The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1921-11-02
PATHETIC TALES
OF SUFFERING In
DARKEST RUSSIA
Woman of 83 Still Alive, Longing
for Meat and Sweets-Only
Food Wanted

Riga. Latvia. Oct. II -CBy the AS
cOciated Press. After several years
of censored silence, letters are now
coming ont of Russia from American,
English and Russian people Of gentle
birth who remained and survived the
great experiment in human lives in
communistic Russia. These tell in an
impressive way what the mere task
of keeping alive has meant to these
persons accustomed. before the revo-
luton. to lives of luxury.
Here is an eXtraCe from Il letter
written by an American woman, SO
years old from Petrograd.
In three years, | have not heard
from any of my friends. the dearest
/ have in the world. They must be
greatly aStOnished at my having so
far survived all these horrors, at my
Years, when thousands of younger
people are daily dying of starvation
and untold hardships.
1T was most kind and thoughtful
OF you to send that money, | only
hope it may arrive. For Of course, al
| though / work seven to eight hours
u day (official translation work, COM
conditions are so monstrous that il is
impossible to earn anywhere near
enough for the very barest necessi-
ties of life. No wonder when butter.
and sugar are % 900 rubles a pound.
Therefore, what | need more even
than money is food, the plainest ar
/ ticles of food. These three years
and my faithful companion. for many
years my maid. but for whom II
should certainly not be living today
| have subsisted on black rye bread
and water porridge and gruels, drink
ing our so-called tea and coffee
(sorry surrogates) without milk and
sugar, with black bread we'll sailed
We have forgotten what wheat bread
is like, and as for eggs, should like
to see one before | die
Now the assistance / would crave
of you is simply this: From time to
time send me food. We have not seen
meat for three years. and for pity
sake send sweets, and sweets, but
most especially candy and chocolates.
DO not laugh at me, just imagine.
three years without sugar or anything
sweet. The longing for sweets at
times becomes absolutely morbiu.
one thing more, and an essential
one; send TWO or three candles. Wei
are given electricity only for Il couple
OF hours. Kerosene or candles are not
to be had any more for any amount
OF money, so we have no means of
striking light during the dark hours
of night, which is not only extremely
uncomfortable. but may on occasions
be real danger.
Here is an extract from another
letter, this from young woman to
whom an American in the Balti>
states sent a package of food: I'll
wish you would write and advise me
what and how we could do to get
away from here To condemn
mamma to starvation. here, would be
crime. We must think of some way
out but | simply get lost when | try.
TO get away, many girls have mar
ried foreigners, and thus become fol
eign subjects. when they can freely |
leave the country, but | haven't con-
sidered that. The doctors advise ME
to go. They prescribe good food, but
| can only smile at them in reply
A letter written in ia .tering English |
by Russian girl to the same Ameri
can recalls the JOY which the Ameri- |
can workers spread everywhere. Here
are extracts, spelling and all, as she
wrote:
You know till the first visit to us
of-(some Americans)--in our house
were not heard laughter nor lively
conversation. With them it was Ii
the spring game to our house. In the
beginning II was strange, but from
that time the graes stiffness of our
house had gone and we returned to
life. Sertainly for you it is difficult
to understand us-but in our life you
went away and all happiness and
light