Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1892-04-26
THE CARS COUNTRY.
John Byron HamiltOn's Lecture at
Harper's Theatre.
A VIVID Description of Russia, ts
People and Their Customs by
One Who Has Given il
Careful study.

Lieut.. John Byron Hamilton delivered
his lecture on 1.-THE Land Of the White
Gar" to fair sized audience at Hsr>
pers theatre last evening. While not as
large as it might have been. the audience
was composed of our best class of people
who thoroughly appreciated the lieuten-
ants entertaining lecture. The speaker
began by calling hislhearers' attention to
he size of that vast country and said that
comparatively few people were acquainted
With Russia as it really is.
Most people only know that country
from cheap. trashy literature and maya
zine articles which they have read about
il. "Our public libraries contain many
OF these volumes" said the speaker, land
am sorry to say are the ones that are
mostly read. while the standard works of
Wallace. Dickson and other well known
sutbors have the dust Of years upon
t1em." He then gave ALLOWING descrip-
ton of the country and its boundaries,
and also described a ride on theSt. Peters,
burg & Moscow railway, which
he said was probably not only
the strsightest, bit also the most
expensive railway ever built. He then
described Novgorod and the famous
N onument erected there in 1862 to COM
m emorste the one thoussnde h anniversary
of Russia, after which he spoke briefly
of The church of St. Sophia and its his
toric surroundings. Leaving Novgorod,
the speaker took his audience on sight
seeing tour through some Of the most in
teresting cities OF the land of the White
Car. drawing beau ful pictures of the
manners. customs and surroundings of
these interesting people.
The lecturer then spoke of the intro
duction of the Greek church into Russia
and of its effect upon the people, and
gave an interesting description of the
workings of the secret police of that
country, saying that some of their work
was almost as remarkable as Bishops
mind reading. He did not think the po-
lice as rule were any more cruel than
those of other countries, and added that
he had meyer seen during his stay as FREE
quent use Of the club as he had witnessed
in some Of our own American cities. The
speaker described the Russian convict
system and the transporting of
prisoners in dirty and crowded cars
and Of their being classified into three
classes. the first of which were the chief
political offenders who were condemned
to the dark mines to tot, year after year
In the darkness, never seeing ray OF
light but once q year, which is on the
cars birthday. On Sunday theS are
brought into a chapel hewn in the rock in
the dark mines where the Wort of God
and he gospel of love and charity is
pr cached to them. This" said the
speaker, lis a stain upon Russian history
that t will take centuries to erase" The
second class are those who have
committed less grievous offeDses, and
who are put to work on the forts which
are similar to out penitentisries, and the
third class are those OF minor offenses
who are sent with their families to Sberis
and I've in communities, and who are
often psrdoned, singular fact about the
last n AIMED class being that they seldom
return to their own country. In closing
the lieutenant spoke briefly OF the present
famine in Russia and of the inability Of
the government to guard against i, on &C.
count of the lack of railway facilities an6
means of communication, and also that il
was not an easy matter to interfere with
a machine that has been running for hun.
dreds of years like that of the Russian
government.
J Lieutenant Hamilton has an easy
pleasant delivery and his exterded vsi
in that country has fully equipped hin
to handle his subject in mas: erly man
: ner.