1932-10-05 — Page 7

THE RUSSIAN FAMINE OF 1921-2

MR. BARRINGER'S ADDRESS TO ROTARIANS: IMPRESSIONS AND BRIEF SKETCHES

FAMINE LIKENED TO SHELL FIRE

Mr. T. C. Barringer, member of the American Relief Ad- ministration in Russia during the 1921-2 famino, gave an address to Rotarians yesterday, in the course of which he described in vivid details the suffering of the population in Russia during that great famine.

The good work done by the Relief Administration and the pitiful scenes they encountered were brought out by Mr. Barring- er, who paid a tribute to Soviet officials and particularly to the railwaymen of the country.

The disintegration of family and communal life during the time of famine as well as the policy of "every one for hira self" all over the country, was one of the most touching aspects. of Mr. Barringer's address.

FOOD FOR TEN MILLION PEOPLE

Mr. Barringer said:-During the summer of 1821 when it became apparent that the harvest over the immenac area of Bovies Russia had become a complete failure, Russia began to face one of the greatest famiars of modern times.

adult population in tremendous numbers. It was impossible to feed the children coming to the kitchen without their wanting to take food home to their parents, but many times, when the children got home, their parents had died of starva- tion.

Mr. Hoover.

HONG KONG DAILY PRESS, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 5, 1932.

When I went to Russia in 1991, jewellery and diamonds were Ball- ing below their true value in Europe simply because there was no market for them. A year later when the economia situation im proved they exceeded the value in Europa because it was easy in that way to carry large sums of money with you.

Perhaps next to shell-fire, there is nothing more destructive to a town than a famine. When

you go into a town you will find; during a famine period, house after house with the window dill, shutters and floor boards torn out.

There is no clothing or drapary left. All those things have been used up by the population to keep warm or to sell for food. Street after street are in shambles and

there is a disintegration of family and communal life. In these days of keen economic distress it is in teresting to note that when real famine comes, the gang spirit dis- appears. It is when you have food in your belly that you are willing Whea the gang together. famine comes it is everyone for himself and the strongest takes the most. It is not an infrequent sight

to

BRITISH PUBLIC SCHOOLS

MR. SARGENT DEFENDS DISCIPLINE AND

HARD WORK

THE EXAMINATION SYSTEM"

Mr. C. B. Sargent, Headmaster of the Diocesan Boys' School, gave last night, before the Education Society, at the Union Assembly Hall of the University, most interesting lecture on the Public School Systemt,

The 'Speaker said:

When I chose this title it was because I thought it would leave me free to talk about anything I pleased. I soon realised what a bad title it was, partly because each school has its own system, the two I know most about being radically different in method, and

partly because no two personʼn agrée as to what a Public School is

St. Paul's School, London, and Wellingtou *College, Berkshire, afford an interesting comparison of methods. Of the two Welling

to see a man die in front of a re-ton is the more typical. staurant. You can go to the mar

ket place when food is being sold

Both have about 700 boys, but

CHUSAN A TOTAL WRECK

FATE OF B. & S. STEAMER AT WEIHAIWEI

PASSENGERS TAKEN OFF

According to a wireless message received from the Naval authori- ties yesterday, the s Chusan which went ashore on Outer Island, one mile from Weihaiwei, last Saturday night, has become a total wreck, the ship breaking in two.

The ship, which was on a voyage. from Chefod to Shanghai, ran ashore on a roof a mile due East of Half Moon Bay and broke her back on Monday morning.

Half of the passengers and crew were rescued by British warships, H.M.B. Kent and Modway, which The rest of rushed to the scene. the passengers and crew managed

to reach the Island.

Those who reached the Island have not been rescued by the war- ships yesterday as the heavy weather According prevents rescue work. Chusan ron ashore at 9.50 p.m. on to naval wireless information, the

Saturday, and the prevailing gale

Vices wreck,

Mr. Herbert Hoover, Chairman and you can see street after while St. Paul's lian only about ronquiokly pounded her into a hope

At that time the Press was full of rumours of the impending hordes of refugees, starving people that were coming to invade Europe, of the Administration, who was and pictures were painted compar- then Secretary of Commerce, insti- ing it with the march of the Huns gated a proposal to Congress for and Gauls into Europe destroying the appropriation of the sum of everything before them. At that $30,000,000 for corn. It so happen. time the American Relief Missioned that there was some money left was in Europe and they had been over from one of the old war funds

street

bread

of men selling while twenty feet away you would find a man dying of starvation- no one cares, everyone for himself

Small Victims of Starvation.

In other parts children from

against telegraph posts, victims of starvation. While people, walk, down the streets as unconcerned as it nothing was happening.

boarders, Wellington is solely a boarding school.

