There was reason enough and suffering enough to justify the complaining.
Petrograd was overcrowded owing to the thousands of refugees who had
been driven there, rooms and apartments were difficult to find and very
expensive, and the cost of living had gone up so high that it was hard for
the poor to make ends meet. It was almost impossible to get about in the
city, as the war had reduced the number of cabs and the few that did
business asked such exorbitant fares that only the rich could afford to
ride in them. The street car situation was in a hopeless tangle. Even
before the war there were not enough accommodations for the public, but
since the opening of hostilities many of the cars had broken down and there
were no mechanics to repair them and no new cars to replace them. At
a time when the population increased, the transportation facilities
decreased. Passengers poured into the cars like a stream, filled the seats,
blocked the aisles, jammed the entrance, stood on the steps, hung on
behind, and clung to anything that might bear them along. Difficult as
it was to get into the car, it was worse to get out, and it is easier to
imagine than to describe the pushing, swearing, tearing, and fighting that
one witnessed. The railways were in an equally bad condition. One had to
wait weeks for a ticket. Men and women were crowded into the same coupes;
the cars were packed so full of human beings that they suggested cattle
cars, except that they were not so sanitary, for they contained people
suffering from contagious diseases and were without fresh air.
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