Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1903-08-22
A BLAST FROM TOLSTOI
Famous Russian Count Saws
Trusts Are Childish.
MERELY PASSING PHENOMENA"

He Considers 1t IA Religious Duty to
Refuse to Work For IA TruHt-wOuld
Rather Die Than Work For Rookie
feHer-LOngs For IA Martyrs Death.
His Reelection Upon a Chicago Edu-
GATORS Ability.
James Creelman, who recently inter
viewed Count Leo Tolstoi at his estate,
publishes the great Russians views in
the New York World.
Count Tolstoi declared that Ameri-
cans should starve rather than work
for John d. Rockefeller or any of the
great trusts. AS for himself, he said it
was his ambition to die a martyrs
death, and he declared he had made
earnest efforts to be hanged or at least
to be sent to prison. Tolstoi had been
asked to express an opinion of Ameri-
can trusts and in the course Of his an
swer said:
You talk of the trusts in America as
If the question were important" he
said. ITO my mind these Industrial
questions are childish. The trust and
the labor union are merely passing
phenomena. 4 man does not have to
live in an industrial center where hu-
man slavery has been established. He
does not have to live in q city. Be
cause man has spoiled a part of the
earth is that reason why people
should stay there and suffer? No man
should work for a man like Rockefeller.
He should prefer starvation. He
should consider it n religious duty to
refuse to work for a trust. Let man
who works for a trust in America and
who seeks relief-let such q man so
into the country and get q small por-
ton of ground to cultivate. Let him
give up luXuries. Let him cease eating
meat The cost of living will be less
than one-sixth of what it was"
And If n man cannot get ground to
dig in what then?"
HE should die rather than assist in
supporting men like Rockefeller. 1t Is
his duty to die If military uniform
were put on him and he were ordered
to die he would do 1t proudly. For
what? For patriotism, that evil thing
which has done so much harm in the
world and which we should condemn
and restrict rather than defend and
spread The trouble is that men are
not ready to die for the right thing.
THE talk about American trusts be
ing an evolution of science Is stupid.
There is no science about it. The trust
will disappear as soon as people are
brave enough to refuse to serve it. y
great deal is said about the enormous
increase in production accomplished by
the trusts. But is such production nee
essary? Does IT make the people hap
pier? Nor'
But the trust system has produced
Andrew Carnegie, and he is using his
hundreds of millions of dollars to pro-
vide free libraries for the people"
suggested.
Yes; but libraries are not necessari-
" blessings. 4 library Of good books
is good thing. but n library largely
made up of bad books is a curse l do
not understand that Mr.. Carnegie fills
his libraries with good books only.
Last year President Harper of the
University Of Chicago came to see me.
He told me about the millions of dol
lars that Rockefeller had given to the
university. He seemed TO think that
these millions were of great lmpOr-
lance. But when l came to talk to him
about serious matters 1 found him to
be really ignorant-quite a barbarian.
He knew less about matters of intel
lectual and moral interest than a man
might learn simply by reading the Re
view of Reviews. for instance. Think
of such a university directed by such
man, And yet that is one of the re-
suits of these trust millions.
America is a nation absorbed in the
pursuit OF money, and yet" he folded
his arms and bent his gray head-'and
yet will say of the Anglo-Saxon race
that those few who are religious dare
to live up to their principles. 1t is only
just to say that. But the Germans are
utterly without religion.
1T is a curious thing that the ordi-
nary conception of the German is that
he is an idealist and of the American
and Englishman that they are practi-
cal. That is only an external descrip-
ton. The truth is that the German is
only an idealist in words, in poetry,
while there are Americans and English
men who can be idealists in deeds"
When the conversation was turned
upon himself Count Tolstoi said: Il
have tried hard to be sent to prison or
to be hanged, but have failed"
Tried to be hangedT
Eyes 1t is the best end for man ex-
cept to be burned. Sacrifice is the best
end"
Are you quite serious?'
The count smiled and answered: 81
have done everything to win that des-
tiny 1t is the ambition of my life to
die for the faith that is in me. They
who are sacrificed die we'll"
But what good could you do by be-
ing hanged on a Russian gallowsT'
For moment Tolstoi was silent.
then he sighed and stroked his gray
beard.
"I am afraid you cannot understand
me- he said. "They are about to put
up a monument to John Huss, the Bo-
hemian, who was burned at the stake
for his religion in 1415."
But Martin Luther was not burned.