Evening journal., 1920-01-08

(Ritor's Note-This is the fourth O.
Artfur Ransome's articles. How a MAJ
livs on one meal a day, and sleeps II
shep-skin clothes with q bed on toI
bsause Of shortage Of fuel, Is told II
Us article. Rstloning OF food and tn,
trrible want and misery Of Moscow
fe'vividly pictured.)
I After drinking tea with Reinsteir
I'm pretty late. went home, burrowec
into a mountain Of all sorts OF clothes
ind slept little.
In the morning I succeeded IN get
ting a room at the National Hotel. ]
wasted a lot Of time getting my stun
across. Transport from one hotel to
the other. though the distance Is Hot q
hundred yards, cost 40 roubles.
My room Yves perfectly clean. The
chambermaid who came In 20 tidy IN,
quite evidently took a pride IN doing
her work properly, and protested
against my throwing matches on the
floor. She said she had been In the
hotel since II WIS opened asked her
how she liked the new regime. She
replied that there was not enough to
went downstairs to the main kltch-
ems Of the hotel, where there is a per-
manent supply Of hot water. one
enormous kitchen Is set apart for the
use Of people living In the hotel. Here
/ found a crowd OF people, all using
different yahts OF the huge stove. There
was an old gray-haired Cossack. with
a scarlet tunic under his black. wide
skirted, narrOw-waisied coat. decorated
In the Cossack fashion with ornament
al cartridges. He was warming his
soup side by side with a little Jewess
m9king potato cakes. A spectacled
elderly member OF >the executive COM
mittee was busy doing something with
little bit Of meat. TWO little girls
were boiling potatoes in old tin cans.
In another room set apart for washing
a sturdy little long-haired revolutionary
was cleaning a shirt. A woman with
her hair dnoe up in a blue handkerchief
was very carefully ironing a blouse
Another was busy stewing sheets. or
something OF that kind, In a big clul-
dron. And all the time people from
all parts az the hotel were coming with
their pitchers and pans, from fine cor
per kettles 20 disreputable empty meat
tins. to fetch hot water for tea At The
other side of the corridor was sort o
counter in front Of a long window
opening into yet another kitchen. Herr
there was a row Of people waiting wifi
iheir own saucepans and plates. getting
their dinner allowances Of soup an5
me2i In exchange for tickets. On pay
ing for my room at the beginning O.
the week / was given a card with IN
days Il the week printed along its edge
This tard gave me the right to buy on
dinna' daily and when I bought Il th9'
day Of the week was shipped off th
card so that I could not buy anothe
The meal consisted Of a very gooG
soup. together with a second cours
ofa scrap Of meat or fish. The price
% The meal varied between five anC |
seven roubles.
one cOud obtain this meal any time
Ictween two and seven Living hum
b~ily through the evening, at two
O'Clock | used 10 experience definite |
relief in the knowledge that now at |
any moment / could have my meal |
Feeling in this way less hungry, I used |
then TO postpone 1t hour by hour. and |
actually d'ned about five or six O'Clock. |
Thinking that might indeed have been I
specially favored, ] made invesiiga- !
lions, and found that the dinners sup
Piled at Nhe public feeding houses werS
lf precisely the same size and char
icter, any difference between the meals
depending not on The food but on the
cook.
\ kind OF rough and ready co-opera-
i've system also obtained. One day
hero was a notice on the stairs that
hose who wanted could get one Dot
II Jam apiece by applying 10 the pro
committee Of the hotel.
got a pct Of jam in this way. and on
: later occasion a small quantity Of
lkrainian sausage.
Besides the food obtainable on cards
Z was possible 20 buy, at ruinous
1rices food from spectators, and an
dea OF, the difference in price may be
'e obtained from the following exam
'ies: Bread is 1 rouble 20 kopecks per
'0und by card and - 10 20 roubles per
'eund from the Spectators. sugar is
, roubles per pound by card. and never
SCI than % roubles per pound in the +,
pen market 1t is obvious that abol-
l'on Of the card system would mean
uSt lhe rich would have ehOugh and
ne poor nothing. Various methods
'avc been tried in the effort 10 get rid !
Y speculators, whose high profits nat
irsiiy decrease the willingness Of the
images TO sell bread at less abnormal .