New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1898-03-13

meeting among some Of the men and was about
t. leave the building when a sergeant Of police.
with a squad Of policemen behind him. met her
IN one Of the darkcs; corridors. Good heavens,
madam he said. what in the world you
doing in this place alone" "Oh. I'm not alone"
she replied. Wei, who is with you, then?
God" HIM" and the sergeant shrugged his
shoulders. that's all very well TO say. but let
me tell you that wouldn't come in here alone
with God-no; for anything
ARlSTOCRATS AND PLEBS.
The in the different buildings are all
arranged on the same plan. Some are much
smaller than others. la. the smallest is
divided into kvartri, or board benches for a Ger
tain number Of persons The average number in
all If the rooms is about fl teen. but the large
o: es hold many hirly fve. Men women snd
children are all rliXoc up together. and the only
separation attempted is TO keep the so-called
"aristCCrats." those who pay ten co7ecks. from
tie "plebs," who pay ONLY five. Each room has
a "starosta' chief who rents it from the gen
eral manager of the entire property and for
month, or whatever period that has been pa!d
for he is the sole proprietor. The price OF the
rooms varies according to the size. bat SO rents
foT month an apartment large enough To l"uSe
twenty five Persons. There are practically no
other expresses after the rent has been PAID, the
dodgers furnishing their own bedding. ard there
is consequently a coed profit on the investment
! locked into ali the buildings, and there was not
even a ceilarway in any Of them which was not
used as a place to sleep.
Some months after this first visit with MIR.
Syirshy | made another with the United States
Minister. four other Americans and an escort of
detectives. and il was the opinion o: these
!
they did not consider the place itself much
Verse, i! any. than similar places TO b found
Until comparatively recently in Mulberry Bend
in New-Ycrk. do not know that 1t IS much
worse than the old New-Yorl dives used to be,
but | have never known anywhere in the United
States five buildings SO small as those in qrcs-
ton into which on winter night ton Thousand
people were packed. one criticism of the com
pany however. / thoroughly agreed with, and it
was tina; the people they were not suffering
half so much as we with our Western notions Of
sanitary arrangements and comfort are Inclined
to think. The Russian muzhik throughout the
country does not live much better than the peo-
PIE In House ViazcmsAi, and in Count Toist"is
own village. Ya5naya rolyana. have seen just
as disa Ircrablr quarters ahd situations. west
cIn critics OF Russia would 90 well to take this
fact into consideration when making statements
al out IN. barDAric cruelty Of Russian pr0pWe-
tors and landlords III my opinion. The world has
unnecessarily mourned over the so-called suffer
i.g Of many OF the prisoners in Siberia and IL
/ the well-rpgulated penitentiaIics Of The Unlicd
States ! venture 10 say there is more real IN
happiness than in many Of the much-docried
places in that far-of land.
All classes OF Russian society are represented
II, The Viazemski od -ing- house. one OF the first
persons pointed out To me was man Who L.
great GRANDSON TIN uGh norganatic Ia rage, OF
a Russian Car To-day. fCr glass IF vodka. n
viii Kiss 9 reG-hOt coal one Of the hrst women
whose acquaintance made is the outcast mem
Der of one of the most arstCCratic families IN the
empire She is now about forty years old anu
looks over eighty. There are also doctors, Pro
fessors merchants lawyers. and even a priest
They had become impossible in society. and
eventually even in their families. and. thcn, Tor
they do such things rather summary in Russia
they had been told TO sniff for themselves II
was no secret in ST. Petersburg that the two per
sons of exalted parentage mentioned had brought
up In the low c0mEaLy in which found them
l heard about them afterward from persons who
bad distantly known them ia society. and thor
disgrace was spoken of as a matter OF course
which no one could help.
The bulk Of the people are peasants and
artisans They also drunkards, but did not
feel that il was as such that they had dri,ted
irto the slums. They seemed TO me 10 be largely
victims Of city life. pitifui emiSrantS from TIE
country for whom the fierce competition OF the
town had proven too much. Russia is still dis
tinctIy agricultural country. but lis cities are
continually growing larger. and factories are
errineirg III with considerable rGpidity. All