Watauga Democrat. [volume] (Boone, Watauga County, N.C.) 1888-current, 1921-08-18
NEWS review Of
CURRENT EVENTS
America Undertakes the Relief
Of Russia, Stricken With =.
Famine and Pest.
CHOLERA SPREADING FAST
ouprsms Council Assemblies In ParIs-
President Harding Attends Pilgrim
rsreentsnary Fsts-swsst Bill
Tor Disabled Veterans Finally
Passsd BY congrsss.
BY EDWARD W. PlckARp.

Passed BY congrsss.
BY EDWARD W. PlckARo.
Americans who have long been held
prisoners by the Russian Bolsheviki
have been released, unless latest re.
ports are misleading, and America, un.
officially but energetically, has gone
to the relief Of the starving, pest.
lence stricken Russians. Agents Of
Mr.. HoOver's organization already are
distributing food and medicines. and
the American Red Cross and other
agencies are cooperating In the tire.
mendous task. Walter L. Brown 10
directing the relief measures from
Riga, and there IL no lack Of volun.
teers for the work In Russia, for
scores Of persons Of many nationali.
ties have offered their services, some
being actuated by curiosity. some by
altruism and some by the desire to
get into Russia to find out what has
become Of relatives and friends.
Premier BRAND Of France has sug-
gested that the supreme council, In
session this week In Paris. consider
allied cooperation with America In
the Russian relief work.
Famine conditions. 1t appears, ex.
ist mainly In the great Volga valley,
and the Inhabitants are moving from
1t In vast hordes. The Russian au.
thoritles are trying to direct the flight
Of the refugees toward Siberia and
the Ukraine and to keep them away
from the cities. 1t Is the swift spread
Of cholera that is alarming the ma.
tions bordering Russia on the west.
Some Of these, notably Poland, have
modified large numbers Of troops
along their frontiers to turn back the
hordes that are carrying the pest
along with them. Despite these pre-.
cautions, Berlin papers say cholera al.
ready has appeared In Warsaw and
that there Is danger Of an epidemic
Of the disease In Danzig and other sea
ports. The soviet commissioner of
health says the task of fighting the
pestilence 10 made terribly difficult by
the horrible sanitary condition
throughout virtually the entire coun
try, and by the mass migration, as
1t had been maliciOusly planned, dis.
tributlng the infection from one place
to another for thousands and tens OF
thousands Of versts. The starving
population Of the Volga Is moving to
the south as an avalanche, sowing on
Its way infection and DEATH"
Help from the outside world, though
besOught by Lenin, is looked on with
suspicion by some Of his more radical
colleagues. They declare the plight
Of soviet Russia will be taken advan
tsge of hy the enemies Of Bolshevislr
who will plan new cOunter.revOluti0ns
That some Of the latter have the same
idea IL indicated by the fact that Alex
ander Kerensky has been comforting
with the French government. 1t Is re
ported that he expects the downfall
Of Lenin and Trotzky, and that France
might proffer him support and indorse
Russla's claim to possession of Con
stantinople II he could establish sta
BILE government which would guaran
tee the payment Of Russia's old deb,
to France. Italy, too. might favol
this; hut Great Britain wants Greece
to have the Turkish capital.
Moscow on Wednesday sent out 9
wireless message asking all other gov
ernments to evacuate their national.
from southern Russia as soon as pos
sible because there was no food FOL
them. The foreigners, 1t is said, were
to leave from Odessa. but as all trans
portation has broken down there I.
seemingly no way for them to reach
that city from the interior. It 10 uo
only transportation that has broker
down. The present crisis has brough,
| -. '--'---"-' - ''
to light figures that show the almos'
absolute collapse Of industry and pro
ductim under the soviet regime. Pa
per and coal are the only industries
showing in 1920 an output Of as mucl
as 20 per cent Of the pre-war produc
tion.
As has been said, the interallied 50
preme council Is now In session II
Paris. The m,.in topic for discussion
is the Upper Silesian question. whicl
10 being handled by the representa-
tives Of Great Britain, France, Ital
aud Japan. Colonel Harvey, Amer
can ambassador to England, also wa
Invited to attend. and II the question
OF war guilt comes up the represents
tives of Belgium win be asked to par
tidpate. In conclliating France. tn
other allies hay,A admitted the poSS