Source: Eureka Rundschau/Das Nordlicht, 12 September 1928 · 📰

From: Krasna, Bessarabia
12 August 1928

Dear Editor:

Harvest and threshing are over. We averaged 6 Pud per Desjatine. As our grain reserves were sold in the spring and nothing is left, grain prices went up. Wheat is 170 Lei a Pud, barley 75 Lei a Pud and potatoes are not available on the market. They have to be obtained from other sources.

The community crier called the people together to discuss where the necessary bread is coming from. Krasna and surroundings have no bread reserves left. The last time we were that critical was 1924/1925 when our pastor managed to get a loan through the bank in Temesvar for half a million Lei. This helped us out and paid for other necessities as well.

Our village officials are: Pastor Leibham from Franzfeld, 5,000 Lei/month; Custodian is Felitian Glas from the Bukovina region, 2,500 Lei/month; Chief Mayor is Maximilian Marthe, 600 Lei/month, and his unsalaried assistant is Isidor Leinz. Konstantin Strika, a Rumanian, is our secretary, 3,000 Lei/month; town crier and constable is Michael Seifert, 2,000 Lei/month.

The community can no longer gather without permission and a formal announcement. A council of seven was elected. They are: Viktor Nagel, Sebastian Koch, Maximilian Hein, Erasmus Schreiber, Johannes Harsche, Lazarus Volk and Adolf Furch. They are the judges and lawmakers. Whatever they decide, the community has to do.

An accident took place only 7 Werst from Krasna. Soldiers and civilians worked together on the telephone lines when one of the soldiers who was bathing in the creek with some others, drowned.

Village disputes are either settled among the parties or taken to judgment. Grain theft from the fields, linen thefts from the clotheslines, hay thefts and other petty crimes are hardly stories for the news, especially since word of mouth could accuse the wrong party. After the judge has made a decision and the culprit is behind bars, he can contemplate on how to be a better person in the future. I firmly believe that only great hardship could lead decent people to the task of stealing feed from the fields. God's commandment still stands: Thou shalt not steal!

Greetings,
Joseph Braun