1'74 THE ZEMSTVOS DURING THE WAR 
The provincial zemstvo board of Ekaterinoslav reported that it 
had already spent 360,000 rubles, and requested the immediate re- 
mittance of an enormous sum, its expenditure for refugees being 
close on 2,000,000 rubles a month. Again, on October 3, the follow- 
ing telegram was received from the provincial zemstvo board of 
Samara: “No money; refugees arriving continuously; if no credits, 
assistance will cease.” Similar telegrams were being received from 
all parts of the country, while the Zemstvo Union was as yet in no 
position to send any money. Its resources having come to an end, it 
advised local committees to apply direct to the Special Council. But 
even then no improvement took place, since the very method of 
allocating funds still remained undetermined. 
Interference of the Government. 
The Special Council on Refugees worked out no uniform general 
scheme of relief for refugees, and funds were distributed among the 
organizations without due regard to their actual needs. Matters of 
principle simply had to be settled as they arose from day to day, 
while the financial commission was busy examining local estimates 
and budgets. These estimates were compiled in various ways; some 
organizations were serving the needs of a large number of areas in 
respect to some particular branch of relief, while others, again, sup- 
plied all kinds of relief within a limited territorial unit, such as a 
district or a province. The consequence was a situation of constant 
conflict, the proper settlement of which presented considerable diffi- 
culty. Some refugees would thus obtain the same relief on more than 
one occasion while others might possibly be left without any relief 
whatever. The very principles on which the relief work was based 
also differed according to locality. Thus, some organizations would 
issue rations to all the refugees, while others would issue them to 
those unable to work. Again, in one and the same locality rations 
might be reduced for large families, while other organizations would 
have a uniform ration for everybody; some organizations would 
take into account the government allowance received by the refugee 
dependents of mobilized men, while others would not; some organi- 
zations did and others did not furnish clothing, and so on. 
A great deal of time was required to coérdinate the conflicting es- 
timates. As a general rule, they would not be examined during the