Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1922-05-19
Sometimes they asked heip4-for their

Sometimes they asked heip1-for their
children-but quietly, in the tone of
one man putting a reasonable request
to another.
And they are highly intelligent pco-
pie too. They know why this famine
is one of the worst that ever struck
the Volga valley. They know all the
causes that led to it, and they know
who is helping them most to fight II
There is not a peasant among them
that does not realize what America IS
doing. Not only are they grateful but
they will never forget"
The primitive conditions of lie IN
some of the remote villages OF the
famine area and the consequent trlais
of an efficient relief worker trying TO
put his kitchen on business basis are
amusingly illustrated in the following
incident, which comes also from the
Samara district.
1t has always been the rule of the
A. r.. A. that the feeding stations
should open at a fixed time, when all
the children capable of being accom-
imodated at one sitting should come,
get their meal and depart. In this VII
lage however, the inspector found thaI
the kitchens were operating more or
less on a cafeteria basis. After the
first sitting they remained open until
a certain hour. Then, as the children
came, they were served.
The A. r. A. man protested to the
local authorities.
why don't you divide the children
into sections" he said, land feed each
section at certain time?'
Quite impossible" they told him.
But why?" he demanded
The reason was simple. So scarce
were clocks and watches among the
peasant in Stavropol that it was I'M
practical to fix more than an opproXl-
mate hour for feeding, The children S
stomachs to be sure, acted as excellent
timepieces, never failing to ring in
those due for the first sitting. BN as
to drawing a rigid minute mark there
after-that was out of the question,
when the only guide for the parents
was the position of the sun.
The endurance of Russian women
under their present trials also comes
in for it's share of praise from the re-
lief workers. Women are always in
charge of the government homes 10
which refugees are brought, and where
an attempt is made to feed them and
give them medical care.
In one of these homes typhus had
broken out badly and all the women
workers except one doctor had con-
tractcd the disease. Many Of the chill
dren had it too Cleanliness, good
nursing and food are the only cures
for typhus. This home was crowded.
The children had been for the most
part picked up in the Streets ana
were dirty and ragged. There was no
soap-soap is at a premium in Russia,
where there has been lack of fats for
many years. Food was scanty and OF
poor quality and there were, of course,
no drugs.
In short, it was hopeless for any one
person, however strong, to try TO cope
with this situation. The woman doc
tor was worn by work and want OF
food. She could have saved herself by
going, but it never occurred to her to
do 50.
'"I am needed" was her simple en-
PLANTATION to the relief worker
So she stayed. Unless some miracle
has saved her, it is almost inevitable
that she herself is typhus patient
now.
Finally, what does the Russian think
of the American, as revealed to nm
through the A. r. a. worker? A little
incident that occurred in the New
York office at No. IL Broadway will
help us ito see ourselves as others sec
u.s."
A young man who spoke English
very imperfectly indeed one day came
to the downtown New York office
looking for a person whom he calico
"ahra."
"Ahra," he had been informed in &
letter from his sister in Russia was al
omnipotent individual who could ever
bring her to America if her brother
could only find him. The sister gave
, the address OF the A. r. a., and on OK
, amining her letter ii was discoverct
! that she referred to it frequently, bu
never by it's full title. She knew !
: --------------------