The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-11-02
IDEALS OF TOLSTOY
MISS JANE adams, OF HULL
HOUSE, LECTURES ON RES
SIAN WRITER
HE rs at LEAST CONSISTENT
Inequalities Brought About by Ex-
tremes of wealth and Poverty
Led to His system of
Philosophy.


of the Hull House settlement, Chicago,
were present in force at the Park Con-
gregational church last night, when Miss
Jane Adams lectured on the eXiled Rus
sian writer and philosopher. Miss Adj
dams work in the Hull House settlement
las made her name world known. The
nature of the work has called to It's
doors many visitors of prominence. the
positivist, Frederick Harrison, and the
se-called Russian socialist, Prince Kro-
potkin, both being her guests while in
this country. Several years ago. Miss
Adams stated last night in answer to
question after the lecture, Hull House
had a social science club, which per-
initted the discussion Of socialistic ideas,
but which was principally productive Of
Misrepresentation and an unjust accusa-
ton of anarchy, and so it was dispensed
With 1t was through these meetings
that Miss Adams met Abraham Isaacs
and became innocently and unjustly as
ISOLATED in the public mind with the an
archist who assassinated President Me-
KinIey. Miss Adams wished it UNDER
stood that she was not a follower Of
Tolstoy, but that she could not help re-
specting a man who acts out the thing
he believes.
Miss Adams began her lecture by
sketching the principal periods of Toll
stoy's life. His early life was spent in
luxury and travel, with every oppor-
tunity for self-culture that wealth could
give. His travels over, he began the
management of his estates, and was led
to study the lives and needs of those
who, by right Of inheritance and Russian
law, were his slaves. Then came the
awakening-brought about by contrasts
forced on his notice. A visit to hay
jpSf al n
bringing about the awakening. There he
saw the peasants working from day to
day, but only allowed tc retain half the
profits Of their labor, while he, If he
chose, need not labor at all, but was en-
titled to half their earnings. He saw
them with not enough to eat. their chill
dren hungry, their horses underfed and
their quarters squalid and unsanitary
He saw his own table loaded with every
dainty, his children well cared for, his
stables perfect in their appointments, his
horses sleek and fat, and he realized the
injustice of it all. To thoroughly under
stand the basis of his work, the Slav
must be understood, the Russian point Of
view must be taken into consideration,
the peasants right to till the land and
the governments right to Cypress the
peasant and take from him the profits of
his toll. 1t is interesting to note that
the wife of Count Tolstoy has mot been
converted to her husbands views The
children are in various degrees of con-
version, and striking illustration of
the condition existing in the home is seen
at the evening dinner when the countess
and some of the children are served with
an elaborate dinner of five courses, while
sitting at the same table-Tolstoy and
'otner members of the family have a sim
pie dish Of crushed wheat or oats
Doctrine of Non-Resistance,
Iolstoy's doctrine of non-yesistance is
also the Russian point of view asN evil
.denced at the reace conference at The
Hague, Tolstoy taking the stand how
ever that moral compulsion should al
ways be effective and physical eompulsion
snouid never be necessary. When asked
once if he would interfere if he saw
vicious father abusing a helpless child. he
answered no; saying it was better that a
life should be sacrificed than that the
law of non-resistance, so infinitely right
in itself, should be sacrificed Not wish
ing to be called a follower of Tolstoy.
Miss Adams paid a high tribute to the
man who had the courage of his convic-
tons. although in this age of association
of effort, he had proved himself an ex-
IRENE individualst.
A careful study of his works from the
prescribed ''Kreutzer Sonata" through
Anna Karanina, - my Comics sions, '"The
Resurrection to his protest to the synod
in Russia in answer to his excommunica-
ton from the orthodox church in Russia
would convince anyone that insincerity
and Inconsistency could not be charged
against him. and no one can say he
preached but did not practice.
At the close of Miss Adams lecture
an opportunity was given for discussion
and the questions asked showed much
interest in Hull house and it's work.
One question was: when foreigners
join the classes at Hull house do they
evince desire to become American citi-
zens?' Miss Adams answered: "They
evince desire to learn the English lam
guage for they realize they cannot COM
pete with Americans in business if they
do not, and they are. as a rule, anxious
for work. Many of them, contrary to our
belief, are people bright and apt and
capable of a degree of culture that we
dc not give them credit for and whose
home relations are superior to those with
which they come in contact in the
.'seamy side of life" in this country. In
dc ed their opinion of us as Americans is
not at all iattering.''
Miss Adams believes many men who
get the reputation for unwillingness to
work are in reality the victims of nervous
prostration brought on from under nour-
ishment.