The tradesmen, the merchants, all people of any means were ruined; the
poor workman was left without a crust of bread. The invading foe
forced both these groups to flee. Where were they to flee? The
simplest solution that presented itself was for them to go into other
cities of the "Pale." But the burden of the war was felt there also.
The chief bread-winner of the family had gone to war; both industries
and trades were crippled. Emigration, the safety valve of poverty, was
now impossible. Into the midst of this suffering came pouring in the
refugees from the border regions, on the one hand, and on the other,
the exiles from Germany and Austria, where they had previously found
food and shelter, and whence they had now, so to speak, been thrown
overboard.
The economic role of such an element, hungry and unemployed, is easily
appraised. Small wonder, then, that such a condition should become
absolutely unbearable; starvation has become a common occurrence, and
many prefer suicide to asking for alms.
Pages:
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112