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 maintenance
 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 administration
 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 included
 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 members
 of the district zemstvo board and two delegates from the zemstvo
 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 feature
 of the law of August 29, 1914, was that it eliminated waste of
labor, since many zemstvos had on their own initiative already undertaken
 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