The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1905-06-17
TO|LsT'O|I SEES |. |: NO HOPE. .
FOR CAR IN STRUGGLE
Great Russian Commoner
Makes Interesting Prophesy
of Future of His Country.
Give His Friend, the Gar,
Some Sage and Timely ADJ
vice About Situation.


The following letter has been adj
dressed to a friend by Countess Sohpie,
the wife Of Count Leo Tolstoi:
Dear Friend-Knowing that, al
though living abroad, you nevertheless
take to heart the sufferings which we
are passing through in Russia, can
not withhold from expressing to you
my feelings principally concerning the
war and everything that is grieving
my heart.
1T is said that in Russia there is no
unity Of opinion or feeling, but that
there exists, on the contrary, COM
plete disparity of views. am ex-
tremely panied by articles in various
papers. such as the
Novoe Vremya, Moskovski, Viedom-
osti, and others, which call for the
continuation Of war and are opposed
to peace, without entering into any
political consideration, although per-
sonally am persuaded that the con-
tinuation Of the war is not only USE
less but will lead to increasingly
greater losses and disorders, by those
disaffected masses in whom the war
has awakened contempt for human life
and an airnless brutal thirst for blood.
simply cannot understand those who
dare to continue to advocate war.
1T is possible that these people are
bereft OF the most elementary love
towards humanity and Of the under
standing of goodness-nay, Of mere
magination-that they are able to live
with the innocent victims Of war and
their forsaken families through these
desperate sufferings under which the
whole Of Russia is now grooming?
Some imagine that the people are
regarding war and death with wisdom
and equanimity. This is not correct.
am living In the country. I have seen
a son Of my own off to the war, have
experienced and seen these partings
with heart-rending grief, and never
have witnessed aught else than tears,
sorrow and condemnation of the cause
for which the men were being sent
away. I know Of only a very few ex-
ceptions, and those not among the
people, but the educated younger gen.
Grafton.
Peace cannot be a disgrace, as so
many wrongly imagine. A lost war is
not a disgrace, but misfortune. A
spiritually undeveloped, unchristian
nation, such as the Japanese was
bound to conquer, for among them is
rife the principle Of patriotism, which
is opposed to the Christian principle
Of love to ones neighbor, and therefore
Of opposition to war. They have not
yet grown UP to the stage, but the
Russians are on the way to it.
Besides, what disgrace can be
greater than that Of torturing men, and
compelling them to commit the great.
est crime imaginable-that Of depriv-
ing others Of their lives by cruel, COM
plicated, improved methods, invented
by shameful, wrongly directed civil
ization?
What cruelty can be greater than
that Of leaving hundreds Of thousands
Of children and aged people without
fathers and sons foodless. unclothed,
dying from want; than that Of COM
pelling to suffer hundreds Of thousands
children, many dying or becoming i'll
through grief: than that Of leaving the
fields uncultivated in order to impose
upon future generations enormous
State debts?
Better let go all those lands which
are acquired by such 'insanely cruel
methods, In order that the remaining
land should prosper and the people
bless their rulers.
yesterday, on returning home. the
f1rst thing I saw at the entrance Of
my house was pale woman, thin az
a skeleton, who was leaning in ex-
haustion against a. post. I asked her
what she wanted.
We are dying from hunger! Help
us! Five children: am the sixth
And where Is your husband"
In the hospital. Manned at the
war, unable to work.
After a short silence the woman
sighed and asked me: And what ia
the news? Will they soon stop the
war?
Nothing is heard of that
Then what is he doing?' she said
IN a tone Of unspeakable suffering.
"Whom do you mean?
why the Car! How many people
are dying of hunger, how many or
phans he has sent begging! Good God!
This is what the people say, this is
what common mother feels, but a.
mother with the same feelings towards
her hungry suffering child, emaciated
from its extreme privations-a mother
in this respect similar to us, ladies',
expresses, in this feeling common to
all mortals.
But II czars and generals are afraid
OF the disgrace Of peace, then let US
mothers Of all masses revolt against