charities, but I believe I ought to. A good many facts about them have
come my way, and I consider that the public at home should be told how
the finances are being administered.

I know of one hospital in Russia which has, I believe, cost England
L100,000. The staff consists of nurses and doctors, dressers, etc., all
fully paid. The expenses of those in charge of it are met out of the
funds. They live in good hotels, and have "entertaining allowances" for
entertaining their friends, and yet one of them herself volunteered the
information that the hospital is not required. The staff arrived weeks
ago, but not the stores. Probably the building won't be opened for some
time to come, and when it is opened there will be difficulty in getting
patients to fill it.

In many parts of Russia hospitals are _not_ wanted. In Petrograd there
are five hundred of them run by Russians alone.

Then there is a fund for relief of the Poles, which is administered by
Princess ----. The ambulance-car which the fund possesses is used by the
Princess to take her to the theatre every night.

A great deal of money has been subscribed for the benefit of the
Armenians. Who knows how much this has cost the givers? yet the
distribution of this large sum seems to be conducted on most haphazard
lines. An open letter arrived the other day for the Mayor of Tiflis.
There is no Mayor of Tiflis, so the letter was brought to Major ----. It
said: "Have you received two cheques already sent? We have had no
acknowledgment." There seems to be no check on the expenditure, and
there is no local organisation for dispensing the relief. I don't say
that it is cheating: I only say as much as I know.

[Page Heading: ILL-BESTOWED CHARITY]

A number of motor-ambulances were sent to Russia by some generous people
in England the other day. They were inspected by Royalty before being
despatched, and arrived in the care of Mr. ----. When their engines were
examined it was found that they were tied together with bits of
copper-wire, and even with string. None of them could be made to go, and
they were returned to England.

We are desperately hard up at home just now, and we are denying
ourselves in order to send these charitable contributions to the richest
country in the world. Gorlebeff himself (head of the Russian Red Cross
Society) has L30,000 a year. Armenians are literally rolling in money,
and it is common to find Armenian ladies buying hats at 250 Rs. (L25) i