FAMILIES OF MOBILIZED MEN 135 
was passed on June 25, 1912, relieving the zemstvos from this 
charge and laying it upon the state. Under the new law the main- 
tenance of the dependents of mobilized men was assumed by the 
Treasury and the work of compiling the necessary lists and issuing 
the allowances was entrusted to special volost relief committees 
elected at volost meetings and operating under the control of boards 
of local officers of the central government (zemski nachalnik).? 
The zemstvo institutions, therefore, were entirely excluded from 
this relief work. Very shortly after the outbreak of the Great War, 
however, the Government realized the need of reorganizing the ad- 
ministration of relief of dependents of mobilized men. On August 
29, 1914, a decree was issued replacing the none too popular boards 
of local officers of the central government by the new district relief 
committees in the duty of supervising the work of the volost relief 
committees. While it is true that these large collegiate bodies in- 
cluded practically all local officials of the central government, it 
should be noted that representatives of the local government were 
also admitted. The district zemstvo was represented by all the mem- 
bers of the district zemstvo board and two delegates from the zem- 
stvo assembly. The secretarial work of the district relief committee, 
which meant practically all the executive work, was entrusted under 
the new law to the district zemstvo boards. In this manner, the 
checking of the lists of persons entitled to government allowances 
compiled by the volost relief committees, as well as the supervision 
of the preparation of such lists and. the control of payments, were 
concentrated in the hands of the district zemstvo. The essential fea- 
ture of the law of August 29, 1914, was that it eliminated waste of 
labor, since many zemstvos had on their own initiative already un- 
dertaken a registration of families of mobilized men; for in order 
to assist them, they naturally required to know the exact number 
of such persons and the nature of their wants. The government 
monthly allowances were calculated under the law on the following 
basis: each person supported was entitled to sixty-eight Russian 
pounds of flour, ten pounds of grits, four pounds of salt, and one 
pound of vegetable oil. The allowances were paid in cash, however. 
® These officials were appointed by the Government and had no relation to 
the zemstvos