The Washington herald., 1921-12-01
BREAD OF STRAW
PROLONCS AGONY
OF LIFE IN RUSSIA
Sir Philip Gibbs Describes
Horrible Starvation
OF Slavs.
Continued from Page One.

much OF tndt. But he old not COM
plain. He just stated the facts
while his wife scrubbed the floor
which we had made filthy with our
muddy boots. Every board plank
was scrubbed clean. though the
cupboards were hare.
Another man came in. the head
of the local Soviet in charge of gov
ernment rations. and the local
agent for American relief for pro-
viding meals for n few at least in
the hunger-stricken village. He
was a handsome man of middle age
with a long fair beard touching his
leather jerkin and blue eyes like a
Saxon as many OF these Russians
seem to be. He struck his breast
with tragic gesture as he spoke
of the agony of the people and led
us to cottage nearby.
There was no answer to our
knock and he opened a door and
led us in.. As long as I live shall
remember that room and it's living
death.
Nc Flesh on Him.
No sound came from the people
there as we entered until there was
a stirring of bodies among rags.
A midle-aged man raised himself
from h wooden bench. He was like
Lazarus rising from the grave. He
was a man with a reddish beard. SO
ragged that his clothes fell away
from his naked body. showing his
thIghbones. arms and ribs. There
vas no flesh on him. only yellow
kin. He was bleeding from the
l. Il
His pale eyes were deep in their
sockets and his face was "A skull.
over the stove. where people
sleep in all Russian cottages. ] saw
woman and girl. They were lying
together, face downwards, and
turned their heads to look at us
The woman moaned feebly. but the
girl was quiet. Both were nearly
dead. and too weak to speak. with
the gray look OF death. At the end
of the room was another figure
most tragic Of all. 1t was a boy
of IS or SO. a hapdsome lad with
fine features and broad forehead
He sat in a window seat. with a
little smile about his lips. but near
ly dead. He, too. was so weak he
could not move or turn his head
or lift his hands
Patiently Awaits Death.
He sat there patiently until death
should come and. sit beside him In
friendly way - -gE.F..t
There was no food at all in the
house. nothing to sell for food. Our
guide spoke to the man like Laz-
arus and he answered in a whis-
per.
He had been a weh-to-do man. He
had given forty pools of produce
to the government this year. Now
he had nothing left. We could not
leave him like that without
some kind of help. | gave. the OLD
man some money in Russian rou-
bles: he held the paper in his claw
like hands and whispered some
words through an Interpreter bent
down to listen to him. He says the
money is no good to him"
Tell him to buy bread" said
He says there is no bread to buy
here"
That's true" said the peasant
guide.
Milk" I said
There is no milk to sell in
Lubimovka." the bearded peasant
said. There might be potatoes to
buy in Tetiushi; I'll try for this
poor man."
The old man whispered again IN
his faint whisper.
What does he say"
He says this money will not
save them for more than a little
while"
Drop In Bucket.
1t was true. had given him
10000 roubles. ] had nothing in
the way of rescue even for one
little family.
Private charity even on the scale
of the British and American relief
societies is but a drop in the bucket
of all this human misery.
] went back to my ship on the
Volga. sick with the thought of the
things | had seen. We had little
food on board and I was hungry.
1t seemed shameful to eat IT be-
cause of the hopeless hunger of
the villages out there beyond the
river banks. where millions of Rus
sian peasants lived like those in
Lubimovka from Mini Novgorod to
Astrachan where the track OF
famine goes for a thousand versts.
and along the track is typhus
hurrying apace now that winter is
in league with ice.