However, an energetic corps of young men and young women are employed, and they are conscious of the size of their problem and are already thinking of the difficulties of sending their students back into industrial life.  In many of the activities of the Soviet Government, as well as in these institutions taken over from the old regime, I was dismayed at the inefficiency and ignorance of many of the subordinates.  After talking to the leaders and getting some understanding of their ideals, an American expects to see these carried over into practice.  One is liable to forget that the Russian people have not greatly changed, and that the same easy-going, inefficient attitude of decades of the previous regime still exists.  No one knows this obstacle better than the members of the present regime.  They realize that the character of the Russian people is their greatest obstacle, and change in the Russian conception of Government service is a slow process.  Far from being discouraged, they point to their accomplishments with pride.

During the last nine months Madame Lelina has taken 30,000 children into Government homes and preparations are made to take 10,000 more during the next three months.  The three new institutions which I visited are attractive suburban homes of wealthy emigres.  The Government has taken these over and is putting groups of 40 children in charge of specially selected and trained men and women.  The older children go out to school.  For the younger children kindergarten activities are provided and much time is spent out of doors.  An atmosphere of home life has been developed which is surprising considering the short time the institutions have been organized and the difficulties they have had to contend with.  This plan, which I am told is permanent, is a most encouraging feature of Madame Lelina’s work.

Requests to have children placed in the Government institutions are turned over to a special corps of investigators.  In each house there is what is known as a poor committee which must also approve the requests and the local soviet is required to pass upon the commitment of the child to an institution.  The large number of children taken over by the city is due to the number of orphans and half orphans caused by the war and to the impossibility of many poor families providing their children with food during the recent famine.  In cases where several children of a family are taken they are placed in the same home.  Frequent opportunities for relatives to visit the homes are provided.  The amount of sickness has been surprisingly low considering the great amount of disease in Petrograd during the last few months.  In one group of 300 children there have been no deaths within the past nine months, and among all the children there have been very few cases of contagious diseases.