The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1921-08-15
Russians Die in Homes
While Bandits Rob
And Burn.
PEASANTS GRAIN
SEIZED BY REDS
Five Hundred Victims of
Cholera Daily in City
Of SaratOff.
Special Gable to The washington Herald
and Chicago Tribune0
BY DONALD s. DAY.

BY DONAbD D D
RIGA, Aug. 1L-From the heart
OF the famine district, the city Of
saratofr. on the volga, a trainload
of Latvian refugees crossed the
L.atyian border yesterday. They
were the first unbiased, actual wit
nesses to the famine conditions to
arrive on this frontier.
There was not one happy face
among the 200 arrivals. despite the
fact they were returning to homes
they mad abandoned when Germany
captured this territory in 1918.
Women and children far outnum-
bered men The reason for this
was disclosed by the weeping
women. who told of the foodiess
Journey, the long stops and sudden
starts of-rhe train, which resulted
in half the men being left behind,
scattered across Russia from Sara
ton to Ryejitsa, Latvia-
Woman Tells of Horrors.
Deaths on the train as a result
of cholera. malaria, and starvation
were a daily occurrence. Many
families also were left behind. pre-
ferring to stay in Russia and prop
erly there to bury their dead
rather than to turn the corpses
over to the Soviet authorities for
huge common graves, now dug daily
in every Russian graveyard
Mrs. VALLEY Feldbach. a native of
Riga, who succeeded in bringing an
invalid husband. a construction en-
Gineer. and two children, William
and Alma, 12 and IL, respectively,
from SaratofI. tells of the horrors
undergone by the party. her voice
laden with misery.
I'VE lived at Rovno on the Volga
about sixty miles from Exsaratoff." T"
Mrs. Feldbach said "On May Is all
were notified that on June 2 a
refuSee train would start-from Sar-
atOff. carrying us to Latvia. We
packed our belongings In a peas
ant cart and theh started up the
VoIga bank for Saratoff. Even peas
ants were migrating up the Volga
and from all other directions toward
the city.
b9nuIN8 ROD ana Burn.
Bands of b. ndits were securing
the country, robbing and firing
abandoned homes. One could look
in any direction across the plains
and see pillars of smoke arising
from the ruins. The reason the
peasants are migrating is that Com
munlst bands preceded the bandits.
gathering the so-caIled produce tax.
Iii .
grain, including seed.
AS we neared Saratoff the scenes
grew more horrible. We saw hun
dreds of peasant families returning
to their ruined homes to die, hav-
ing appealed in vain to the Soviet
authorities for food. We passed
whole families dead in their homes.
The Soviet government reports
the peasants are abandoning their
children This is not true. 1t is
correct that some parents turn over
their children to the state, which
promises to care for them and does
not
Parents Drown Children,
Others throw their children into
the Volga preferring to see them
drown rather than be brougar M
IN the Communist faith, which they
believe is an anti-Christ doctrine.
AT Saratoff We awaited a train
which did not arrive until a month
later While there. bread climbed
from 500 to 5000 rubIes a pound
A number died of cholera. The city
averaged 500 cases daily, half of
them dying.
"Old garbage carts collected the
dead daily, as they used to collect
garbage. During our stay we saw
many cases of bubonic plague in
the streets This never was men
TONED by thu Soviet press. the on
cials attempting to keep knowledge
OF this plague from the public"
(C0pyriRht 1871