The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1905-11-25

| would De thrown open for public in
| spection. So Honolulu society may
| look forward possibly to merry times
aboard if the ship stays long enough
Next the bridge deck was visited and
here is found the compass and tele-
graph to the engine room and the
usual fittings of steam vessels of her
class. The pilot house Immediately aft
of the bridge is spacious and complete
Aft of that is the navigating officer's
room, again a model of comfort and
elegance. The Lena is fitted with
steam stearing gear. both in the pilot
! house and on the hurricane deck above.
Mr.. Lugebil, who has spent some
thirty-seven years in America, spoke of
the Russian Quakers who propose COM
| ing to Hawaii He says they are a
desirable class of people living in the
north of Russia proper, just south of
the Finland boundary. There are he
| says, about thirty thousand of them.
! THAT part of Russia is not entirely
! civilized" said he. 1T was inhab bited
| by the Tartars. who are still semi
| civilized. The Quakers moved up there
and settled. They are a peasant class
! who would make good agricultural
population for these islands They
have had a great deal of trouble with
the Tartars and are getting tired of
it. The Tartars go in and murder them
without cause or reason and plunder
them ruthlessly. There seems to be no
way to stop it and SO they are now
trying to leave"
Asked as to the desira bility Of the
Russian prisoners now in Japan as
agricultural population for Hawaii, he
said. Some of these Russian prison
ers are agriculturalists, but many of
them are not. The Russian peasant has
to serve three years in the army. The
population that are better educated and
who live in the towns do not have to
serve but a year and a-half. Then they
go into the reserve. The prisoners in
Japan are mostly regulars.
Speaking of the general conditions in
Russia, Mr.. Lugebil was very frank.
"The Russian government is rotten
said he. Everybody knows that The
aristocrats are trying to run it to suit
themselves. The peasantry are ignor-
ant and incapable of government
until they are better educated. The
people that are making the trouble in
Russia today are the student class.
This trouble may die down. but it will
break out again. It would be foolish
to grant universal suffrage now. 1t
will take ten years for Russia to get
10 position where the peasantry know
what their rights are and what is the
use of giving people self-governmert
who do not know what they are en-
titled to? IT should be done gradually.
For that matter, it seems to me
that America is rapidly getting into a
government by the plutocrats. OF
course the people vote, but they vote
just about as the money power tells
I them to, EXCEPT on special occasions. 1t
would be the same in Russia. If uni
versal suffrage were granted, the peo-
pie who had the votes would not know
what to do with their power and the
more ignorant would merely be tools in
the hands of the wealthy -or the aristo-
Gratis l have seen a great change i'll
America in the thirty-seven years l
have been there, and it looks to me
that the wealthy are running things
almost all the time now. 1t is not like
it used to be in America"
"Of course said he with a smile,
you must not think I own this ship.
I am merely the guest of the captain.
I had a chance to make the trip and
made it,
The Lena will finish coaling early
next week anu IL VIII lhSn pe uelei
mined what will be done next. When
she gets to Vladivostok, she will be
likely to be sent to Europe for general
repair and overhauling, as she can not
get the necessary parts in Vladivostok.
Mr.. Lugebirs father, Joseph Lugebil,
Sr, is also IAN American by anexa-
tion,'' like his son. He is the official
interpreter of the Russian embassy at
Washington, which position he has held
twelve years