Durango semi-weekly herald., 1901-11-11
LIGHT ON ExlLEs LIFE.
thousands OF Outcasts in Siberia
Find Punishment a Blessing in
Disguise.

ST PETERSBURG. Sept 17.-(WiI
Liam IL. Curtis in Chicago Record
Herald) ).-There has been IA great dea
of sympathy wasted on Siberian ex
lies. While there have doubtless
been innumerable cases of Injustice
and brutality, for Russian officials
are corrupt and cruel. and the Slays
as race have always regarded hu
man suffering with Indifference. ney
ertheless, under ordinary circumstanc'
es, the majority of those who have
been banished to Siberia are much
better off than they We're at home and
ought TO consider themselves fortu.
nate TO escape Imprisonment for a
term of years. The caravans OF con.
victs whose misery and anguish have
aroused so much horror and indigna.
ton in civilized countries have not
usually undergone any greater hard
ships than were borne by the pioneers
who crossed our own prairies to Col
orado, Montana and California before
| the overland railroads were built.
And upon arriving at their destination
unless they We're guilty of serious
| crimes, their surroundings and cir
cumstances Were often much better
than those of the men who develop
ed the wealth of the mountains and
the prairies west of the Mississippi
river. The life of a miner or a
| ranchman or farmer in Siberia.
whether he be an emmigrant or con
vict suffering Punishment. offers in
iinitely greater advantages for moral
and material improvement than can
be found in any of the great Russian
cities. and in the great majority of
| cases what was imposed as punish
ment turned out to be blessing, for
many of the wealthiest and most in
iluential men in Siberia are exiles
who have found unlimited opportuni-
ties for the exercises of their talents
and industry.
The exile system was adopted by
Nicholas l., the iron car" with the
idea of utilizing convict labor for the
development of the timber. mineral.
pastoral and agricultural resources
OF the vast region beyond the eau
casus mountains, and. instead of send
ing offenders to prison. shipped them
into the wilderness to work out their
small salvation under the surveillance
OF the police. They were ticket-of-
leave men. They we're permitted to
go and come and do whatever their
hands found to do, and enjoy the
fruits of their industry without inter
ference from the authorities so long
tlnU ramniUnI in ftrhh m
of the community to which they were
assigned. Good behavior was reward
ed by additional liberty. Exiles who
proved trustworthy were allowed the
privileges of ordinary citizens and
We're sometimes permitted on parole
to return to their old homes in Rus
sia to visit their parents or attend to
business affairs. No one was chain
ed either on the march or after arriv-
al unless he had committed a capital
crime, or had tried to escape. or was
refractory or had violated the orders
or the rules imposed upon him. The
heartrending pictures drawn by Mr..
Kennan and other writer's were often
accurate, but the figures who appeared
in them We're usually men who had
aroused the hostility of the officials
by resistance or defiance and were
punished for that reason.
During the nihilistic agitation that
eliminated with the assassination of
Alexander IL. and the prosecutions
that followed, political suspects, in
Guiding those "discontented with the
government were sent to Siberia in
large numbers where they could find
no opportunities to spread sedition or
engage in conspiracy. The crime of
"discontent" was epidemic, and thou
sands OF innocent persons were sent
with the guilty, | am personally IA
miliar with several distressing cases
of this kind For example. pro
lessor in certain university had a
wild son, who, possessed by love OF
adventure and excitement, joined Sc
cret political society and was de-
nounced to the police. His father
was entirely ignorant of his behavior,
but when the boy was threatened
with arrest he confessed to his moth
er. who concealed him in the attic.
When the police came the father de
hltu tADlINilINs AilN lloust WdS
ed, reasonable books and pamphlets
were found in the boys room, and he
was dragged from his place of con
cealment Instead of imposing pun
ishment upon him. the police authori-
ties condemned the entire family OF
seven to exile. The father, a very
learned, conscientious man, who alb
horred nihilism. died of shame and
I grief on the way to Siberia. but the
rest of the family have prospered and
acquired wealth One of the sons
| who managed to escape and is now liv'
| ing in the United States told me the
| story.
A merchant of some wealth and OF
excellent reputation was denounced to
the police by vindictive employe
who had been discharged for embezzle
ment. He did it to anticipate his
own prosecution, and. as the police
cared more for political offenses than
for petty pilfering. the merchant was
tried first. and upon the perjured tes
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