Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1877-03-23
nussIa.

European Russia is pre- eminently a
country of UiUd1es; only 8 per cent. of its
sixty-three millions Of people live in towns !;
only one hundred and forty towns exceed
ten thousand; only six exceed one hun
dred thousand inhabitants. The illage is
TO Russia all that the town is 10 Massachu-
sets, and more loo. 1t not only elects its
own municipal officers and its trial JUS
tices, but 1t is The centre Of lis social and
industrial life. The village is a corpora
tion holding a perpetual lease of the land
it cultivates and occupies the inhabitant
of the village is a member of the corpora
tion, owning an undivided interest. The
corporation pays The landlax and the poll
tax of the inhabitants Of the village, sup
ports its poor and feeds its inhabitants.
The products of Industry belong not 10 its
indi vidual inhabitants but to the village
thus II happens that there is no pauperism
in Russia, at least outside of its town pop
uation.
When the village has utilized its land and
becomes too crowded, it sends forth colon
les TO settle elsewhere upon the national
domain. Yet the lie which binds the col
ony to the mother.vilage still continues to
possess certain reserved vital force. In
1867 village was destroyed by fire and its
inhabitants returned in body TO their
mother village (near Moscow, distance
of two hundred and fifty miles, though half
a century had elapsed since the colony had
set forth. Between the mother-village and
the daughter villages a continued inter-
course is maintained for generations. The
New Euglander does not return 10 the old
homestead so surely as the Russian peas
ant to the mother. village.
common idea prevails that Russia in
Europe is a country of magnificent dis
tances with scanty population. But Eu-
ropean Russia, exclusive Of its populous
provinces in Poland and Finland, has a
population of thirty-fve to the square mile,
which is about that of the United States
east Of the Mississippi. While the older
provinces exceed in density of population
New York or New England; thus the
province of Moscow, in Great Russia, has
126 inhabitants to the square mile; the
province of Kew, in Little Russia, ia to
the square mile, and each with double the
area of Massachusetts. The notable alb
sence of large towns makes it apparent
that the villages must be more closely
placed than in the United States east OF the
Mississippi, because We have larger sub
urban population.
Another equally erroneous idea prevails
in regard TO serfdom in Russia. In ancient
times there were no serfs, no servile class
except captives taken in war. Serfdom is
an institution of comparatively modern
date, growing out of a law proclaimed in
1901. Its establishment preceded the in
PRODUCTION of African slavery in this coun-
try, but a very few years; its abolition in
1861 was almost simultaneous with the abo-
lltion of African slavery In the United
States. With us slavery was abolished
without preparation in Russia great care
was taken to prepare the seris for the exer-
else of freedom. Which was the wiser
course remains to be determined.
In 1856, 3s per cent Of the people of Rus
sla were seris. The wealthy proprietors
were accustomed TO mortgage their lands
with their serfs, and it appears that at the
close of the Crimean war go per cent. of all
the serfs in Russia were thus mortgaged to
the crown banks for an aggregate OF loans
amounting to $500. .OOO, ,OO0l This fact prob