i'LULJC HEALTH 1'1:uI!IJ:M> I.\ /.7»7.1 



37 



the liiK's of sanit;i(ii)ii and the prcM'ii- 

 tion of disease. 



We foniid iio >tri(lly >anil;wy or 

 lufdical civilian ])nililcms which wci-c 

 so urp'iil as to demand aid fnuii Amer- 

 ica (hii-iiii: the present (•i-i>i-. The 

 feedini;' of the ])o])ulat ion. ami pai- 

 ticidarlx' of tlie chihlren. in the larp' 

 cities will, however. re(|uii'e ener;:etic 

 efl'ort? if stnrvatiiHi and demoralizing: 

 disorder are to he avoided dui'iii^ tlie 

 coining winter. Russia has food enongh 

 for her needs as a wjiole. hut peasant 

 hoarding and deficient transpoi-tation 

 facilities prevent its efTective distrihu- 

 tion. grille is particularly needed in 

 Petrograd where tlie us(> of this essen- 

 tial food for children was limited even 

 in August to hahies under three, and 

 where the total supply was only ahout 

 one tenth of that needed according to 

 accepted dietary standards. 



In connection with this prohkin we 

 worked in cooperation with the ]\Iin- 

 istry of Social Help in the preparation 

 of jtlans for fourteen district feeding- 

 points in Petrograd with night refuges 

 for the homeless, 'i'he ^linistry esti- 

 mated that 100. 00(1 chilfhvn would he 

 in need of food and oooo al)solutely 

 destitute. Here, a- in tin- ease of mili- 

 tary relief, it was the aim of the Amer- 

 ican licd Cross to supply those things 

 which could not he ohtained hy the 

 Russians themselves, — in this case milk. 

 — and a million pounds of condensed 

 milk left the United States in Octoher 

 for the use of the children of Petro- 

 grad. 



Tt is of course possihle — hut not, I 

 think. ]n-ohahle— that the crisis created 

 hy the formation of the present Bolshe- 

 vick government may put an end to the 

 cooperation between America and Rus- 

 sia which began last summer with so 

 much promise. Even the Bolsheviki do 

 not dare openly to advocate a separate 

 peace with Germany : but their policies 

 would be likelv to lead to such a result. 



and if K'u-sia shoulil deliiiitely abaiulon 

 th<' war I he energies of .\iiierica must 



perhap> he applied elsewhere. I'etfograd 



i> iiiii |{n>-ia. Iin\\r\er. and the \\n]- 

 >he\iki are imt ihe Kii>-ian people. The 

 !e;d li'ii»ia is ,-liaken hut not shaltered 

 hy three \ears of war, disorganized luil 

 iidl (lemn|-;dized h\- nine month- of 

 i'e\oliiI ion. In lhe>e Irving dav- we 

 may rememhei' the h'ii>>ia that hiiilt up 

 the Zenistvos, the Russia that con- 

 ducted an almost bloodless rcNohitioii 

 and maintained a siii'prising degree of 

 order without legally const itiiti'd au- 

 thoi-ity during the ensuing iiionth.-, the 

 Russia that through the Ministries of 

 Social Help and Education and many 

 other agencies is planning for a new 

 and solid future. We may think of the 

 great mass of the peasantry, conserva- 

 tive and law^ abiding, who will find 

 voice for the first time in the Constitu- 

 ent Assembly this winter, of the great 

 Russian Church which has reforined 

 and liberalized itself since the Revolu- 

 tion without losing its fervent religious 

 faith and sense of national solidarity, 

 of the Chevaliers of St. George and the 

 Battalions of Death, pledged never to 

 surrender nor to cease fighting until the 

 (h'l'inan beast is chained, of the women 

 of liussia who are not only doing more 

 than their share of the physical labor 

 and tile thoughtful planning of the new 

 ]\e])uhlic but actually have been fight- 

 ing her liattles at the front with gal- 

 lantry and devotion. 



Tt is this Russia which looks to Amer- 

 ica for aid. ^lajor Stanley Washburn 

 has said that as long as one division 

 of Russian troops keeps up the fight 

 against Germany we .should be behind 

 that division a million strong. If that 

 continue.- to l)e the spirit of America. 

 Russia will win through and will come 

 out of the struggle strong and liberal, 

 an effective bulwark against Prussian- 

 ism after the war and a sure guarantee 

 of peace and justice in the Far East. 