St. Paul's has a very fine record of successes in scholarship examina- tions at Oxford, Cambridge, and London, and the education pro vided for the intelligent liby with

Classical Grounding.

feeding about fifteen or sixteen-it was merely a case of transfer thres to eleven years of age teandsons initiative is extremely fine." countries, chiefly children up to the arrangement-and as there was a age of sixteen. This work was depression and the American farm started as an outgrowth of the or wanted to get rid of his corn, mission for the relief of Belgium, it was only a matter of a month and as a result, this organisation before the food reached the arcas had, after seven or eight years' ac where starvation existed. tivity, a tremendous amount of axperience, a lot of energy and enthusiasm and last, but not least,

The maximum programme called for the feeding of 10,493,000 people of which 6,000,000 were adults and about 4,000,000 children. Adults were fed a pound of corn a day, The opportunity came to go into but with the children it was au

$10,000,000 to $12,000,000 that still had to be spent.

entirely different proposition. They were given a balanced ration of rise, cocoa, sugar and corn' on a

The insistence on a Classical grounding even for prospective Scienco scholars produces good re- suits. Practically all the most suc cessful scientists have started on the Classical side of the school, transferring to Science specialisa tion only after passing the London

Everything possible was being done. Every time food arrived, these children were picked up and revived. Until food came there was nothing one could do. Many of the children had left their homes Matriculation examination. and walked to town, or maybe had been left by their parents. Under real famine conditions the fight is just taken out of the individual, and you have to experience real famine to see what happens.

I may say that the worst sights

their teens when they needed every ounce of food that they could get to build up their body, unable to

On

the other hand boys of no particu, lar ability gain little or nothing from the school. This at any rate was true during my time at the school, from 1020-25.

BUILDING INDUSTRY

NATIONAL COUNCIL TO BE FORMED

London, Sept. 9.-At a confex- ence of representatives of every section of the building industry, which met at the Royal Institute of British Architects, yesterday under the chairmanship of Sár Raymond Unwin, president of the institute, a draft constitution for

National Council was recom-

monded for acceptance by the or ganizations represented.

It was decided that this body should be named "The Building Industry's National Council," whose objects would be to do ordinate and to give expression to the collective views of the industry

60 1 whole. The conference

GX-

pressed grave concern at the almost complete cessation of work thro aghout the industry, which occu piesa koy position in the coono- mio life of the nation.

Russia several years before the famine conditions became very bad, but suitable terms could not be made.

It was not until the Riga highly specialised schedule. After

At Wellington, on the other hand, agroecient was concluded that two years we withdraw on June 15,

the interest centres on the dull boys.. Every boy has to pass the School official notice was taken of the 1923, having seen the country were those of boys and girls in aituation.

The Riga agreement through the years 1921 and 1927.

Certificate examination before he was rather a remarkable document The year 1922-3 was the aftermath

can enter the upper part of the in that it was rather briof-in fact of the famine and we cut our pro-

school. Last December all 87 candi. it only had about twenty articles, gramme down 20 per cent.

get any food and passing through dates obtained certificates, and the and yet during my two years in

intense starvation. Little children percentages has never fallen below Famine is not, peculiar to any revive very quickly under nourish. 00 per cent., as compared with the teacher who says he hates examina Soviet Russia under all conditions and strange situations, we had to one country. We in Hong Kong ment but it seems to me that these 40-50 per cent of the schools as ations because they cramp bla style. meet with the Soviet conditions knew that in connection with our people in their early teens were the whole. and changing situations of our water famine. We have drought in people who suffered most in the work, there was never a time when the United States and I am sure famine. This was the most dis in Europe and in some respects it the Riga agreement did not cover

tressing sight. every situation. You could always is just as bad as the situation in

Another interesting thing to note

Rigid Supervision. These resulte ate largely account ed for by the rigid system of super-, vision, by tutors and form masters,

Surely it is bad teaching which is afly interesting and alike when diverging from the subject in hand?..

The true teacher makes the sub-

point a finger to some article that Russian, but we have batter roads, about a famine is that bread-can of every boy's work, the elaborata Iject itself the source of interest,

could not be evaded or crossed.

better communications and a better organised system, with the result that canned goods, credit and other facilities practically absorb what I do not know who wrote the in Russia would be a disastrous

The Agreement,

agreement that was never disclos- ed-but the man who did write it knew Russia intimately. Briefly,

agreed to furnish relief and not to

famine.

