Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1885-02-22

Spe,ia! Coysspoads-es Of ne Saaadg Register.
ST.. PETERsBCRG, January 25, 1885
Much has been written about Russia and
the Russians vet, as a general thing, the
facts known about that country are few
often the information given IS Enthusiastically
sTeaso6ot hasty conclusions drawn from
&C., er6cial acquaintance with the people,
seir language and character. Perhaps
some additional facts about the condition
Of Russian peasants viii be Of interest.
The great reform of fbersting the serEs
Elected by Alexander ii. was essentially
this: Each landlord was obliged to give to
each serf that he owned, from one-and-a,
half to three dessiatins Of land. AdesSiatin
is equal to three acres. The quantity Of
land was varied according to the quality
and depth of the sod and the location Of the
district. The government became respOu
sible to the landlords fer the payment for
these lands by issuing to them bonds bear,
i've per cent. interest. either e~Nchangeable
in the Course often years for regular govern
ment bonds or redeemable al once for cash at
ninety koPecs per roOble. (ArOuble contains
cue hundred kopecs, and at the present rate
CT exchange is valued at Fifty cents The
peasants, on their part, were 10 pay the
government a tax Of ten roubles per man.
This tax is 10 be levied for torty.uine years,
and afterward they are TO pay only the
usual land tax. Agreement as TO the lOca-
ion of the soil was made between every
landlord and his peasants with the help Of
90 called s~r5itrators Of peace appointed by
he government, whose duty was to adjust
szaicsbly all diHereLcss between the
parties. This important reform was &C
compished peacefully throughout the en-
pire, as in but 3 few instances were troops
called to restore order and remind
The peasants that, although delivered from
the dominion of the landlords, they were by
no means freed from the paternal % care
Lf the government. The land thus acquired
< tsS BY the community of each village
called the Mir and by it apportioned 70
each man. The MIR is presided over by
an elder, who has executive authority to
larry out its decisions, collect taxes, and
generally to keep order in the community.
The Mir" of each village Is responsible for
the taxes due by each man, and has the
power 10 re-6istribute among its members
the land received BY forfeiture
Primitive Agriculture.
The system of agriculture is primitive,
each field lying isllow every year. EIcep-
tiozs to this rule occur in the southern dis
tricts only. The agricultural implements
Of the peasants are Of the simplest con
struction. The usual crops are rye, wheat,
oats and flax. the harvest never yielding
over seven-fold. Women and men alike
work in the fields. The dwellings are mis-
erabie log-huts, with matched roofs and
small windows. One or twO streets make
up q small village, the houses being invari-
ably built close together in rows | ia
VuiIed the cause OF this custom, and was
told that IL arises from the necessity Of
having neighbors during the severe and
snowy winters Should the huts be built
farther apart, the inhabitants would be IN.
| able 10 leave their dwellings FOR weeLs at q
time during the winter snow storms.
Each hu: is divided into two equal parts.
The front room has a large brick oven, with
a partition back Of it, where the whole tam
liz "roos,s' in the winter. The back room
is rot heated and is used only in sumner,
or as a storeroOm. The furniture consists
| Of rude benches built alongside the walls a
table, some stools, and a few utensils. The
image Of some saint is nailed in the front
corner, an embroidered towel, or a rough
engraving of the Gar or OF ONE Russian
general. decOrstes the walls, together With
the harness and clothing, which al hang il
plain sight. of cleanliness they have but
an imperfect idea. / have been in dwell
iUgs so
Full of ~CockroaCheS,
that one could hear them rustic. Children's
faces and hands are sometime bitten by
them. Adjoining the house is q shed,
which serves for hay grain, and as a shell,
ter for animals. The live stock OF a peas
ant is very limited COW, several lean
pigs and sheep that feed by the roadside,
sometimes one or two horses, and often a
dog, which bears a closer resemblance to .
wolf, than 70 the common canine. The
horses are very small, poorly fed, and there.
fore weak, eleven pOOds-a good equals
hirty-six English pounds-being the ut,
most weight they can carry. No trees,
flowers or vegetable gardens are seen. The
only flower l have noticed Is the aesthetic
~sunhower," here raised for the oil that is
Welded by its seeds. l believe the peasants
sometimes raise peas and potatoes for
winter use. Al complain Of the insult.
Gent quantity of land granted, and give
this as the cause OF their poverty and ina
biity to raise and feed a larger number OF
cattle.
Russian Roads.
As for Russian roads, no one who has not
travelled over them can picture to himself
what a Russian country road is like. Even
in mid summer village streets are thick
With mud. Roads in the woods are full Of
deep holes containing water that never dries
away. In the omen coautry where SUI aud
wind are free to do their work, the roads are
fair but wherever they cross Il brook or
river they become dangerous as tt bridges
are generally insecure and poorly built.
The Russians, themselves, say that bridges
are put up only TO be avoided, and tell a
story Of q tsamster who, on seeing another
drive rapidly down = bill and upon a bridge
where he broke through, exclaimed: Why,
that man must be o tool, Tie 4 " bridge
and drove right OF 1T
Drunkenness.
Drunkenness is a common vice among
the Russian peasants. Everybody drinks
mel and women, young and old. The
vodka, q liquor made from rye is an I'M
palatable beverage. That which is used in
the country is very much adulterated and
contains only a small quantity Of spirit.
Some years ago temperance societies we're
organized. and the pledges taken we're nu-