90 THE ZEMSTVOS DURING THE WAR
of the city councils of Petrograd and Moscow and to the Unions of
Zemstvos and of Towns. The latter two organizations were to pro-
vide 155,400 beds.
The Zemstvo Union unhesitatingly assumed two-thirds of the
entire burden, while the Union of Towns undertook the remainder.
The general organization was discussed jointly by both bodies. The
capacity of each province was determined in accordance with its
geographical situation in relation to the clearing hospital, by tak-
ing into account its facilities for communication, such as roads, etc.,
and the number of cities and towns. By a telegram of August 31,
1914, the provincial zemstvos were informed of the number of beds
to be provided in their respective provinces. The actual work on the
spot, however, had already begun early in August. For the first six
months this work is expressed in the following figures:
Number of Beds Maintained by the Zemstvo Union.
Interior area Front area Total
7,141 4,734 11,875
51,776 7,912 59,688
103,635 “5,319 118,954
126,126 22,692 148,818
131,276 22,452 153,728
139,649 24,793 164,442
148.829 27.693 171,519
Dates
August 15
September 1
October 1
November 1
December 1
January 1
February 1
1915
The organization was subjected to a severe test during the first
six months: nevertheless zemstvo hospitals were overcrowded only
once, and this before a regular evacuation plan could be worked out,
namely, at the end of August, and in the beginning of September, as
a result of the severe fighting in Galicia.?
We have already seen that the number of beds maintained by the
Zemstvo Union continued after this to increase uninterruptedly,
reaching the number of nearly 200,000 in the second half of 1916.
The report of the Zemstvo Union for the first eighteen months of
the War, noting the fact that there were 173.000 zemstvo beds in
existence on January 1, 1916, states:
On the whole, so far as the number of beds furnished is concerned,
2 Obgor Deyatelnosti (Outline) of the Work of the Central Committee of
the Union of Zemstvos from August 1, 1914, to February 1, 1915, pp. 84-61
