The West Virginian. [volume] (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1914-1974, 1920-06-18
RUSS PEASANTS
HAVENOUSEFOR
TIE BOLSHEV|K|
Farmers Hoard Food in De-
fiance Of the Soviet
Governments.
BY ]. HERBERT DUcKwoRTH
N. e. A. Staff Correspondent
1Q10 nv the Newspaper

downright, 1920, by the Newspaper
Enterprise Association.)
Especial Cable.
REVAL, ESthonia, June 81 Know
what the Russian peasants think ol
Bolshevism. ii
laces and have spent nights on farms
In the provinces Of Pskov, Novgorod'
Tyer. Moscow and Petrograd.
Strangely enough, the peasants
have little more food than the town
workers. It Is true that between tne
Esthonian frontier and Pskov the
peasants have plenty OF black bread,
but elsewhere in Russia ! saw TINS
Is not true. 80 .s,,o
The Bolshevists Of the towns, While
they have given the peasants iand,
have taken their food from them and
have thus stopped real food produc'
ton. ,...
very clear May Day at the mass meet
Ing in the PsEov market square. Tne
sneaker had no sooner touched on
he land question when there was an
unroar m from the peasants, drowning
out the eloquent communist orator
and breaking up the meeting.
Near Pskov saw a peasant greas-
ing the wheels Of his cart with out
'e.; anon,t vou know" | asked him,
''that people are starving in the
at does not matter" he said, "the
towns do nothing for me-"
Everywhere / found the peasants
hospitable. They were always ready
to give me a bed and to share their
There are no mealtimes at the
faruls-the members Of the family
eat as they come in sinsly from the
fields.
AS | entered one farmhouse near
Ostrov, big bearded peasant was
inst starting to eat milk porridge from
a large wooden bowl. He gave me q
wooden spoon and invited me TO Slt
down before the rough board table
and eat from the same bowl.
Il was hardly sanitary, but one
could not ask more In the way OF nos
Inside, the farmhouses are indie
scribably dirty. Often pigs and chick;
ems live in the same chamber Dehlnd
a curtain slung from pole from one
side Of the big brick oven to the wall.
II the peasant has boots he takes
them of when he goes to bed-other
wise he keeps all his clothing on:
The peasants hide bread II they
have 1t.
the floor and l looked down and saw
at least 50 big 4O-pound loayes OF
black bread.
from Moscow back to Camp Narva via
Tver, yishni-Volotchok and Cats
china took one week. ..'
The train often broke down. AT
other times the locomotive was taken
away from the train.
We made many stops Of from one
to SIX hours and in that time | took
the opportunity to wander through
the towns and villages and to ques'
ton farmers and peasants.
The women would come to the
stalled train with butter, eggs and
milk. but would exchange their pro
duce only for bread. The men de-
manded tobacco.
At one town got a pint Of milk for
three slices Of black bread, going
mouldy.
In the province Of Moscow there
have recently been peasant insur-
rections. The peasants deposed the
Soviets in the villages and scatterd
the Soviet committees. These rebel.
lious pasants want a constituent as
sembly, in other words, a government
by elected representatives.
In the country noticed total
lack Of leather Harness fashioned
from rope made Of flax was in use.
In most farm-houses | saw spinning
wheels where the flax was spun for
the rough cloth used for clothing.
Most rivers, such as the Volga ano
yolchov, were filled with logs for fuel
and reminded me Of Maine rivers.
At a farm at Tosno l found a fam
Nv Of SIX which was entitled to only
one eight.pound loaf Of bread daily
and sometimes did not even get that
Tcsno women were going on tramps
Of 50 miles toward Petrograd look
ing for bread.
Most Of the farmers cannot TIL the
land because the farmers have trad
ed their horses for cows.