The daily star-mirror. (Moscow, Idaho) 1911-1939, 1922-03-17
RUSSIA IN CHAOS
WRITESIIAMERICAN
MEMBER UNIVERSITY FACULTY
GETS LETTER TELLING FIRST
HAND OF CONDITIONS.

The utter failure of the Bolshevik
government is vividly portrayed in a
letter recently received from Russia
by a member of the University of
Idaho faculty.
The writer of the letter is an Amer
can Of high standing and a keen OBJ
server who has been in Russia many
times before, during and since the
war, and under circumstances per-
mitting unusual opportunity for OBJ
servation of social and industrial
conditions.
The following extracts depict the
situation:
''From this distance and moral at
mosphere it seems as if it were ages
since we met, and as if it were on
another planet that you are living.
During the last eighteen months l
have travelled so much and have seen
SO much that l am all confused and
when | shall return to America l
shall fee like a Rip Van Wrinkle.
Russia AdyenturesOme Country
81 have been up and down the Vol
ga, from Kazan to Astrakhan, over a
part of the Ukraine and now we are
on our way to Georgia and Armenia
In some respects Russia is a most in
teresting and exciting country to
travel in for it is full of surprises.
One can never tell what the station
agent may do or what the engine
driver will get into his head. 1t has
happened more than once that the
train crew stopped the train in the
middle of a plain and told the pas
sengers that the train would not pro-
ceed until each Of the passengers
made donation Each car is organ
lied into Soviet and must produce
its share. If it does not do its duty
that particular car will be left on
some siding some cold dark night.
This is just one kind of adventure but
will not tell them ALL
THE food situation is very bad and
do not now see sunshine ahead. The
lack of rain is not the only cause of
the famine, the whole economic sys-
tenn has broken down, the peasant,
when he plants his field does
not know whether he or somebody
else will get the fruits of it. Until
confidence is restored there is no
possibility of bringing back life to
this country. Industry does not ex-
ist and for the same reason that agri-
that | travel | see cold smoke stacks
and ruined factories.
Russia Will Recover
Naturalization has proved fail
ure and now the government asks the
former owners to take back the shops
and run them but they are unwilling
to do so because Cd they have not
the capital and CD they have no con-
in the promise of the govern
ment Russia will recover, but it is
a question of time. Revolutions do
much harm and at times great good.
The revolution has swept away many
it has opened the eyes to the
old and new evils, it has educated the
people, the masses and they Will no
longer be as susceptible as they have
been to propaganda. But the present
generation is paying high price for
the benefits which the future gener-
alton will reap. Thousands of best
minds and spirits have fallen by the
way side and those who have sur
vived are broken in body and in
spirit If this suffering continues
many more years there will be but
a mere handful # cultured people
left.
'The train has just stopped at -
and hundreds of people are trying to
get on the train on which there is
no room. The cars are not heated,
not lighted, and many of the passen- !
ger cars are mere box cars. Some of
he people ride, even in this cold
weather, on the bumpers and on the
steps One of the station agents told /
ne the other day that from each train
several dead people are daily carried /
)ff. Some have died of hunger, /
)thers Of cold and still others of
yphus Trains are the most deadly
yphus carriers. The side tracks are
illed with discarded engines, cars,
md worn out war material. They
ell the story of the breakdown"
c. T. Murphy of Yakima was q