Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-01-28
REPORTS NOLACK
OF FOOD IN Russia
British Agent Blames De-
moraIized Rail Service for
Famine Conditions.
PRICES AROUND NORMAL

LONDON, aJnuary Il CORRESPOND
ence Of the Associated Press)-
Demoralized transportation. not lack
of food. is responsible for the famine
conditions tn Russian cities and
towns. according to Leslie Urpuhart,
capitalist with large meta1lurgtcal
and mining interests in Siberia. Mr..
Urouhart. who recently returned from
Russia. has been appointed by the
British government to assist In the
revival Of Siberia's economic life.
Considering the depreciation of the
ruble. he told a representative OF the
Associated Press. food prices In
Siberia are practically normal In
western Siberia he said, there Is so
much food on hand that considerable
surplus could be sent into other parts
of Russia, and the same applies, he
understood, to southeastern Russia
and to the Ukraine.
Broadly speaking, it can be said
that in the country as whole there
is no shortage of food, aid although
the large towns of north and central
Russia are starving, there is plenty
of food in the villages. The difficulty
of transport due to the disorganiza-
ton Of the railways, the industrial
strikes and uprisings which brought
about the flooding Of the Donetz coal
mines and the decrease In the supply
Of fuel to less than twenty-five per
cent of normal production, civil war in
the country and economic chaos
generally are all reasons for the state
bordering on famine in the towns
Iron for Wagon Tires Lacking.
"Ekibastous, the greatest wheat.
producing province In Siberia. with
large stocks of wheat lying less than
M ry,ffac xuaU q living frnr1 hand-fa~
mouth. as ii is practically impossible
to transport the wheat for hack OF
strap iron with which to mako tires
for wagon wheels.
"The Continual increase of wages IN
the industrial and manufacturing
towns has raised the cost OF iron.
steel, clothing, boots and other essen.
tials, of everything. indeed. that the
peasant wears and uses-and the peas
ant represents SIS per cent OF the popus
lation of the country-to twenty and
even fifty times their normal value
The town workers, or Is per cent OF
the population, however, would mos
permit the soviet government to ratse
| the maximum prices fixed for food
This one-sided legislation not un-
naturally incensed the peasant. WhO
he had to pay twenty and fifty times
| the normal price for ali essential com:
| modities produced by the Industrial
| workers in the towns he received only
about double the normal pre-waf
price for the produce Of his own laboE.
Peasants boarding Produce.
Therefore, the peasant sits tight on
! his grain He refuses to sell wheat to
| the bolsheviki at the requisition price
of Il cents pound when he can sell
| it at So cents q pound. or even more
When it can be got bread today in
lPetrograd or Moscow is l6 rubles or
more a pound The peasant is willing
| to barter his food for cloth. steel. tex
[ tiles and other Hecessaries, but the In
fdustrial workers have ruined industry.
Nothing is being produced, there is
nothing to barter with. The peasants
have large Accommodations OF paper
money. but this is of no value for they
can buy nothing with It. Meanwhile
the peasants are boarding their pro-
duce. "a
Peasants Masters Of Situation
| TN a sense. then. the peasant is
master of the situation. he has the
food, the townspeople have not. The
bolsheviki have tried with varying
success to take wheat and other pro-
duce by force to feed the proletariat
| of the towns but neither the Germans
in the Ukraine, as they have found to
their cost nor the workmen in the
towns can get food from the Russian
peasant If he does not choose to let
them have 1t"
| Since the foregoing statement was
made it has been announced that the
allied nations have made arrangements
to take over the operation of the
Transsiberfan and Chinese Eastern
railways with John r. StevenA the
American engineer, in charge Of their
operation