The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1905-06-12
RIGHTS oF RUSSIANS.
Oddities Of the Views Held by the
Peasantry.

In the opinion of the Russian peopl
no one has the right to appropriate t
himself anything but the product Of hi
own labor, says w. Tcherkesof In th,
Chicago News. In PEASANTS house
i hold the woman has the right TO dis
4 pose according to her own wishes o.
all that she has herself produced. Usu
: ally all the products of the fields anc
) the cattle belong to the man. while the
: products of the garden. the poultry and
, the various spinning industries belong
to the housewife. 1t is ia same In the
> case of chance profits. II you go to a
PEASANTS house for a meal or a drink
or nights lodging and wish to pay
something you must always speak to
the woman. The man will never take
your money.
attribute to this popular custom the
faet that the Russian code recognizes
| the division Of property between the
husband and the wife, and 1t is that
which has created for the Russian wo-
man an economic and consequently
social position far superior In most re-
| spects to that enjoyed by woman In
| western Europe.
Owing to this idea that private prop
erty can only exist In those things
which are the product of ones own la. |
Dor the Russian people obstnately re.
fuse TO consider fishing, hunting or the
use Of forests for personal require
ments as crime. "The forests and
the water are Gods" they naively say.
and each has the right to make use
OF them according to his needs" Re
cent reports Of peasants cutting down
forests on private estates indicate the
strength of this sentiment.
But ii is a theft TO cut down wood
on the estate of Lord NJ said Yaku-
Shin, one of the best observers of pop
ular life, TO some peasants who were {
openly going in carts to private es-
tate to get fuel.
What do you say, little father?" an !
swered the peasants, astonished. eff
some one We're to take wood that you'll
had already cut or corn that you had
already sown that certainly would be
theft, but any one has a right to cut
Town a tree that God alone has cared n
Tor. To take what man has produced II
would be to steal But the forests. the .
game, the fish are created for all--yes.
or ALL"
Always the people act In accordance q
With similar ideas of justice. The ma.
GRITTY of crimes committed by peas
Ints are against private or state prop -
sty In forests. For the Russian peas VI
mt there exists only one moral author -
ty which possesses the right Of tempo
arily forbldding the use of such and r.
UGH a piece Of common property-it Is -
us mir, the full assembly Of his com
nune. Sometimes In order to preserve
ne forests or fish the mir will proclaim
place sacred" tzapovednia) for SO ~
many years. 1t knows perfectly well -
nat no Russian will touch the least r
wig In sacred" forest. The zapoved-
ia forests are well known in Russia
nd It Is also known how the people
aspect the decisions of the mir. A
Fhole series of popular proverbs exist ST
Vhlch prove to what degree the Rus
lans esteem, revere. their mn. The
eopie say, No one goes against the -
air. Even the woods bend before the A.
ecision Of the MIR TT is d glorious Nv
hing to die for the mir
And the mir makes It's decisions re.
pected only by its practice Of solldar.
y ana equality, while the all powerful
government Of the car cannot get fine
easaiits to obey It's laws concerning "a
rlyate and state property! =,
but there Is nothing astonishing in IN
he TACT that the efforts of the govern.
leht are fruitless. The people have
ing been accustomed to look up0n tha
and the government as
2 worst enemies. Moscow is as full
pad government officials as a forest
Of branches says an old proverb
ne people have always tried to dy
rom the central government and Its
ofrupt and despotic officials.
thirty years ago." says General
ehukon, the governor of the province
Amur, General Pedashenko while
a journey Of inspection visited Vii.
re recently founded by voluntary
'ionists He was struck by the pros.
sfity they had attained in so short n
me two years., while the government M
PONIES were in pltiable condition. ~
You live here very comfortably. 49,
y friends said he to the peasants CT
luch more 40 than the inhabitants Of
Y banks Of the Amur. Why is it SOP
TIA, little father, it is because here
9 i've far from the administration, Pa
iswered the peasants. iso
"oh, what cruel ironye concludes
eneral Venukoff.
now truew we. for our part, add.