ORGANIZATION OF SUPPLY 181 
committees, trade commissions, etc. All of them were originally cre- 
ated for the relief of the wounded, families of mobilized men, and 
refugees. Other social groups, such as merchants and leaders of co- 
operative societies were now enlisted in the effort to keep down the 
cost of living. 
The nature of the organization was determined by local condi- 
tions. In some provinces only the provincial zemstvos did the buy- 
ing, leaving the distribution of the goods to the district zemstvos ; in 
other localities the entire operation was performed by the district 
zemstvo, while elsewhere certain commodities might be purchased 
either by the provincial zemstvo board or district zemstvo board, as 
was the case in the province of Yaroslav. Some volost organizations 
would investigate the demand within their area and distribute com- 
modities accordingly ; others would supervise the merchants engaged 
in the distribution, and still others would take part in the purchas- 
ing operations. Zemstvo organizations of a commercial character, 
such as warehouses for steel, iron, agricultural implements, and 
similar articles, were also used for this purpose, in such a way that 
headquarters would do the buying while the branches would attend 
to the distribution. A highly important part was also played by the 
zemstvo funds (banks), and in many places these institutions were 
given full charge of the purchasing operations. 
Financing Operations of Supply. 
The funds for the purchasing operations were provided in part 
by the zemstvos and in part by the Government, and, lastly, by the 
banks. The operations were conducted with a view to avoiding 
losses ; that is to say, goods were sold at cost price plus a charge for 
overhead expenses and interest on loans. 
Government loans were issued either in kind or in cash. Thus, 
from August 1, 1915, to May 17, 1917, the zemstvos received from 
the army stores of the Ministry of Agriculture, a total of 986,000 
puds of rye, wheat, and flour, 492,000 puds of grits, and 3,196,000 
puds of oats and barley, for distribution among the civilian popula- 
tion to be used partly as food and fodder and partly as seed. The 
funds advanced by the Government to the zemstvos likewise ran into 
very large sums. Until the autumn of 1915 these advances were 
made out of a special food supply fund already established before 
the War. After this source had been exhausted the Government al-