the salvation of Russia.

At present the situation is bad. Russia is straining every
nerve to raise an army to oppose the encircling White
Guards. That the army is efficient is demonstrated by the
present location of Soviet forces who have contended with
the Russian White Guard supported by enormous sums of money,
munitions, and even soldiers from the Allies. Naturally,
transportation is inefficient; it was horrible in the last
year of the Czar's regime. Absolute separation from the rest
of the world, combined with the chaotic conditions which
Russia has passed through since the 1917 revolution, plus
the sabotage, which until recently was quite general among
the intelligent classes, including engineers, has resulted
in a decrease in rolling stock. The transportation of the
enormous army which has been raised limits the number of
cars which can be used for food. The cutting off of Siberia,
Finland, the Baltic Provinces, and until recently the
Ukraine, made it necessary to establish new lines of food
transportation. Consequently there has been great suffering
in Petrograd. Of the population of a million, 200,000 are
reported by the board of health to be ill, 100,000 seriously
ill in hospitals or at home, and another 100,000 with
swollen limbs still able to go to the food kitchens.
However, the reports of people dying in the streets are not
true. Whatever food exists is fairly well distributed and
there are food kitchens where anyone can get a fairly good
dinner for 3.50 rubles.

For money one can still obtain many of the luxuries of life.
The children, some 50,000 of whom have been provided with
homes, are splendidly taken care of, and except for the
absence of milk have little to complain of. In the public
schools free lunches are given the children, and one sees in
the faces of the younger generation little of the suffering
which some of the older people have undergone and are
undergoing. Food conditions have improved recently, due to
the suspension of passenger traffic and the retaking of the
Ukraine, where food is plentiful. From 60 to 100 carloads of
food have arrived in Petrograd each day since February 18.

Perhaps it is futile to add that my solution of the Russian
problem is some sort of recognition of the present