Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1922-03-06
Bv RAYMOND SWING.
Especial Correspondence


l. the bottoms of thy bins" For
wears even during previous famines' TINS
divine behest has been Needed at least 10
a great extent, Reserves were saved iot
tbe next seeding, and enough as wen ~
tide the great majority over the "'H'el'
rha first really drastic famine IN Inc
history of the volga is the present on0'
for this time the bins are empty
In the great famine Of 1891 heip was
sortbcoming from the district itsen'
met in Moscow an English business man,
former Journalist, who had repor'eu 'ne
famine of 1891 for the London It@'eS' anu
ro,otod how relief had been organized by
the country gentlemen" Of the Volga DIS
ba designated the landowners, and no"
thew had shown great self-sacrihce IN FAVOR
of their peasants.
Bpt now. though certain rich peasants
NAV have reserves, they are not sharihs'
the bottoms of most OF the bins OF the
yolga are bare, Not by the most generous
estimate of the harvest could the district
raise more than one-fourth of the tood
necessary to live through till next summer
Other Causes Caused Famine
Besides disagreement
The assertion has often been made that
the famine is the consequence of Bolsheyik
Encouragement Only in an indirect way
is this true, When the Don valley the
Ukraine and Siberia were cut off by civil
wars the Volga had to bear the strain OF
feeding central Russia. And it was in this
time that the bins were emptied. They
were emptied ruthlessly, by requisition,
often by force. The Communists in those
days were not organizing the land or in
terested in perpetuating the traditional
methods Of distribution. The peasants to
them appeared passive foes, petty bour.
geois," and beyond the pale Of reform.
In their hostility toward the peasants
the Communists lost what may have been
the best opportunity to make the great
experiment" succeed. If instead Of con-
centrating on the problems OF industry
they had spent more energy on the prob
lens of agriculture they might have
averted the dismal stagnation Of this year.
Not all Bolshevik leaders were blind to
this chance Lenine pleaded for reconcilia-
ton with the peasants months before the
Cronstadt uprising made the new economic
policy imperative.
Another assertion that the famine has
weakened Bolshevik power also is not true
in the way 1t is commonly understood.
One must have been in Moscow and ridden
by express" train for thirty-six hours to
Samara to comprehend how distant, geo.
graphically and mentally, the famine Is
from the capital. 1t is no exaggeration to
say that Moscow is no more affected politi-
cally by the desolation on the Volga than
Il the ten stricken governments bordered
on the Pacific.
What might the political influence be?
The refugees marching on Moscow? To
march on Moscow from Samara would be
like sweeping to New York on foot from
South Bend, Ind. Might 1t be concern for
the dying? The Moscow newspapers have
published about the same number OF col
umns Of descriptions of conditions as those
of New York But there Is this difference
between Moscow and New York-the Rus
sian capital has become numb to human
misery; it has experienced so much itself.
True, It is deprived of bread and is told
that its share is destined for the Volga
And scores of benefit free trade" concerts
and plays are given for the famine victims
And Communists are commanded by the
party to surrender all their gold, and
workers vote fortnight's pyok, and even
a horserace is allowed, the Government
holding the bets, all on behalf of the suf
fering. The power of the BolsheviM lies
to some extent in the submission of the
cities But the famine as a human issue
las not affected this power.
Eort1fra &c an Lccua