Baraboo weekly news. [volume] (Baraboo, Wis.) 1912-197?, 1922-03-30
Son of Former Baraboo Folks,
MIR. and Mrs. S. w. Kenyon,
Adams, Writes Home
SAYS BOLSHEVIK ARE
IN POOR CIRCUMSTANCES
Sack of Flour Costs Russian g.
0OO,O0O Rubles or Five Months
Pay

Mrs. S. w. Kenyon of Adams, for
merly. of Baraboo, has received a
number of interesting letters from
her son, George, who is now with
the United States Navy in Russian
waters.
Since reading the article Russia,
before a social club," in your paper
of March 18th / though perhaps some
might be interested in reading
few extracts from letters received
from our son George, who has been
in Turkish waters the past eighteen
months. He has made several trips
to ports in Russia along the northern
coast of the Black sea, and at the pres
: ent time is in Odessa, Russia. In a
letter dated January 20 at Novoros-
sisk, he wrote as follows:
In Bolshevik Country
Here we are up in the BoIsheyiks'
country. Arrived yesterday morning
and expect to be away from Constan-
tinople about six weeks. Have not
to even go on deck. The tempera-
ture is not so low, but the wind blows
through everything. Congress, you
know, gave twenty million for the
starving Russians, and we are up
here in connection with that. We
have representatives of the American
Food Administration along with us
and expect the first ships tn arrive
the first week. February
Water Freezes on Ship y
January 9th. Am not quite fro
zen in as yet, so will write a few
lines before the temperature goes
down another hundred degrees. We
arrived here the 10th and the wind
has blown a gale ever since. 1t has
been so strong it has blown spray
all over Us. of course the spray froze
as soon as it hit, and consequently
we are a mass OF ice. The sun is shin,
ing this morning and the ship looks
very pretty with its glossy decks and
upper works. Have taken several pic
lures of it and hope they develope
all right. The members of the Amer
ican Relief Commission, we bought
up here. have been busy making ar
rangements for delivering the food
stuffs as it comes in. 1t is a big job
considering the amount of food and
the conditions in Russia today. Novo
rosig is in fair condition. But still
one can see the effects of Bolshevik
control. There seems to be plenty OF
money and of some foods. They lack
grain, flour and such food articles
Before the war one ruble was worth
So cents. Today the exchange was
325,000 rubles for one dollar. A
IL pound chicken cost $4,000 rubles
which is cheap in our money.
A dinner for six at the best res
taurant costs about 100000 rubles
which would be $4,5O0,OO before the
war. At the present, it is about $50
in our money.
Boishevik Bad Lot
Sunday, February 5. Still up in Rus
sia. So far the Bolsheviks have not
got us. They are certainly a bad LOT.
The condition of things is most un
believable. All business houses have
been taken away from their origin
al owners and now all shops are run
by the government and for the gov
ernment on commission basis.
tcannot see how the people live. The
highest pay of any one know of is
100000 rubles (paper) a month
Everyone that works is paid by the
government. The above sum equals
little over three dollars. A sack oi
flour costs 100000 rubies or five
months pay of the highest paid men
Others work for l IL pounds oi
bread day and they have to live
on that beside keeping their famil
les. 1t seems impossible to do, and
how they do it is more than / car
see. We give everything left over
from our mess tables to the people
that come down to the dock, even
the scraps Of bread. We do not bake
our bread on a destroyer, so arrang
ed to have baker make it for the
ship. We send the baker 100 lbs. oi
flour, lbs. of sugar and lbs. oi
; lard to put in IL and he sends bach
100 lbs. of bread, and keens the resi-
for his pay. The other day / had 20(
'bs M sde up vhen it was ready
| to bring back. = had il loaded on g