Feeding the Hungry, P. C. Hiebert, 1929

IN RUSSIA CHAPTER IX STIMULUS LEADING TO THE UNDERTAKING OF RECONSTRUCTION WorK Feed the hungry! Clothe the naked! was the slogar of the American Mennonites when they ventured upon the Relief work in Russia, but farsighted people, who thought for the future as well as for the present soon began to realize that to keep the people alive for the time being was only one phase of our obligations, the other being to help them become self-supporting as soon as possible. Sound reasoning taught that the cheapest food that we could get to them would be the food we helped them raise for themselves; and the cheapest clothing that we could furnish them would be that which they wove and spun with their own hands of the wool from their own sheep; or what they could obtain in exchange for things they produced themselves. With these facts in mind Reconstruction Work was undertaken along the fol- lowing lines: The Shipment and Distribution among the Colonies of Fifty Tractors; The Purchase and Resale on Credit of Horses and Sheep; The Supply of Seed Grain; and The Encouragement of Home Industries. SUGGESTIONS OF THE ‘“STUDIEN KOMMISSION”’ Probably the first stimulus for this work came from the ‘‘Studien-Kommission,” sent out by the Mennonites in Russia to study carefully colonization possibilities. These men were of a practical bent of mind, who from the first 294 FEEDING THE HUNGRY realized that the emigration at best could not be accom- plished in a short time, therefore they recommended that reconstruction-plans should be included in relief projects, suggesting however, that all assistance for reconstruction work should not be given outright but on a loan basis. This would be better for the donors as well as for the beneficiaries. They had complete confidence in their peo- ple and took it as a matter of course that they would make good as soon as they were given an opportunity, and would from a point of self-respect be only too glad to reimburse their benefactors as soon as conditions per- mitted. The members of the Commission, being well in- formed on the conditions of both agriculture and industry in their communities, were convinced that rehabilitation without outside help would necessarily be slow. Too slow for the best interest of the poeple, since a long period of depression following one of oppression would necessarily affect the morale of any people. A long period of pov- erty and want would also seriously endanger their splendid educational system, of which they were justly proud. Then there were the special institutions, such as old people’s homes, orphanages, hospitals, asylums, etc., of which they had not a few. All of these had been liberally supported during better times, and had been in an excellent condition. The wealthier people had quite generally taken pride in being recognized as liberal con- tributors to these worthy enterprises. Reports or Our FIELD WORKERS The opi