The Washington herald., 1920-11-01
Need Food, Soap and Cloth
ing as Soviet Relief Plans
f Fail.
SCHOOLS HANDICAPPED
Writer Describes Conditions
Under Iron and Blood
Rule of Reds.
csy Special Correspondent of The Herald

csy Special Correspondent of The Hsrald.)
Moscow, Oct. II. by Courier to Lon
don. Oct. s1.-The first and foremost
need Of Russia is peace with the
rest Of the world and the complete
raising of the blockade together
with the reopening Of trade rela-
tionships.
Peace to Russia would be worth
hundreds Of consignments of relief
but in the meantime there is great
material need in the way Of food
drugs, soap and clothing for the
people and machinery and trans
port for the factories and work
shops.
I enclose a list of the last con-
signment sent by our London COM
mittee. together with a few COM
ments thereon which will be of
some guidance to you, though any
kind of children's food and drugs
will certainly be needed for some
time to come. The schools are also
very much handicapped by the
shortage of paper. pencils. crayons,
etc
AdministratiOn Through Soviet.
There are a few non-Soviet relief
organizations still in existence, but
as the various commissariats be
come more and more efficient these
organizations will cease to have
reason to exist. As a matter of
fact they are at present dependent
upon the supplies which they re-
Ceive from the various COmmissa-
rats. The Soviet authorities there
fore insist that all relief should be
administered under the control of
their state organizations. This does
not preclude (fOr the presently the
giving of supplies to Soviet
schools or clinics. but such gifts
should be made through and with
the approval of the Council for the
Protection of Children. As in the
event of your sending relief sup
plies it will be necessary to admin
lister them through the various
Commissariats l give herewith a
short statement of the scope of
each commissariat In so far as it
concerns relief work.
The Peoples Commissariat for
the Protection of Health is divided
into four main departments:
Ca) The department for mother
hood and infants. This department
gives special attention to mothers
before and after childbirth and is
responsible for the health of all
children to the age Of years.
Very great care is taken for the
welfare Of the new generation:
mothers are freed from all work
and are fully maintained for a
period of eight weeks before and
eight weeks after childbirth and as
long as they feed their babies they
are given special food.
Department Under Woman.
There arc many institutions.
clinics and milk Centers under this
department, which IS under the care
Of Dr. Leberdeff. a woman practi-
tiOner.
Cb) The department for the Pro-
lection Of Children's Health This
department has the care of sick and
diseased children between the ages
of and 10 years. both in institu-
tions and by means Of clinics and
dispensaries and special feeding
Centers for weak children.
(c) The Department for General
Health. This department is respon-
sible for the general health Of the
civil population by means Of gen
eral hospitals. ambulances. dispe.
sariNs, fever and special hospitals
and anti-epidemic units. There is
also a great deal of educational
work done by means of posters.
museums. films. lectures. etc.
Cd The Department. for the
Health of the Army. This depart
ment has separate stores and ad-
ministration from the others. so it
is quite easy to differentiate be-
tweep them when sending supplies.
Public Instruction.
This cOmmissariat is responsible
for the feeding of some millions of
children between the ages Of 3 and
Is in institutions and colonies all
over the country. These ChiIdren's
colonies are great feature of the
Soviet administration. / have Wis
tied several of them. both those
which are run by the commissariat +
Itself and others which are wholly
or mainly supplied by the Soviet
authorities but which are managed
by groups of Tolstoians or other
similar sects. Some of the latter
are better off than those which are
run by the commissariat because
besides receiving supplies from the
commissariat, they also receive
gtfts from members of the particut
ar sect to which they belong.
/ hope to visit more of these
colonies in the near future and he
able to send you more detailed re-
ports thereon. In all the colonies
l nave visited the principle of CO.
education is adopted and punish
ment Is abolished. though in some
colonies when a child disobeys il is
told that what IL has done is harm
ful to others, and when IL is con-
siderrd necessary the child il SON
arated from the others till If has
had time to realize its wrongdoing
In some of these colonies the
children are suffering with skin
trouble through monotony of diet
and lack of salt; and last winter
there was great deal of suffering
through lack of clothes and boots,
IN the summer the boys and girls
wear only one garment and get as
brown as berries.
Social Maintenance.
The work of this conmisssriat
.an be divided into three sections.
Ca) The maintenance of Ali the
people in areas captured by the
Red army till such time as the
lther commissariats have time TO
txtend their organization to these
areas.
\ At the present moment this COM
eisssrist has large numbers of
niidren in barracks on the Polish
CONTINUED on PACE TWO