Arizona republican., 1920-10-07
PETROGRAD STARVES UNDER SOVIET RULE; DEATH RA TIE IS WOW EACH MONTH
[aepubliuan A. P. Leased Wirel

4 T 4EA N/ 4 A 4 4
 [RepubliCan A. p. Leased Wirel
 PARIS. Oct. GA graphic, eye wit ness description of the fearful condi- tions existing in Petrograd is given by the Finnish Red Cross in an appeal just issued to the Red Cross societies of the world. It is accompanied by documents prepared by Prof. Zeidler formerly head of the Petrograd Red Cross, but now a refugee in Finland. The documents, which reached the Paris bureau of the American Red Cross today tell the story of the agony of a dying city. Petrograd's present population, based on the food cards is now from 500,000 to 600,000, and the former capital of the czar is described as having shrunk to one-fourth it's pre- war size. The report says:
 Death stalks on every side wait
 ing for winter to aid in the grim
 work of moving down the silent,
 hungry, sick and dying thousands.
 With streets and houses choked
 with filth that is already spread
 ina spotted and intermittent ty-
 phus. the cold weather will finish
 the task with pneumonia and ab-
 doninal typhus.
 "The fuel situation was never so bad. Wooden houses have been torn down for fuel. The material is distributed equally among the population. but dur ing the nights the more active citizens steal the quota of wood from others.
 ssThe wood yards have been na- tionalized. One of them has been given up entirely to the manufacture of 3000O collins monthly. But even this num- Der is insufficient. People have not time to bury the dead. and the bodies take their turn, waiting several days.
 "Only one important tramway line IS in operation and that runs to the sub urbs. In the center of the city, either there are no street cars or they run very rarely. On the Sadovoya only one branch line is in operation.
 Streets Beyond Repair
 "Attempts to repair the streets, which are full of holes owing to burst | ing water pipes. failed because the wood blocks used for pavement had been stolen during the night for fuel Lighting is allowed only two half hours each day and then not until all houses are supplied on the lines furnished by the authorities.
 Kerosene costs 450 rubles pound There are no candles: most homes arc l in darkness. There. is no means oi i transporting things by waterway, be. | cause the barges were long since de molished for fuel The railway trans l portation is devoted almost exclusivel, to the distribution of flour. Only 2O' I persons are permitted to leave Petro grad daily by passenger train. Work men receive a half pound Of bread
 daily and sometimes other food Il
 given. The price of foodstuffs con
 tinues to rise to incredible heights Many products have almost completell q, 1Flr
 -l Mortality Rate Startling
 .The mortality rate has reached
 startling rate owing to the lack of foo' and unsanitary conditions of house and streets. Fat has left the majorit [ of the population long ago. At presen
 the muscular tissue Is consumed. Tn faces of the people have taken on wax like color. Tn order to fill thel
 stomachs with something they drin | different substitutes for tea and cor l fee, or great quantities of plain water l resulting in puffiness and drops. ? which change the expression. of tn
 face so that even old acquaintance
 are unrecognizable.
 t The decayof property is aided no r only by the colossal prices or mate 9 rials and wages slightest re f pair work costs not under 100000 ru
 bIes but also by the fact tha s house porters are abolished, partly a e the bourgeois and partly because tn s porters are needed for wood cuttint q At present the houses are looked att h CT by beggars and committees or tn e communists.
 r sTndescribable dirt and filth is o e every side within the houses. Whe O plumbing gets out of order it remain a unrepaired. Whole houses becom
 filthy from top to bottom and 1t be r. comes impossible to live in them. Tn if houses. are then barred and the ter e ants move into other houses which ar If neglected in the same manner. V There is no fuel, hoth water bath -- no janitor or servants for cleaning ,f the yards streets, building or for tf = removal of the garbage. The goverr
 ment appointed a special sanitary con L. mission with sweeping authority, bl ,- the commission accomplished nothin st The commission is housed in a builC ,- ing where the heating plant is out le order and the water system and tolle pr not running.
 D. "The minister of health, apparent ,e realizing the seriousness of the si l. uation recently ordered mobilizati'
 of all physicians regardless of age f 10 the purpose of combating epidem m diseases. 1ne lnIeCllOn OL SOluleTS WI Is spotted and intermittent typhus Il r. cessitated the reopening of three O. the largest military hospitays for t he exclusive use of the army. These a lg the Evangeline hospital, the Christm lg barracks hospital and the Elisseevs On hospital The moral breakdown of { D" population is well illustrated in t Ir. hospitals where there is no discipli ty and no care of patients.
 de Patients are taken in the hospit; IT.. without a bath. If they wish to ,w warm while in bed awaiting operati ng they must bring their own blank' be and furs with them. Both the batter on and the lower medical personnel z It. engaged in stealing warm covering
 The medical attendants, who {
 not trained to treat the sick, work ,S cause they are guaranteed army D Itions. They are hungry, rough a IT lazy They rob the sick, steal t
 property of the hospitals. steal wC C to take home and help themselves av linen nightgowns and blankets. ES ir- physician has 150 to 200 patients 2 I'D. many are running their health contra gh ing diseases from the patients. ute Tn the military hospitals wht md there are surgical instruments, ope ed tions are performed in unheated roo ute Almost all the operations result ,rlz complications such as pneumonia
 ulcers Medical supplies are "
 scarce. There is a scarcity of alco
 kerosene and hot water. There ,as only two thermometers for 150