Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1921-09-01
Total Crop Failure
Reported In Russia

New York, Aug. 23.-Data on food
conditions Throughout Soviet Russia,
as compiled by Soviet officials who
are seeking to stay the famine that
grips the land, reached this city, dis
closing that "the whole OF food-pro-
ducing Russia is stricken with a IA
tai failure Of crops" u
Investigation by the Volta Rossii,
organ Of the right wing social revo-
lutionists in Prague, and the state
rnent of Soviet leaders themselves, in
dictate that next year Russia's plight
Will be even worse, for there Is an
unprecedented shortage Of grain seed.
Only in the province near Petrograd
and other large cities were the crops
of avail, but, as officials reluctant
ly admitted, the fo~od-producing acre
age. Of these provinces is small.
The conditions portrayed by Soviet
ofhcials-Lenin, President Kalinin Of
the All-Russian' Central executive
committee, and M. Ossinsky, temper
airy commisar of agriculture-were
those prevailing W. weeks ago.
The information disclosed by the
Prague Observation-Disclosures was gath
cred by members who attended the
third session Of the All-Russian Cen
trail executive committee, which be-
gan its meetings in Petrograd on May
80. At that time, the Prague radicals
reported, the Bolsheviki had made no
mention Of the possibilities Of a fam
inc along the Volga or in Southeast
ern Russia. But when Kalinin made
his report to the committee he found
It expedient to speak Of h famine.
He discussed the activities" of the
help commission for the starving peas
ants" and added:
Although the commission tried
hard to alleviate the pangs of hum
ger, it could accomplish little be-
cause of the. extent to which starva-
ton had gone. This is especially
true in five provinces, and there has
lately been added another. Cheropo-
vesk, where conditions r frightfur.
The others are xaluga, Tula, Riazan,
| Orlov and Zarizin.
Peasants We're Skeptcal.
TN the beginning wen the commits
sion was viewed skeptically by the
peasants, and they used to say that
the organization of feeding stations
'smelt commune
The Prague Newspaper quoting the
Soviet publication, Isviestia of Mos
cow, on the proceedings of the ALL
Russian Central executive commit
tee. attributed to President Kalinin
this statement:
1T must be mentioned that at pres
eut SUCH CllleS as MOSCOW. PetrOGraQ
M other large labor centers are pass
ing through the greatest famine, no
less than the one through which all
the rest of Russia vas passing during
the severest period Of starvation"
Continuing, the orsano Of the Prague
social revolutionists reported:
When Kalinin had concluded his
report, Mr.. Ossinsky, the acting COM
misar of agriculture, made a formal
report in which he drew a horrible
picture Of the common failure of
crops, basing his statements on the
amounts of grain seed that had been
gathered for sowing in the fields.
In a whole series of provinces, es-
pecial1y along the Volga, he reported,
in the provinces OF Samara. Simbirsk
and Saratov there was an INSULT
cheney of grain seed. In Samara
there were gathered 1000, 900 pools
"a pood being equivalent to So fbs.)
of seed. which is only one-quarter OF
the amount necessary for the susten-
ance Of the Inhabitants. ) This figure
is very significant and shows that
there is almost a dearth Of grain seed
in this province" Z,
Other Provinces Stricken.
The same situation exists in the