Feeding the Hungry, P. C. Hiebert, 1929

, since we anticipated no trouble here, where we thought things were all arranged for the feeding. It was evidently God who used circumstances to bring help to these people in anguish. It would perhaps be in place to mention that imprisonment only too often meant death from starvation, vermin or diseases contracted from associates behind the bars. We took the position that the local chief had no authority over the American supplies, and inquired where VIZUALIZING FAMINE CONDITIONS 253 we could see this gentleman. ‘He is in this very house. He is occupying our best rooms. The tall man with the bandage, whom you saw on the porch, is the despot.’ According to custom in Russia we at once sent notice of our arrival in the village with the request for an early interview. We were invited to come at once. With two interpreters we entered the room of this petty official and found him seated behind a table, clad in very plain clothes, a gun with a sharp bayonet at his side, and the conspicu- ous bandage still around his head. Upon our entrance he politely arose, was introduced, and greeting us, re- quested that we take seats. This we did, and presenting our papers, we stated the purpose of our coming. I handed him our papers from the Soviet authorities, which he curiously eyed for some time and referred them to a boy of about fifteen by his side to read. During the reading he repeatedly nodded his assent, which we took as a fair omen. Thereupon he attempted to affix his official seal, with which he had very much difficulty, since he had no inking-pad and evidently lacked experience in work of that kind. Eventually he moistened the stamp with his breath and applied it to our paper. The boy wrote out a short statement acknowledging the paper, which the chief signed with his mark. After these first ceremonies we proceeded to discuss our problem, to which he answered with the charge against our committee, that they persisted in feeding those who still had food, while the starving ones were entirely neg- lected. Our reply was that we had come to investigate this matter, and that we were determined to have the most needy fed and not those who still had food. He volunteered to punish our committee for us by sending them all to prison the next day, which we warded off by stating that we would see to this punishment ourselves; but that we were anxious to codperate with him in seeing 254 FEEDING THE HUNGRY that the food reached the proper persons. We succeeded through kindness and perhaps a little flattery to get his good will, and his promise to leave our committee out of prison, and under our own charge. So we went to report to the committee waiting in another room who, when we came, were almost overcome with joy at the happy turn of events. Together we ‘returned thanks to Almighty God for His answer to prayer and all His mercy and kindness, and then retired for the night, with the expecta- tion of