In Russia this particular famine The

the agreement: was this: We was bad for several reasons,

civil wars preceding, exhausted! engage in commercial enterprise or all surplus grain products. Other become involved in any way with reasons were the refusal of the politics: in turn the Soviets agreed peasants under the Communist sys to give us freedom of watch and tem to produce any more grain seizure, to provide transportation than they needed for their homes to the border and to all places and the appalling drought which where the food was required and covered the tremendous area of also to pay the cost of all the Bus Rusisa

sian personnel. Furthermore and most important of all, we had con-

When Famine Comes.

bread.

for oxaminatipo

And this raises another point,

yes...

always be purchased no matter how intense the situation--but at an

system of marks, and form orders and need not rely on sidelines, and reports, the complete organisa-

Specialist Teachers. price. We could almost determine what the situation was in a particious use of punishments, includ tion of a boys' tiine; and the judi ontar district by the price paid for ing beating. None of these were the importance of specialist teach

employed at St. Paul's, when I ere, Help from Railwaymen. was there, to any extent.

I profoundly disagree with the Wellington has been called the statement that if you can keep boys The organisation I was with had biggest cramming establishment in in order, you can teach them áll had several years of experience and England. This is probably true, you know. The converse is true,

of which to be proud. : there was a marvellous accounting and I consider that it is a thing But all the best teachers I syster and every pound of food 1 om, sick, and fired of hearing have know are men whose know distributed was accounted for, The how bad the examination system is, ledge of their subjecte is deep, for American programme called for and how wrong it is to cram boys beyond the requirements of actual Surely it is not wrong to teach teaching How in one teach well tremendous effort on behalf of the Soviet Government the bandling boys to work hard, even 17 this work unless sure of one's own competence of about 700,000 tous of food. This is not easy or pleasant, toiteach in the subject taught, so that all them to make the utmost use of the heart searching can be directed tonnage was absolutely tremendous available time by working to a cate at the teaching not the subject for the Russian railways and one ful schedule, to teach them to over How can any but an expert really of the finest experiences I bad in come difficulties and to have some be enthusiastic about his subject trol of the food from the time it

and keep the interest alive and setino of relative values; It is interesting to note that

Russia was getting to

freih, without wandering and went over the borders into Russia happens to a civilized community railwaymen. If Soviet Russia know the

Gramming, you meet a man who is an: until it disappeared into the when

famine.com

comes. The first

expert in one subject, but also could have been run by these rail That is what I understand by teaches others, he will always tell months of the children and adults. thing that strikes you, is the Bibli- waymen, they would have got out

There was no turning over at cal expression that "Bread is the of this mess years ago. They are cramming. Of course if it bad if you that his own in the hardest të Only the expert as the any time of the food to any organi. staff of life." In Russia, bread fraternity on their own. They serbs, though even this has ficance of what he teaches. I would

apart from the people and are it only means learning by heart teach.

the valency tables or irregular real difficulties or the true signi- sation. - We could claim it when and was the chief staple foostuff, stuck by the railways despite poli- where we

we liked and that, I think, Frankly and literally speaking, tical conditions and they knew value from the point of view of rather have even the most element

The definite goal of an examina- authority. was the most important factor. We everything you possessed is turned their jobs and mental discipline. Cauca stary work taught by men of real We came away with a tremendous

tion to be passed, and the triumph had the problem of feeding one mil- into terms of bread when you meet amount of respect for the difficul- of achievement, especially if the Dull Boys" Defended. lion children by Christmas. We famine conditions. Next to bread is those in authority in Soviet work is often hard and full done

Rassin were going through and for against time and odds, is surely a In an article in the October wont in in August 1921. When we the valuable thing is your clothes what were they trying to do in the far better training intellectually number of a Hong Kong monthly, saw the conditioné in Hussin it was Next comes wood which helps to way of running the country. They and morally for the grind of future it is stated that far too much at realised that this was just a drop keep you warm and the result is were all workers. There were no jobs than any amount of vague tantion is paid, in education, to the

lounge lizards, but they had a look interest

dull boy I strongly disagree in the bucket. Conditions were on that when you go into a house up of sportaminship which the Ameri- seems to me that the subjects with this, and though I am proud tirely different fror those prevail. der intense famine conditions you cans could not exactly understand tanght watter little, so long as the to have been at St. Paul's, end am ing

in Europe. Whereas in Europe and that they look upon a chair may carried their politics) lows boy learns how to learn how to grateful for the splendid and in

to a point we cannot possibly.com-work box to app the American Relief Administra as being worth so much wood which dive of in our civilations Notar Any average exa

epiring teaching that I had there syllabus-1-am so proud to have shared in tion had to feed for the purpose they can sell in the market for so theless they were always on the four satisfies masa e foundation for: what seems to ms to be the far more of staving off mal-nutrition we much bread Sheets, blankets and eight or nine hours a day, some boy's education, so long as it in valuable work rendered to the com- were faced in Rusels with the pro- other furniture are all converted times twelve, and, Fight or wrong, oludes & Inir augn of subjects manity by Robot like Wellington, we could always count on then to -I have patience with the by concentrating on the average blem of death by starvation in the into tornis of brend in the market. I help us as far as they were able, (Continued an next

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