New-York tribune., 1922-04-04
Russia
M the Red Sht.dO,U

(Centinrcd from csGH ena)
seldshness, cunning and gluttouy.
Famine may follow bat It is not the
cause Of revolution.
even the statistics Of famine conceal
themselves, and statesinen in later
years looking back over Old records
to ilild the cost Of famine in human life
will find the deaths shifted from starva-
tion. which comes In it's simple form
TO but small proportion OF the great
number Of those who are lost, shifted to
deaths from typhus, Oh olera, tubercu-
soAls, which are induced by starvation
And take the larger toll.
Go with lie into soule typical homes
IN countr~ and city and keep your
eyes open to observe what the people
eat. Here is woman who always
drinks cup Of tea when ahe is hum
CRY. In thousands Of homes hot tea
has come to take the place Of eating.
In another place we iind d woman who
contents herself with eating sunhoweY
seed. This habit, always current in
Ruasia---far more than the gum chew
ing habit in the United States-has
become almost q rite. 1t is manner
Of carrying or.
II one has neither tc4 Tor sunnower
scotland this sometimes l,appens-onc
may go to bed. A charming little old
lady told me that nothing would equal
going to bed and lying on ones stom
ach Il one we're hungry it had not
worked well at first. But she had
trained herself so that she could al
most think that she had catcM.
People Thankful to Get
Diet OF Bread and Tea
But, after all, the Russian people do
eat sometimes even during a famine.
What do they eat? AS rule bread
| washed down with ten. This, which
wao formerly the ration Of the peasant,
Is now the foundation OF the meal Of
SS9 out OF a thousand OF the Russian
| people who are Fortunate enough to
eat at all TO this there is added
sometimes, little fish; lnore seldom
/ a little meat tr sausage. On rare oc-
casions for the well-t do there is Z
sweet
! The government ration upon which
the people have depended for four
years has now practically disappeared.
! The people have been thrown on their
own resources and wild scramble for
| the little remaining food in sight has
! begun.
Until yesterday the city was pro-
; Y.
To-day the country has been sucked
dry and there is little more TO come to
the city. Prices are mounting highe :
aAd higher. Bread has multiplied three
times Ia price in TWO months.
In tie village there is famine in its
stark na!,edness. There are no food
shops, as in the city, to give an air Of
artificial plenty to the poverty of the
people: Each peasant draws his sup
Plies from his Own bins. When these
are empty he and his family starve
lie as long past. the idea thae he owes
anything TO his less fortunate neighbor
Ihe peasant knew in September that
his wheat stocks were going to be low
and he began to mix his grains in order
20 make them last longer. In earl
autumn the reports Of deaths by star
vation began. For village Of o,00C
this was about the number OF desfbs
by months: September, S; October, Is:
November. 10; December, 20; Januarv
100. Some OF these deaths we're froi.
a combination OF starvation and typhus
but starvation wes the trst cause o;
death.
many villages had disappeared. Tbi,
lett some rye, ln;llet and lebids uuti
January. In January, when ali the gooe
grain vas gone, the whole population
began TO live on grain substitutes. O.
these the chief is lebida. Lebida j,
very common in Russia as q weed Il,
gardens, kitchen gardens, along the
roads and fields. It is Oft tea met witt
amid the rye, where it grows abun
dainty, especially in seasons Of bat
crops.
; Al analysis Of lcoida seed By til,
Hyg:enic Institute Of Moscow Uni
/,
= showed that lebida contains about Il
pe- cent Of water. Or the dry sub
ata1.ce moro than half is starch anc
, Other nitrogen and extraction sub
Stances less than u quarter celluia
tissues, a sixth nitrogen combination,
ard certain amount Of Fat.
Peril Turks in Lebida
II Partaken Too Often
Lcbida is not unlike oats. But til,
nouriShlng principles Of iebida seet
do not agree with the digestive Auid
: OF man When feeding on leb!da th,
Individual Is soon exhausted bccaus,
OK poisonous principle in the seed
II IS hurtful to old people and chill
oren,. and among the LITTER Gauge
swelling Of the stomach.
Acverthe!ess, the peasants would b.
happy II they had ample quantities o
: lebida to carry them through Unit;
spring But even lebida supplies ar
limited. After shese arc gone tn
people eat bread OF bark, weeds, cla,
CT dung. have brought home speci
mems OF all four kinds Of bread, whicl
| took from the peasants in cxchang
10 hard crackers.
The peasants look on starvation Il
almost humorous way. Undoubtedl:
they are interested in 1t. Asked wha