Feeding the Hungry, P. C. Hiebert, 1929

ore officials and magistrates who were biased and prejudiced, and had concluded in advance which way the verdict would go. Men before whom our brethren had no chance for right, would act most kindly when speaking with an American. The native Russian has a most striking respect for a foreigner. This together with the prestige that we had as relief workers under the protection of the Moscow VIZUALIZING FAMINE CONDITIONS POAT government, and with what to them seemed unlimited sup- plies of food, could often secure protection and favors from the government which would have been harshly de- nied, had our brethren appeared alone. FAMINE SCENES AND EPISODES A Home without Bread. It once was a happy home; when father brought into the house the necessities of life and mother took care of what came and prepared that which was needed for the welfare of the family. Love reigned supreme, and happiness and contentment were the order of the day. The family altar was remembered morning and evening in that devout and happy way which is possible only for persons whose religion is life and whose life is religion. But with the war-cloud threatening, and then the outbreak of hostilities in the great conflict of nations, when the husband and father was called into service, the sunshine of the home began to wane; yet the reports, even though irregular, of husband and father always brought new hope of an early reunion and return of the former life of peace and happiness. One pleasant October evening, in the fall of 1918, the father unexpectedly reached home. With him came new hope, courage and happiness. Every one thought that soon all would be well. However, these hopeful folk were doomed to bitter disappointment. Only too soon came the civil wars, that robbed the country of its peace and means of sustenance. Following the civil wars, the heartless requisitions of all supplies by the Soviet authori- ties left the country without any evident possibility of an early return to normal; but in the following summers the sky seemed brazen, the clouds brought no refreshing rains and the grain that had been entrusted to the soil remained dormant until it spoiled, then it was that the outlook for our happy family became well nigh despairing. The cruel 228 FEEDING THE HUNGRY monster, famine and starvation, rapidly approached from the East, and before the people were willing to believe the terrible truth it had become a fact. The people in our Mennonite villages were beginning to swell and die for want of food. Here we will again take up the narrative of our friends whom we have introduced in the first para- graph. The house and the yard are still the same, but the people have changed. Hearts are heavy and faces look haggard. There is no more money and no opportunity to earn any; the grain in the bin is all gone, and none in the village or neighboring villages from which to make pur- chases; the flour in the sac