The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1904-11-16
Lethargic State Described by
John Foster Carr.
IGNORANCECAUSES MISERY
Three Fourths Of the Children Never Go
to School = Sad Lot Of thhe Peas
ants Who Constitute Nine
Tenths of Russia.

Russia's lcthargy and its causes as
well as it's organized system Of graft,
are thus described in part BY John
Foster carr in the Worlds Work for
November.
Fear Of Russia has hung over the
world for more than a quarter Of q
century, but today, after nine
months war with Japan, its dreaded
power has become almost d laughing
stock War is the tonic that skilled
statesmen prescribe for weak aud trou-
bled states, but neither hope q con.
quest nor the blow 81 humiliating de-
feat has given energy to Russia
There are signs neither Of j coming
popular revolution nor Of national dis.
integration Like the giant in the fa-
bic who was buried under mountain,
It lies and feebly writheS.
And, like i giant Russia has great
size joined with great weakness. Some
Of the causes Of its lethargy are incur
able. Others are due to i backward
civilization The czar rules over near.
" onesixth Of the total land surface
of the globe Ills empire Is the lar
gest continuous national territory in
the world ana is more than twice the
size of al our possessions The 20
GOO miles Of the equator would hardly
20 halfway around his frontiers. But
where we have 10000 miles Of rail-
reads. not counting double tracks. that
} land Of magnificent distances has only
$4,000, and they are SO poorly built
! and operated that the Russian rides
like the wind when he makes q speed
, Of thirteen miles an hour. Many roads
are mere military routes and not high
. | ways Of commerce. No economic fact.
{ determined their path, and frequentl
the only merchandise they transport !
: the grain they carry to the supply o
4 troops from a famine stricken province
4 The wagon roads are poorly made AM
y are often lmpassable except when frc
s zen solid The rivers during the sun
mer are tie chief routes Of travel an
g trade. but there is no adequate systet
d of canals. The postoffice handles on
piece Of mail for fifteen that pas
through our own. For every two mile
Il OF telegraph III Russia we have tive
and for each mile Of her telephon
3 wires we have flfty-three.
/. Russian industry tells the same 81,
n r.. For each iuhabitant Russia II
vests IN industrial enterprise Si: III
i United states, Sl25 our factories oni
ii number hers twenty-three to one. Tn
value 81 her cotton splnnings is bu
y two.thirds Of ours. She manufacture
somewhat more than half us much (
n bacco. and only ia sugar does she SUI
+ pass US. Mineral wealth abouuds, ye
3 Russia does not mine enough OF Ga
precious metals 10 pay tie expense
q of her travellers abroad Her pig iro
n equals only one-sixth of ours, and on
q twentieth Of our coal ears would carr
i her entire output
And yet Russia las l59o0O000 il
~ habitants. More than ninc.tenths {
Z. them are peasants engaged Ia agricu
ture. Tley live il little villages, ofte
n miles away from the fields they I'll
Is and their poverty y CHROME lhlft
Il per cent OF all the babies die betoi
IA they complete their first year and mot
than half Of them are starved 20 deaf
ii Bred of frh ana starvation. endem
le typhus RACES In whole districts.
AZ ignorance leads misery BY the ham
Three-fonrths Of the children ney'
Il see the inside Ut schoolroom I
le those who 90 to school few are taugl
= more than their alphaheti the cat
chism and the clements Of aritlimeti
Is In Russia proper ninety -four people
every hundred cannot write Che
names or spell out easy words Tee
IA meal education is even more neglecte
and for every 1000 people there il b
on a single physician. The upper ella
As and, to d limited extent the midd
class are mentally alert, but the n
es tIonal mind is dull and slow IT ileyl
81 opment
he The condition OF The peasant has i
been much bettered by the abolition
ia serfdom. Not the individual. but {
village tmr holds the lnnd En-