Evening star., 1940-05-28
Acute Food SHORTAGE
In Soviet Threatens
Famine Next Winter
New Squeeze Reform
Storts Another Passive
Revolt Of Peasants

Storts Another Passive
Revolt Of Peasants
BY LELAND STOWE,
Chicago Daily News Foreisn Correspondent
BUCHAREST, May 28.-Soviet
Russia is now in the hungriest pc
riod that its score of millions OF
nonparty proletarians have expert
enced since the big famine of 1888.
Nearly half of the Russian prov
inces are reliably reported to be in
a condition of semi-famine, while
acute hunger gnaws the inhabitants
OF large areas of many provinces.
After 1885 extremely bad har-
vests and last years very poor har-
vest, the Soviets stand in the most
urgent need of good crops this au-
tumn, but the Kremlin's latest
squeeze reform" has precipitated
another passive rebellion of peas
ants on thousands of collective
farms. In addition, and for several
pertinent reasons, this seasons SOW
ing and planting is more than a
month behind normal schedule.
Acknowledgements the summer
fingers exceptionally long-there
exists the serious possibility that a
second devastating famine may
sweep the Soviet Union next win
ter. If the Soviet should get in
volved in war, In the meantime, such
q development would appear almost
inevitable. Even so. the menace Of
q future famine offers no guarantee
of peace to Russia's inarticulate
masses. Against all logic and all OBJ
stacles, both human and mechan-
ical, Dictator Josef v. Stain may
decide at any moment that Bessa-
rabia must be taken and that Mos
COW must control the mouth of the
Danube, but If the Kremlin takes
this desperate gamble at any time
In the next two months, millions OF
proletarians will pay fearful price
before the year ends.
Aftermath Of Finnish War.
A pre-view of what this price can
be was afforded by the Russo-Finn-
ish War. 1t precipitated a serious
food shortage from which the coun-
try as a whole has by no means re-
covered. 1t killed off an unknown
number of invaluable farm horses;
1t played havoc with normal indus
trial production. Combined with
the huge mobilization provoked by
the western war, the aggression
against Finland took tens of thous-
ands of skilled laborers and tech
nicians away from their posts, and
most of them are still under arms.
During the winter months, while
the Firms resisted stubbornly, food
became exceedingly scarce in Mos
COW and near-famine Snote many
provinces. Since March, however,
the long queues of shabby, hungry
Muscovites have diminished greatly
In length. People can now get a
little butter or cheese at the cost
per pound of approximately half a
days wages. Nevertheless, en-
countered numerous food queues on
Moscow streets last week and scores
of such queues were common sight
as people went to buy milk or tried
to get their limited supply of fish.
Under such circumstances, Mos
COW is now said to be comparatively
we'll off, but conditions in half Of
the provinces are described as
'frightful." For three and one
half months food supplies every
where were sidetracked in order
to ship weapons and food to the
Red Army on the Karelian Isthmus.
When the war ended and spring
arrived, food transportations to the
largest cities improved somewhat,
but railroad transit still remains
crippled and disorganized and
countless millions in the towns and
villages are the last to be served.
Moscow May Risk All.
Sudden and stupendous intensif1-
cation of the western war has now
tremendously increased the possi-
bility Of the Soviet Unions involve
ment. The Kremlin cannot pos
sibly afford to get involved with
any big power. but the great wars
expansion at any moment may
force the issue. Tomorrow or next
week Stain may find that 1t is now
or never in regard to Bessarabia-
or that the Nazis' hands at last
have become so engaged against
Great Britain and France that the
Soviets have their only chance to
establish new defense outposts far
inside Rumania's present frontier.
Thus Moscow may feel forced to
risk all, including unknown crops
and future famine.
This danger was clearly foreseen
by Soviet leaders as far back as last
December. At that time it was pro-
posed to train 100000 women to
replace mobilized men as tractor op-
orators. The Peoples Commissar for
Agriculture declared, I'VE must train
successfully an enormous army OF
women capable of operating various
machines by the spring of 1910 In
order that no complications in the
international situation may disturb
the normal development of our agri-
culture"
How many such women have been
trained has not been revealed but
the normal course Of Soviet agricul-
ture has been considerably dislo-
Gated already by strictly internal
causes. On the eve of June / more
than half of the Ukranian bread
basket remains unsown or unplowed
Hundreds and probably thousands
of tractors are reported immobilized
due to lack of spare parts and as
many more tractors have not budged
because fuel has not yet reached
them. A great many collective farm
villages which depend upon tractor
stations are still extremely short OF
gasoline.
Passive Resistance to Taxes.
l.