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Show g Russia's peasantry: Mb Some days since a dispatch gave the synopsis K of the report of the Commissioners appointed to H investigate and trace to its source the cause of H the increasing poverty among the peasantry of M Russia. Its report declares that the poverty K comes from ignorance and the brutality of of- m, flcers sent to collect taxes. Probably other things H are mentioned in the report. When-the serfs -were freed large sums were loaned to the landed pro-B pro-B prietors of Russia to make improvements and In order to be able to adjust their affairs to the H change in the social system, and, incidentally, to H Kive employment to the freed men through which K to earn a livelihood and make a little start in the H worW But the great mass of Russians outside : the large-oities and in the castles on the more extensive ex-tensive estates are densely ignorant. Then, too, the Russians are a race of fearful drinkers of intoxicating in-toxicating liquors. When these loans were made the great majority of the recipients simply went on one long spree and spent the money. When it came to pay they had no money. So the tax gatherers gath-erers seized upon their farming utensils and live stock and they were utterly stranded. Then nearly all over Russia the people live in villages, in the old waygoing out to cultivate their fields by day and all returning to the villages vil-lages at night. In the long winter nights the little lit-tle work that is performed is mostly by the women, wo-men, while the men drink. Again, the masses, being densely ignorant, their trade is carried on by middle-men who keep the poor wretches in debt and rob them by wholesale. whole-sale. The result is there is not much incentive to try to get ahead and so they are growing poorer and poorer each year. The Co-mmisslon recommends recom-mends the education of the masses. Surely they need it, but there is much more needed. Their work will have to be put on an intelligent basis. Such a basis as will insure to the worker the petty pet-ty rewards for his toil and permit him to begin to entertain some hopes. Then some means will have to be devised to curtail the enormous use of alcohol. It is a discouraging dis-couraging outlook sure enough. Still those Russians Rus-sians are a great race. The educated ones rank with the foremost scholars, soldiers and diplomats of the world, and with the masses educated and with a readjustment of the-laws that would insure in-sure justice to the poor it would not be long before the shadow of Russia would be a menace to Europe. Eu-rope. They have within them all the elements of national greatness, could their environments be enough changed to kindle a little hope in their hearts, and permit them to see possible advancement advance-ment for themselves and their children. The masses are now in a transition state from barbarism toward enlightenment, and with every effort to advance, some old barbarious custom drags them back. Some cunning wretches rob them; their sons are taken away for the army, dense ignorance hangs over them and their hopes are well-nigh dead. |