off by the White Armies at the point of the
bayonet.
Semashko and his friends have no fear of to-morrow if only they are allowed their chance, but as with everything else in Russia, the future depends on peace. Given peace, this work of reorganising the civilian life of the people will be taken in hand, and there is no reason at all why Russia should not become one of the healthiest of the nations of Europe.
With regard to housing : that is a problem in Russia as everywhere else. The wretched working class dwellings of the great towns are themselves a standing example of the disgraceful manner in which the Czarist Government neglected the life of the people. Almost under the walls of the Kremlin and within sight of the most magnificent cathedral in Moscow there are slum districts, the like of which I should think could scarcely be found anywhere else in the world—except in the very worst quarters of industrial towns. Many of these have been destroyed since the revolution, having been pulled down and the wood used as fuel. Semashko hopes that these will never be rebuilt. He hopes that great areas of the cities will be cleared, for good and for all, and that an altogether new housing scheme will be adopted. This is, however, for the future : the whole work of his department, as far as efficiency and effectiveness is concerned, I
