Seattle daily post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, W.T. [Wash.]) 1881-1888, 1883-10-03
.us.uA,s uusSsr nsgsIks.


uallasus Or Cnenpleyed PessansA
sr. Prrxnssu.o, Aug. 10.-Tveniy-
tvo years have passsd since the great
REORGANIZATION edict was proclaimed
here. and vet TO this day the serf ques-
tom remains practically unsoiyed-
When freeing the serfs the Czar-Llber-
stor announced that they would be
0iver land enough TO sustain them, and
p enable them TO pay all the taxes NO
doubt that vas very wise plan, and IN
Russia there was and still is, more than
e.ouOh free State land TO carry out the
imnerial project. Yet the late autccrat
- imunfeut 70 fulfill his solemn prom
-. Ltke the negroes who expected
Ueortv sores and Q mule" the Russian
neassnts 20 this day arc waiting Tor the
a0olden chnosr'' that il TO endow them
I'm rientS Of land. "More land' Is
the cry Of be freed serfs, and this cry
demai1da the attention OF Russian
stateamen far more urgently than the
Eesfern. the Panslavistic, tbs Roman
Catholic or the Hebrew question A
deeO fermentation Ia nov going on I'D the
yery hesrt of Russia. and, ii i remains
uncheoked or unrelieved, il viii In time,
Ike An earthquake, upset the founda-
tiops Of the autocratic regime. Inere
4 looming mp q new spectre whlcn
friehtens the very Nihilists. Russian
hisfory shows that the moujik, while be
has land enough TO feed upon u the
most docile being In the world, but
vhsn deprived Of land he becomes q
moneter. The anti-Jewish riots
nlainIy show that the teeth and
elava of the monster arc growing.
In 1861 q ,OO0, 600 serfs were liberated,
each male adult receiving about eight
acree OF land. BY bis work on this
natoh OF land the freed serf had TO sus-
tain his family, pay the state, provincial
and local tsxes, and lay by enough 70
redeem his land from his former mas
Ter. Nov that was more than even the
free moujik could accomplish. what
was the result? His family was hungry;
his taxes we're in arrears; his grown mp
boys had 70 learn some other trade than
farming. They had 70 leave home and
swell the labor market, which was q new
feature in Russia. For his arrears he
vss fiogRed. While he was yet serf
AoeginQ was bad enough. but 70 he free
and vet 70 have 70 submit to heRRinR
Va too bad and the moujik got angry.
One year his COW was sold 70 pay the
taxoe. and the next year he lost his
horse In the same way. Then DO had
oaly q bare patch Of land and his bare
hands With which 70 sustain his family
and the empire. In his despair he be-
can 10 frequent the vodka shop. and
the RrumbIinR villagers began TO talk OF
tralsferriuQ his allotment to some more
reliable peasant. And 90 our free Ivan
10 adiud0ed a. . useless and superduous
man. ct least in his own village. Al
the aQoldon charter" does not appear,
Ivan comes 10 the conclusion that ne
had better migrate 10 some place where
land ID plentiful. and 90, along with his
euaoiated wife and hungry children, he
Joins q party Of other useless men like
himself, Who 20 either 70 Siberia or TO
The Caucasus. So Ivan becomes q vol
untary exile. How bitterly be veepa
vhen leaving his dear native place,
where his parents and ancestors lived,
worked and died!
This Il the sad story Of millions OF
fred serfs, and We must keep 1t in mind
in order 70 understand the present
troubles Of the CzaD's country. There
u another class Of guperhuOus mOujiks
A We have seen, every adult serf re-.
ceived about eight acres OF land, and
the village communes were composed Of
ssrls, each having exactly the same al.
lotmeut. But during these twenty years
the population has increased from
twenty 70 thirty per cent, while the
amount Of land remains the same. 1t ID
sxosedinely hard and painful, yet the
old villagers cannot help admitting that
their grown up sons are superfiuous and
must 10. Thus We TOUGH upon the
causes which haze originated the great
migration Of the peaaantry, migration
that baflles all the pigmy efforts of the
Cars creatures. Around the Gar there
ere many courtiers, knights, generals
diplomats, and administrators, but there
are mo- statesmen equal 10 the present
great occasion. And SO the peasant fer.
mentation goes on unchecked, unguided
daily increasing In scope and strength
According TO the oflicial statistics fol
1850, In the Kursk province there wert
192O0o super6uous peasants, in the vo
soniie province 1885, 900. In the Poltavs
province 362, 900. and 90 on, and there
arc over hfty provinces now bending
under the burden of unemployed mou
jiks. The Cars own Government nd
mits that there are ut least Ave million
unemployed peasants In Russia, and
YET this patriarchal Government doe
nothing - enable those peasnnts TO be
come useful. Recently about 1000 peas
anti from different provinces Of Russii
arrived In this city Of Tomsk, Siberia
They were ponnileas, sick, and on th,
verge of starvation. The local authori
ties did mot know What to do will
them. They autographed TO this cit,
for instructions. The Minister OF tn
Interior sent q circular TO the provincial
Governors asking for information OF
the subject. On account Of the do
dayo the Governors postponed their n
posta until fall. Meanwhile many o
The omiQrAnts died from starvation
others ran away ne their own risk, mix
ING with tho Siberian exiles, and th
rsue we're SAINT home. The trampin
mOuiik II 4 new character in Rassis
T6eEo axo many administrators VIII
blame the freed serfa themselves for al
their troubles. But Intelligent and i'm
paxtial investigators give M these In
oeruCttve facts: A rule the taxes I'm
poeed on each peaaAnt's allotment IA
gurpansos his income from Il. In orde
~ Vec0k ~ W. o0ACU h&40 Roe8oout
obliged 70 do other work besides farm
ING. But such . practice ID very detri
mental 10 The farmers interest. Russi
= pse-emineutly an agricultural coun
try. II agriculture proves not 10 be
paying business. then State bankrupto
followA Beaidcs, not every peasant NO,
has . h0rso or q COW. The number O
sheep and hogs ii the moujiks' possess
, t0u y also alaSninQly small. Il ma
Gladd1n The hearts Of veQeeAriAns &
learn that Rusnlsn peasants nowaday
~ NO animal food. They cannot q
q. II . mouiik gives mp his farm an,
becomes . hired laborer he can ear,
only from thirty 70 fifty roubles per an
mum. which b hardly enough 70 olea
the taxsA and his family must TAX
care Of tAemselvea. There are freed serf
Who have saved enough 10 increas
THAR allotment by purchase. bat thss
are only lucky exceptions 10 the rule.
In view Of The present hard condition
Of the fsesd ssrfs some Russian written
and administration have come 20 th,
rash ooaclusion that the great reform
Of Tho late Char did mot materially i'm
prove the condition Of the country
Nothing can b moro foolish than that
Only h. who remembcrs the forme
oeSfs can understand what vsnderfu
change hes occurred In the intellectua
md neral status Of the peasantry
Gnsuxxnpn NkafHaln av,6 v,,os. 70 4 Al