The daily banner. (Cambridge, Md.) 1897-2008, 1921-11-07
PETR0CRhD is
NOW CITY OF RUST
Say Il Resembles Fxhaused
Nevada Mining Town,
GLORY SEEMS GONE TO STAY
Tea and Coffee Sells For S1.1o
Pound-Nevsky Prospect is Desert,
ed-Food Shops Have Little to Sell.

Pptrog.li. NOV. 7.-ltu>>ia's former
capital resembles Il Nevada mining
town after The mines had become eN-
hausted 1t does not revive under
Tree trade, a< Moscow is doing.
The soviet government has e>tlmat-
ed Petrograd'S population at only 6OO,-
400. but this figure seems lar@" /" OBJ
servers who knew it in the pre-Wal
days, when it held more than LOO
600
The visitor. looking over the city
from the tower of st. ISaac's cathe-
lral, sees only Il city of rust. Nirtu-
ally all the Russian roofs are of tin
and were painted green or brown,
but there has been no painting done
ror years, and consequently the eN-
tremes of weather have worn away
/ he roofs, a large percentage of which
no longer are waterproof. Many
buildings have been abandoned.
The Red army is drilling daily i'll
The square between st. I>aac'S cathe-
iral and the Marien$ky Palace. where
there is now 50 little traffic that part
If it Is used as place to store peat,
which soldiers guard day and night
to keep fuel hunters from stealing.
The German embassy, which The
Russians wrecked at the beginning
of the war, stands boarded UP and
abandoned. The Astoria Hotel. and
most of the other large buildings
about the square are being used by
the soviet. The Hotel Angleterre has
been rechriStened the "1nternational.
It is a government gue&t-houSe and
the sole place in Petrograd which
really is warm and comfortable.
The old hotel staff has been retain
ed and is keeping the building clean
and supplying the rooms with fresh
linen. The service is excellent. The
hotel is marvelously quiet and com
Portable basis in the general Bolshe-
vik disorganization in Russia, domin-
ated by unframed Red army men. For
eigners are required to pay their bills
in pounds or at the dollar rate. The
charge is about one pound daily
The Ne0sky Prospect IS more de-
serted and shabbier than It was three
years ago. There are more holes ip
the pavements and the buildings are
sealing Off The cansaJs are utterly de.
void of the wood barges which ordin-
arily supply the winters fuel.
Many food shops have opened, but
they have little to sell except bread.
butter and vegetables. The CORES
pondent made inquiries at twenty
shops before he found real tea and
coffee. This sold for 10000 rubles
per Russian pound Of twelve ounces.
The exchange rate on the dollar is
about 100000 rubles.
Sugar is scarce and sells for 10000
rubles for twelve ounces. All the
shopkeepers said they had hopes Of
receiving tea, coffee and sugar within
few weeks. They did not seem to
know whence it would come.
There are no big street markets
here, such as those in Moscow. The
people of the city apparently are with
out money or goods to exchange for
food, and are much perturbed over
the general discontinuance of the gov
ernment of the bread allowance and
the abandonment of the communal
kitchens.
Children to the number of 100000.
which it is estimated comprises nearly
all those in the city, registered and
were examined for feeding by the
Americans More than 10000 of them
were found to be subnormal physically
and now daily are being given thteir
dinner by the American relief admin
iStratiOn.