Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-11-01
then the lazy officials put the petitioners to

then the lazy officials put the petitioners to
great trouble.
The officers of the government are privi-
legged to enter private houses, to open pri-
vate letters, to dog every citizen upon the
streets, to ask questions of the servants, to
meddle about the children, to interfere in
almost every thing. Is it any wonder that
the people are abject, subservient, deceitful
and hypacritical?
THE CHURCH TAKES CHILDREN.
The ofenses against the established church
are as severely punished as the most heinous
OF crimes. Anyone who leaves the orthodox
church and Joins anv other is handed over
to the church authorities His children are
taken into the charge of the government
and his real estate is put into the hands of
an administrator Unless he recants he is
deprived of both. Another section of the
code of laws provides that if Hebrew or q
Mohammedan marries member of the es-
tabljshed church and fails to bring up the
children of such marriage in its faith and
fear, the marriage is to be dissolved, and
the offender is to be banished to the re-
motest part of Siberia.
The absolute authority of the Gar Is
sustained by sections of the law which pre-
scribe the severest punishment. "Death is
the penalty for anyone who takes part in
any evil designs or criminal action against
the sacred person of the Emperor-death
for all persons who afford refuge or con-
cealment to the evil thinkers or evil doers
death to all persons who have knowledge
of their designs and fail to give notice to
the authorities. Furthermore, all of the
property and estates of such persons is con-
fiscated by the State" Any person writing
or circulating any letters or printed docu-
ma of..o &4 ~
condemning the form of administration as
established by law, or disputing the order
of succession to the throne, shall be exiled
for life with not less than four years penal
servitude.
WOMEN FARE THE WORSE
Laziness, shiftlessness. ignorance and
cunning of the Russian people are the fruits
of the methods of State and Church. Under
such rule it is not strange that the women
are in the mass held as serfs, and that their
lot in life is bounded by degradation, long
suffering and slavish subjection Not a
great while ago the wife of well-to-do
peasant ip Russia went to one of the dis
trict courss and demanded protection from
the cruelty of her husband. By competent
witnesses she proved that he had bound her
naked to stake in the street during the
cold weather and asked the passers-by to
strike her; when they refused, he struck
her himself. He moreover fastened her to
the ground, piled heavy stones upon her
and broke one of her arms. The
court declared him "not guilty" 1t could
not afford, it said, to "teach women to dis
obey their husbands" Another case cited
was that of peasant in Russia who thought
he had reason to doubt the fidelity of his
wife. To punish her he harnessed her to
II r,s4 CO.
got into the cart and drove this team IL
miles-not sparing the whip. When he re-
turned he shaved her head. tarred and
feathered her and turned her out of DOORS
She went to her parish priest for advice and
consolation. He ordered her back to her
brutal husband, and prescribed for her more
whipping. An appeal to the courts resulted
In non-suit.
YET RUSSIA Is CHRISTIAN.
These. it is said, are not extreme or iso-
lated cases, but they show the brutal effects
of laws that uphold despotism in the State
and in the family. And yet Russia is a
Christian country-holds all the articles of
the Christian faith, and so rigidly is the
orthoro1 religion enforced that to succeed
in business. to secure good positions, to
avert misfortune, hypocrisy and lying are
essential. 'There is scarcely human be-
ing in all Russia" says recent writer,
"who has it in his power to consistently
shape his living and working in accordance
with the elementary principles of morality"
''Rye beauties the field, and lie beauti-
fes speech" is Russian proverb "a pal
atable lie is better than bitter truth is
another 'sLying is not like chewing dough;
it won't choke you" ."It is by falsehood
that men live; it is not meet that we should
die, are still others. These sayings to the
people of Russia contain more sense than
the ma1ims of the philosophers, and more
wisdom than the proverbs of Solomon.
BESSIE BRAMBLR