Akron daily Democrat. [volume] (Akron, Ohio) 1892-1902, 1899-09-09

! 4
guished gentlemen in her campaign of
civilization is almost too revolving for
publication. Nine. Tschechow, a politi-
cal prisoner i'll the penal colony of Luto-
ka, Siberia, was treated to the rod in
spite of her delicate condition. and the
poor woman was taken from the torture
| platform a corpse.
| Count Tolstoi, who enjoys the unusual
privilege of addressing his sovereign lady
| without interference from secretaries and
courtiers, was able to bring this atrocious
crime to her majestys attention, and the
empress not only promised prompt in
vestigation, but gave Tolstoi leave to
! form a committee to inquire into the
method aud extent of corporal punish
ment throughout the empire.
Abolition of the laws permitting pun
! ishment by rod. switch and other brutal
means was promised if the findings IA
vored such radical reform, her majesty
offering to do all in her power to intiu-
ence her husband to that effect if Cir
cumstances warranted action on her part.
The physicians named and the novelist
Dostejewski thereupon constituted them
selves into a travelling commission for
hunting up testimony, while Tolstoi in
vited victims of official and private bru-
tality throughout the empire to send in
well authenticated reports Of their suffer-
ings. From these recitals and the direct
and circumstantial evidence gathered by
lbankow and his colleagues the report
finally submitted to the czarina was
made up.
At the outset the paper establishes the
fact that 125,000000 Russians out of
total of 130,000,OOO may be lawfully
spanked, licked. birched, caned or knout-
cd, as, outside of septuagenarians, only
mobiles, officials above certain rank.
ministers and honorary citizens are ex-
empted from that mode of punishment.
Those enumerated are privileged" per-
sons, but may lose that character by de-
cree of the court in the same way as
titles are revocable. Tolstoi names
reputable lawyer of the Moscow bar who
was switched in the judges private room
after his clothes had been removed. This
lawyer had had the temerity to refer in
the course. of an argument to law
whereby Catherine II decreed that all
yocates should rank with merchants of
The first class.
Soldiers. prisoners and peasants sell
1om escape corporal punishment for
more than Il month at time" says the
report. though numerous ukases ordain
that army men shall not be treated to the
rod except by decree of court martial.
THE cruel subotfcers and officers,
craving an outlet for their inherent bru-
tally, find ways and means to circum-
vent the cars orders. Soldiers whom
they dislike or who are too poor to pay
for decent treatment are simply placed
in the second class" and a second
class soldier may be cudgeed to ones
hearts content To cause soldiers
degradation it is but necessary for pet
ty superior to state that the man has
been impertinent.
Every peasant. his wife and children
may be sentenced to 10 blows by the viii
lage council. while the higher imperial
officials may lick them as much as they
like. In Il single district l, 164 peasants
were lawfully caned last year. How
many received beatings offhand it was,
of course. impossible to ascertain"