Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1921-08-08
DISMAL PICTURE
IS PAINTED Of
RUSSS|TUATION
Famine May Even Be Worse
Than in the Preceding
Years of the BoIshevik Re-
gime, Is Prediction.
By The Associated Press. }

Riga, Latvia, Aug. 7 (by the AS
ISOLATED Press. ALI Russian news
sources, bolshevik and anti-bolshi-
vik alike, paint a dismal picture of
Russia'S economic condition this
summer.
Soviet newspapers themselves
admit that the famine which.
threatens the country may be even
worse than in preceding years of
the bolshevik regime. On the other
hands the bolshevik government
contends that. Notwithstanding the
great difficulties attending the
change Of Lenine's policies during
what II terms as the present period
of transition from civil war to
peace, Russia Is slowly, yet steadily
advancing on the road to restitu-
ton of her economic life.
Pasture Lands Drying Up.
The agricultural machinery
which has arrived from abroad will
be of little assistance, this year, It
is admitted. The.scrop failures in
many governments have affected so
large a proportion of the area sown
that the machinery already on hand
will be ample to harvest this years
crop, Tn Fact there are more ma
chimes than live stock to draw them
and because of the drought the al
ready depleted supply Of draft ami
mails is threatened with further
extinction because pasture lands
are drying up.
The Riga bolshevil1 newspaper,
Novy Put, recently printed from
Moscow an extremely frank admis-
sion. It said:
Several months already have
passed since the new economic
course has been inaugurated IN
soviet Russia, But to put, as IT
were the engine on q new track,
is no easy task and one not to be
soon accomplished. The country
is large. the population Is sparse,
communication and roads are gen.
orally bad and the transport serv-
ice is dislocated. The same is the
case with the postal and telegraph
traffic.
"The new economic policy could
not, Of course, as yet have yielded
any appreeiable results. At the
same time, during the transition
period the economic situation OF
Russia is at present an exceptional
| w grave one. The old distribution
system has been abolished and does
not WELD ANYTHING, while the new
(tax in kind) system can be eX-
pected to yield results anly after
several months,
Grave supply Crisis.
MOSCOW, Petrograd and other
larea Industrial eenters are expert
encing grave supply crisis, when
| is only In slight measure. alle-
waited by imports from abroad
from siberia and from the Cauca-
sus. This in its turn, can not put
influence unfavorably the product
ivitv, of Industrial establishments.
In the Donetz district the output
of coal has been only IS per cent
of the program. In the MOSCOW
mining district, too. the production
has decreased.
s.To make the calamity compl ste'
tbeyo are the droughts following
unon an almost snowless winter.
The volga territory is under the
menace of famine owing to pe2r
harvest. On the other hand. IN
some PARTS, for instance In me
western portion of the Ukraine, the
outlook is good.
aThe prospects Of realizing the
haryest-by means Of the tax in klhe.
as we'll as by free purchase, are
nevertheless fairly satisfactory: ~
is expected to establish a 4o0,0oo,-
600 pools grain reserve, Wnlch
would make 1t possible to put m
dustry on o firm footing. with
this end in view it will, of course,
be necf ssary to strain the govern
rnent and the cooperative aPpa-
ratus to the utmost, as was Suggest
ed by Lerine.
| .It must. of course, be borne IN
mind that no war is going on at
present. II e Red army is being de-
mobilized and will shortly nave
heen reduced to one-half of its
former strength. The idea OF IN,
teryention IT the Far East does not
seem to meet with the approval OF
the powers, which are up 70 ther
ears in trout les of their own, winch,
| in spite 1T all their efforts, they
are unable to overcome.
"Neyertf less, everything po'nts
to tho fact that soviet Russia, non'
withstarding the great difficulties
she has to face in the present perl
Cd of transition. is slowly. yet stead
i,y advancing on the road to resti-
tuition OF her economic life" -.
A congress of food supply offi-
cials of all Russia, called by Len
line to work out a plan OF averung
the worst effects OF the threatened
famine and to devise means for
collecting available feodstuffs, has
lust closed at Moscow. Most OF
the speakers were pesimistic, ae-
cording to the Moscow poishev'k
because Of the disorganized state
OF transportation, grain would rot
| In the fieidsin the productive re-
gions, while the cities would have
to be put on short rations, unless
food could be imported from
abroad.
|