Daily independent. [volume] (Elko, Nev.) 188?-1915, 1892-06-18
RUSSIAN DEPRAVITY.
Priests Who Are In the Habit OF
Getting Drunk
Curious Castea Among the People OF
the Cars DomAins-A Religious
Sect That Dispenses Hut
Little Charity.

A Russian correspondent writes as
follows to the London Times: My
friend took me round the villages in his
district, and the impression left upon
my mind frorI this visit was that at
any rate the peasants of Tambof live.
less like pigs than their brethren in
Noronezh and Riasan. Their distress
seems, also, to be less acute. There
were, Of course, individual cases of
great suffering, but, IN the whole, the
peasants seemed to be less destitute and
l.ss abject. All the huts hat 1 have
seen in this province present an appear
ance of cleanliness, which contrasts
pleasantly with the dirt and squalor of
the central provinces. In some of the
huts we found stores of stale ~crusts, on
which the family hoped to exist for q
week or SO,
Let u go to the village priest" said
my guide; che will interest you" /
readily assented, The priesthood of
Russia represents a sort of caste, and
is the only independent estate in the
country, Their attitude towards, the
peasant leaves much to be desired.
The average village priest is often a
drunkard-always uncultured, unedu-
Gated, unrefined. From whom is the
unfortunate peasant to get his ideals?
The gentleman he distrusts, the priest
he hates, and neither the one nor the
other is capable of exerting the proper
sort of influence. over him.
We paid u visit to the village priest.
He lived in a one-story house, furnished
very plainly. 1t was something better
han a peasants hut, and it was scru-
pulously clean. The priest himself was
a consumptive-loOking young man with
restless, cunning eyes and a nervous
Manner; his wife was q stolid-lookiug
person, little above, the level of n peas
ant Woman The priest received us
with MARKED courtesy. A visit from
the Zemski Natchalnik was an honor
indeed. We were offered tea and home
made biscuits and remained some time
The priest came from VOronczh and
had but a poor opinion Of Tamboff:
''rhey are a sclf-indulgcnt, vain and
foolish people here" he said. "Somc
Of them have nothing to eat; but they
will wear red shirts and leather boots
and they keep their huts ridiculouslI
clean" This was quite a new view OF
social cthi-s.
Nv ShLioth IL DllS SOuISt
of conversation, told us how he haG
been iInplored by a peasant for help.
"As usual" he said, "the fellow had not
tr!.hcd food for three days. ! asked
I'm where he was going. &c tn
bar he answered. What are yOr
GDing to do thcre?" + asked. Iwant to
huy bark to make Shoes the fellow re.
piled. And yet he had not tasted foo
r. l... l-..I TTl...
upon anything they say"
80! your honor" said the priest. 81
wanted to ask you about some corr
that l have. I nave a few hundred
pools. Do you think the Zemstvo
would buy it of me?' 81 will sec about
H." said the Zamski Natchalnik..
Here was q curious revelation! Be-
fore me stood the disciple of Christ.
With long hair, pale, cassock touching
the ground, looking like n sacred
picture. Round him was q starving
l:hople. And what was his dominant
i lea? The succor Of the afflicted? The
feeling of the hungry and the clothing
Uf the naked? Nothing of the kind.
His one concern wa the price of the
TTu he had contrivcd to hoard. Ye
this priest, the ZemslSi Natchalnik toll
lie, was the best he had come across
| was even assured that many of til
priests had no scrupfes against accept
ing their share of the. Zemstvo's allUt
mCnt Of corn. In further conversation
vbout the famine the priest told us tha
q reverend brother in q ncighbOrin{
perish had sent a wocful story to tn.
j.: '"p concerning n peasant who ha
lni.r cred his children because he WA
unable TO- feed them. The story proved
& be an Invention, but il served it's pur-
use. The bishop was so Mortified that
!" sent u considerable sum frurp the
FUND vt his disposal for the relief of
that particular village,