The daily star-mirror. (Moscow, Idaho) 1911-1939, 1922-07-12

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Vain, Because Science Mas Outside
Politics, but She viii Recover, More
Courage"-Hope of Escape all Tha,
Prevents One From Committing
Suicide.
Pathetic stories OF the sufferings OF
eminent scientists III Soviet Russia
have reached the Russian academic
group in the United States. whose
members, including Russians who
formerly taught in universities in their
native land, are now attempting to en
list the sympathy of Americans to
contribute food drafts through the
American Relief Administration.
DR.. Vera Danchakoff of the College
OF Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia
university, has made public letters and
other data showing the plight of inter
nationally known Russian scientists.
Here is an abstract from a letter
written by Boris Sokoff, professor of
biology concerning his visit to Pro
fessor Federoff, a crystallo-physicist /:
1T was painful to see the sufferings
Of Professor Federoff. Aged, with hair
all white, emaciated from starvation,
he still continued his studies on the
laws of the growth of crystals. I
came to see him once and brought him
a piece of bread. He bit it greedily,
then all at once he stopped and said.
You are young. You need it more
than /. 1t is time for me TO die His
last words before his death were, I
will soon die, and before dying I
want to say to you, dear friends, dear
students, more courage. Russian
science is covered with wounds re-
ceived during the past years. received
in vain, because science was outside
of politics. The wounds are deep, but
not mortal. Russian science will re
cover from them. More cour
age.
Hope Of Escape Prevents Suicide.
Here is part of a letter to Doctor
D~anchakoff from Professor Maximoff
of the Medical Academy of Petrograd
with every day life becomes more
intolerable and it is difficult to imagine
what is awaiting us next winter. Peo-
pie die like flies. If not for the hope
of escaping, l would have committed
suicide.
LET nae know whether I can count
on any position anywhere Ia America
or anywhere. 1t is Impossible for me
TO leave Russia nov but l hope in
time ii will become easier.
do you know and all other civilized
people in America know what is going
on here? The reality excels all hearsay.
wa x-or ppaoIoir,nI Doroc;%,e orI
idlers. We were deprived even of that
which is given to soldiers and
Orkmen. Those of us who had in re-
serve clothes or other things sold
them gradually in order to continue
existence. Those who had no clothes
or anything else to sell, sold their
books. This was pathetic.
"Tired and exhausted after a day
spent in searching for food. / enter a
,Old and dark apartment. No water.
10 candle. | go to bed without taking
,ff my clothes, trying to keep warm
to keep down the rebellious voice
# hunger. At dawn one has to go
tut and sweep the street and clear the
of snow. But when I see my
chronological collection perish from
old, l do not think any more of
and cold, or of the atrocities
f life, or even of my nearest ones.
run like a mailman to find pieces of
rood to make a fire to warm up and
0 save my laboratory
No Energy, Physical or Moral.
Miss x. professor of mental dis
asses in children and the daughter Of
professor Of neurology, wrote to her
IF only all of YOU who live so far
way could at least partly imagine our
fe: but that is impossible. We our
are startled when important
vents wake us up and we begin to |
ink. Life is such a burden that no !
ody makes any preparation for the
olidays. Nobody is capable of making
ny preparation. We nave no energy,
1ysical or moral. We cannot buy any :
ling. We just dream of cleaning up
le horrible dirt in which we live
Despite the famine. according to in
r1nation reaching the United States,
'e Universities of Samara and Sara
# are still functioning. A relief
asked a student from Samara Z
tell her something Of the conditions +
long the women students. She =
lswered. "Well, one girl lived all
on leaves and the bark Of :
ees. She is still living. 1t is not an
plated instance. We have for so
pg. all of us, lived under these con
~
Money for food drafts may be sent
the American Relief Administration,
Broadway. and should be markell
Or the educational institutions in
lssia.' 1t is promised that every
stitution will get its share.