118 THE ZEMSTVOS DURING THE WAR
cess be assured, it is undesirable that individual zemstvos should make
application for grants to combat epidemics. independently of the Zem-
stvo Union.2®
This resolution was immediately communicated to the President
of the Council of Ministers. However, no progress was made and the
next conference of the zemstvo representatives found it necessary on
June 5 to pass the following resolution on the same question: “The
conference observes that the question of the campaign against epi-
demics still remains unsettled, and instructs the Central Committee
to take all necessary measures to enable the Zemstvo Union to under-
take this work.”**
The disasters which befell the Russian army in December, 1915,
and the patriotic enthusiasm to which these gave rise in the ranks of
the two unions, which had begun to supply the army with munitions
of war, somewhat altered the attitude of the Government, so that the
deadlock on the epidemic question was at last resolved. In its Sep-
tember budget, the Zemstvo Union again made provision for this
work. On August 2 a government conference was held, which was
attended by representatives of various departments and institutions
charged with the work of combating contagious diseases. The con-
ference agreed in principle that “all measures against the spread of
contagious diseases in the army should be taken by the Union of
Zemstvos and the Union of Towns, the indispensable funds to be al-
lotted from war appropriations, but measures against the spread of
epidemic diseases among the civil population should be left in the
control of the local civic institutions subsidized by the Anti-Plague
Commission.”
This division of the work of combating epidemics between mili-
tary and civil officers could never be strictly observed in practice.
However, thanks to this decision, the Zemstvo Union was at last
furnished with the necessary funds (6,948,600 rubles) and this, to-
gether with funds previously allotted by the Anti-Plague Commis-
sion to individual zemstvos (about 7,500,000 rubles), was enough to
assure at least a partial execution of the initial program.
28 Javestia (Bulletin), No. 11, p. 10.
24 I'bid., No. 17, pp. 18-19.
