New-York tribune., 1902-10-12
STUDIES IN RUSSIA.
.,.,,,y NoRMANs TRAVELS AND oBsER-
m,oNs IN TIE NORTH AND SOUTH

NJ travels IN lAA10AA AANA'
&c. they have been made uhuer oii |
p1.os favorable Tor observation inquiry anu
s'AhOee -, His account is copious and en-
.-.,a,ning, and without beng ue nii"i anu o0H |
ss a,ra as 10 the Russia OF to-day. It Is
eus'e - o8sfng 10 the flood Of light that
f@'N- ,ouring upon Russian activities ana
-, cbaracteristics. especially in the Aslaue
husa'- Nr. Norman has not gone into
poss''I, ne rbases Of these things SO deeply as
s0i'. .,,ers. lacking a knowledge Of the Rus
SOM ,.,ruare. his Inquiries had TO be prose
S , ,brough an interpreter. He delights In
eu'sS -.s,ue descriptions, and is lot ayerse 10
.s-.,,sl information. lie continues 10 give US
t'1@-~a ST.. u the outward aspects OF the coun-
ap.'s vivid and comurehensive. and valu-
~ .-oynt Of the conflict Of the new ideas Of
h'F ,bat are slowly making their way.
poe' ,-,-r,on travelled from ST Petersburg and
81. over the Trans-S iberian Railway 20
-. ,bcn ne steamed down the Nolga 10
o..u,on Sea and from KrasnOvodsk took
1,-,,scaspian Railway 10 the confines OF
.vo His experiences thus cover the
- and southern parts Of Asiatic Russia.
-, ,o soos not take US in this book TO the
80. ,,.sstern uortious ST Petersburg he de-
-, os a ..for,isu" Cty-any quarter or IL
.,s 40 n home in Paris OF Potsdam or Pesth.
-, ms Peter The Greats doing; to-day the
,,,,ssia, ideal is 20 be Russian; 10 wait unth
.,,,siaa world shall learn that The Russian
- is b.tter" and shall walk IN The "hlS pam
:, ,o,i,iops truth and social security. The re-
-, ,,at rises TO Mr. Nounan's lips is OF
-, q weller OF money time, labor ana
,snscious clingiug 10 an ldeA are DONG ana
IN 6o in Russia The siberian railway is per
,,,s the most Tangible aul Visible expression OF
mis- And the fundam,a,a t"t IL RUSSIA
,.,eryNhcre is the position ,. ,he Car
-o ,,,,ssrst9nd Russia il .~ absolutely neoes-
,rr "a af.fre.i ate this fact. Mess you rtallZe
MAJ in Russia the Car is every jhlls' H'eiaHy
eyerythug: that not only Is l..s M1l Law ous
,sa,it ~ baa,.p insured right that MS lano
and his subjects are his 40 dispose ol "Ao'4s -
he will am speaking of course oI me me llasSss iS
of the peope-you NlA hul t''7f N'e as
mental condition Of Russia to-llS, -, -
,-,p ,ro higher in the scale the fact remains. but
ON a different basis Official RANK 'Sl4'H -
the standard OF position a SLe''S' .,,,l,,o,
-tcbin" determines mans honor ana llhuehce'
and ~ course all conceivable tchln culhl-
mates in the car. II you have noI SouIseI
hiab ''tchu' sou must De- protected 10y some
bodv who has. officials ~ hlEh rank Mlh h,iu-
a, j.ign 10 notice YOU al one minute, and The
next they are wholly al your service. II they
have learned that you are weA protected
This influence of The Car is increasing, rather
,han diminishing; and there are many com
,laints that certain ministers 81 state are tax
ing their proposals direct TO The Car instead
of submitting Them hr~J 10 the Council Of Min
isters.
The common people themselves Mr.. Norman
finds simple. good natured. kindly, very ready
10 be pleased or 70 laugh Their poverty does
not prevent them from being happy in thelr
melancholy Slav fashion. The Siberian type In
the remote towns has been developed by the
extreme loneliness Of life and The length Of the
Enter-sileut. morose, ineNIr,ssibly sad; and
these conditions too together with the large
proportion Of criminals inevitably breed their
own series of crimes. But the rapid growth Of
mdustrialism in Siberia IS bringing about a
great and vital change in those places whore il
has gone on. Mil and factory life make differ
ent beings Of The people.
The railway Is the present factor of chief
Importance in the future of siberia. thinks Nj
Norman. Russians themselves are 10y no means
unanimous in thoir views OF its value. There
are not lacking those who regard il as "a white
elephant huge humtug, a financial milestone"
Our obsery r is certain. after his study Of H.
that il is an enterprise Of vast promise TO Rus
sia, and Of equal significance TO the rest Of Eu-
rope Through traffic is not likely TO pay; but
between local points the demands upon il al
ready Ear exceed what il can meet The rates
OF passenger fares are at present such as 10
make profit from that source impossible. The
zone system brings them down TO Nhat Mr. NOT
man calls an astoUudiugly low figure. The nine
DAYS journey 10 IIkutsk 3,37l miles. costs
1880 by trains as luxurious as any in the