South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1922-02-24
FAMINE RELIEF
WORKER TELLS OF
CHASTITY SIGHTS
Terrors Of Russian Misery
Vividly Pictured by Ad-
miuistratiOn Aide.

Russia. where the American Relief
Administration ls feeding 100000
children and giving hope 20 all %
Russia. was given here By Carl r.
Floete one NJ the administration
workers who returned recently
after three months spent in the
VoIga district F7oete broke down
under the strain Of tho work and
being cut or from the outside world
for weeks. and had 90 leave TEN
rorarily.
u hope 10 go back" he said.
THE organization s saving that
part 81 Russia and could do much
moro n o. had more funds No one
who has not seen it can have any
idea what famine IS like. T. IS ter
rfble beyond words People are
dying in the streets every day, their
bodies blOated and distorted by
starvation Those who exist from
DAY 20 dav do sO only by eating
the carcassea 0f horses and doge
and cats that also have starved.
IT went with chId-feeding sta
ton that has headquarters az Sa-
mara and feeds So 600 children. My
own headquartera in this district
were az Pugachov. n village about
125 miles south Of Samara. but
which. owing 90 poor transporta-
ton. 90 took Eve days TO reach by
railroad Most Of the supplies went
ir over this road although some
were conveyed hy half-dead horses.
Most Awfal Thing l. Their
Apathy"
l.
people is their apathy They don't
care. and just wait from day to day
until they shall drop beside other
members of thei~ farsUy who went
first The dead Tie fin the streets
where they fan I'm the houses the
men. women and children sit hope
leeslv against the walls staring into
vacancy and waiting for death
was tho only American man they
had ever seen, but they were hard
" Interested i'm me. even when they
knew T brought food
They used to take 70 in their
hands. with fears I'm their eyes and
look az Fl and say 'eEDiRbO which
means thank YOU They were more
pathetic than anything 7 have ever
seen. 7 used 20 go down there 20
feed them and cry by the hour.
What misery. Their little arms
were mere sticks their stomachs
were bloated from eating clay. their
eyes deep sunken. But after we
had fed them a little while we could
see their eyes become clear and
their cheeks du out a little, and
they got better. Those we could
and at present we can feed only
from - 20 80 percent.
Women used TO come in and beg
for food for their children. but we
did not have enough for all and 10
was the hardest thing 7 ever did TO
refuse them. We gave them white
bread nearly every day. rice judi
ding twice a week. beans twice a
week and cocoa twice a week That
r. not much but It was luxury for
them.
''Camels We're Ny Only Comfort
There was so little food in the
district that after my beans ran out
Do the first few weeks 7 had only
two meals a day. bread and soup.
And 7 felt then as If 7 were rObbing
the people The isolation was try
ing for aside from my interpreter
there was no other white man in
the village The Camels were my
only comfort always thought
camels needed q warm climate. but
there were hundreds of them, and
all were fat How they kept fat I
don't know. although they would
eat anything. even nails. When
got unusually dOwnhearted one OF
these mdicrous camels would bray
and cheer me mp. The people don't
Kiln them because they are too val
liable. they are the only means OF
transport left
There IS absolutely no seed left
i'm the district. and what the people
VIII do for crops next year IS more
than ] can see. Ou my trip out I
did not see a sinEle blade Of winter
wheat and that section used TO be
the great Eranary of Europe"
Mr. F'loete was fin Pubachov az
Tho time woman bandit. famous
throughout aU the NoIra region as
the companion Of the Cossack Chief
Sarof raided the town M the head
OF 500 other men and women cos
sacks The bandits took all the
the exception Of American stores
which they did not touch.
Wagons We're Not Co BE Touched
we heard they were coming the
day before" AIR FIoete said al
the village officials. an the Com
mUnists were much alarmed AL
the officials left town. only the
Communists troops remaining or
the way fn the cCesacks passed
some of our wagons but as soon as
they learned who they belonged &c
they gave orders that the wagons
were not 20 be touched. Sarof alsc
told his band that anyone who went
20 the American warehouse would
be shot
When they rode into town they
were led by this woman. one or IN,
most beautiful women I ever saw.
suppose she had charge OF the vvo
men I'm the band. They were al
dressed in sheepskins and rod,
splendid horses There was no sigr
OF famine an-ouE them. and I learn.