of these colonies were
| literally in rags Vermin added TO
| their general discomfort
/ This was the general condition Of
the children in such of the colonies as
/ remained Intact when the situation
! was brought to the attention of the
/ Red Cross mission in Siberia just be-
fore last Christmas. Red Cross work
ers were dispatched to the colonies
| and after wide search managed to
( gather in more than 1000 OF the chill
! dren who wereSsoon re-estabiished in
: more cheerful environments or Nhis
| work OF reclamation the report says
REORGANIZATION and equipment OF
I the newly formed colonies was started
/ az once although very few Red Cross
Stores were yet available. Every ef-
| ipit was made az local purchase and
/ by collecting clothing in adjacent
towns the children were soon equipped
with fur caps overcoats and felt
boots and were able to leave their
overcrowded. stuffy rooms and run and