Sacramento daily record-union., 1890-07-26

Ol Il CiSE. Az tHe present state lney ENJOY
greater liberty and pay less taxes.
EKATERINBURGH.
Founded in 1928 by Peter the Great,
and completed by Catherine l., which has
given it her name. This city has to-day
10000 inhabitants. Its numerous public
edifices, its elegant storehouses Of its rich
merchants, give an aspect more of a Euro
pean than of an Asiatic CITY, and, in all
the countries of the world it would
pass for beautiful city. |. is built on a
slightly undulated soil, last reossauit ofthe
Ural.
Although situated three degrees further
south than St. Petersburgh, Its climate is
more severe and more excessive than that
of the Russian capital, its extreme varia-
| tions in the year reach till 20 degrees cen
tigrade, that is from 35 degrees below to
80 degrees above zero.
That which is particularly interesting in
this city is the great number of night
refuge houses and hospitable establish
ments existing long time ago. 1t could
be said that there are no professional men
dicants in Ekateinburgh. All stranger
mendicants in the city are strictly sent to
| their community, unless the beggar is
are subjected to inquests, after which they
Bile establishments or punished, according
to the case.
The Ladies' Monastery of Ekaterin-
burgh is very national, and is celebrated
for its wealth. The larger part of the
Russian monasteries include immense
treasures, accumulated by the voluntary
| gifts, and composed of jewelry, of precious
stones, of statutes of saints, and of instru-
ments of worship in precious metals. In
case of a national war these treasures are
very often offered to the Government by
the converts, and were occasionally ac-.
cepted.
The fire is the great scourge of Russian
cities, for the majority Of the houses are
built of wood. In the summer the ex-
treme dryness exaggerates more the in
fiammability of the material and the fire
takes disastrous proportions. Thus, the
most minute precautions are taken to pre-
vent and fight the powerful and destructive
element. In Ekaterinburgh is even strictly
prohibited the smoking in the streets, in
/ the stores, and in public buildings during
! the summer season. And as there are no
waterworks, the watercarriers are formed
into brigades and kept to run with vessels
as soon as fire is noticed To stimulate
them, the first arriving receives from the
authorities premium of roubles (about
! 81 25), the second 2, and the third
rouble All the Others receive 80 kopecks
ga cents each.
The gold mine of Ekaterinburgh, situated
at Beriosovsk, was discovered in 1747.
Explored for long time by the commu-
nifty, it has been transferred to company
which obtains very good profit. 1t fur
nishes daily to each budlery from twenty
to thirty cubic metres of gold sands, Civ
ing about fifteen ounces of pure gold every
day, valued at nearly 400 roubles. There
are eighty workmen and ten horses and
the expenses do not exceed 120 roubles,
thus leaving fair profit. The workmen
are paid from so to 100 kopecks (3S to 76
cents) day, women from 80 to 80 kopecks.
Children below Is years of age are forbid
den by the law to work, and the time of
work is fixed at ten hours day. The
workmen, as those of Taghilsk, after thirty
years Of service, or after wound inca
pacitating them for work, receive pension
during their lives. In case of death the
pension is revertible to half and is
given to the widow and to the children.
This law was established long before the
treaty of Berlin.
BARGE" SAILING ON THE OBI.
The barge is a large vessel covered by
sort Of wooden house, resembling the Ark
of Noah as seen pictured in the old Script
ures. These barges, towed by a steamboat,
serve to transport the condemned to the
Penitentiary. In these vessels are trans.
ported from all parts of Russia all the ex-
lies to Siberia. They can carry from 700
to 800 conyicts, and are well prepared and
equipped so that the health of the trans
ported will not suffer from over-crowding
They are also well protected against the
frequent storms.
TYPES OF THE TRANSPORTED.
| These unfortunate human beings are ad-
ministratively divided into seven cate
gories. All political convicts are COM
pletely isolated from those of common
offenses and are better treated, much more
humanely used, than is supposed in Amer
lea and Europe.
One of the seven ella ses of the con-
demned is composed of All the bad SUBJ
jects excluded or expelled from their COM
munity who are dangerous to the public
safety. In this case only the expenses of
transportation are made by the community
The number of exiles annually trans
ported is somewhat exaggerated as given
in other countries. Since 1924, the year
of the revolt of the "decabristes," and till
1886, inclusively, the average number
amounted to about 10, 800, a number which
is not very large for an empire of more
than l00,000,000 of inhabitants
The tea trade, which is very heavy, is
now carried on by caravans of sledges.
The railroad will turn the vast trade of
the region toward the Pacific ports and in
this way contribute to increase of trade at
the Pacific ports of America.
AN AMERICAN VIEW.
America is quite as much interested in
the construction of this great Siberian
Railway as France or other countries of
Europe. The article from the Paris Illus
trdtioa may be supplemented by the fol-
lowing extracts from book written twen-
ty-ive years ago by the Rev. G. B. Boyn-
ton, d. d., in which the industrial and
commercial development of Russia is dis
cuSsed with reference to its bearings on the
United States:
Like America, Russia reaches from
ocean to ocean, stretching across the whole
breadth of Europe and Asia, and resting
one wing on the Pacific and the other
upon the Atlantic. She is thus placed, at
either extremity of her empire, in COM
munication with the commerce of the world.
Through the Baltic she connects herself
with Europe, and with the trade of the
eassern coast of America, and eastward on
the Pacific there is opened to her the
commerce of China, the East Indian
Archipelago, and the Pacific slope of the
American continent. From these two ex-
tremities the trade of the world may be
drawn inward toward the heart of the en-
pire.
One acquisition has lately been made by
Russia in the East which will change the