Omaha daily bee., 1905-12-09
OTHER LANDS THAN ours.

/
the little Russian and the white Russian.
| OF these the great Russian is by far pre-
dominant. numbering more than 100000
/ and occupying the whole valley OF the
1 Volga, a large part OF the basin OF the
Don and extending westward to the Dnie-
/ per and Dvina rivers. Tolstoi with whose
| picture In peasant costume every one is
familiar. lie both physically and tempera-
/ mentally the typical great Russian. With
! his stalwart frame, his light brown hair
and beard, his mild blue or gray eye,
broad face and gentle expression and his
beted blouse overhanginE his trousers, the
! great Russian meets you everywhere in the
/ kingdom. Not only in his original home
| but in Vladivostok. throughout Siberia and
| central Asia, on the shores OF the Black
/ sea and Of the Sea Of Azov he is sure TO
| greet you with the offer of broad shoulders
or OF his swift droshky for the transporta-
/ ton Of your luggage and your person. The
| little Russian, next in Importance of the
| Slavic population, often has dark hair and
dark eyes, supposed by some TO have come
through a slight intermixture of Tartar
blood but in general his characteristics are
| similar to those of his brothers in great
| Russia. He is, however. cleaner in APP
pearance and manner of living and his viii
| The Cossacks of the Don and the Ural are
simply the frontiersmen of Russia, with
such notifications as border life produces
| in all classea of people.
One aspect of the present widespread
! agitation Of the meat question in Germany
| deserves more than passing notice. II is
| the extent to which Germany in recent
| years has, in spite Of its somewhat limited
/ area and a naturally poor SOIL been able
to supply It's large population with meat
! While II Is certainly true that the supply
| has been insufficient and has given rise to
an unmistakable demand for a more lib
! eral policy in the admission of foreign
| meats, practically all the cattle and hogs
used for meats in Germany are raised
within the empire. While England, with
a meat consum ption reckoned at 112 pounds
! per capita annually, against ninety-two
pounds per capita in Germany, imports
about 90 per cent of its meat supply. Ger
many's importations in recent years. have
been comparatively insignificant. Thus.
with a population of perhaps quite G0O0OO 900
people the importation of live stock for
slaughtering purposes during the first six
months Of the current year included 177,49i
cattle, 5,755 hogs and 6sl sheep. To the
! rarely sees swine at all and. except in rare
cases. never sees live stock of any kind
on pasture, II would seem incredible that
such large quantities of cattle, hogs and
sheep are produced.
The kaiser expects to celebrate his silver
wedding on January 81 next and It had
been the intention TO make the occasion
one of great splendor and festivity. All
the sovereigns of Europe were to be in
vited to be present at the rejoicings and
no effort was to be spared to render the
anniversary notable. Suddenly the pro-
gram has been changed. limitations have
been communicated to the different govern
ments of the kaiser's preference for
quiet and transformations commemoration of
the day. They have been told that it is
to be an exclusively private and family af
fair, and therefore that no invitations will
be sent to foreign officials or even to the
members of reigning families. The kaiser
and his relatives are going to have a nice
little domestic gathering all by themselves
and what happens at the assemblage will
be nobody's business. There is no secret
about the motives which induced this
change of program. It was allowed to
become known several days ago that neither
King Edward nor Queen Alexandra had
any idea of attending the silver wedding of
their nephew in case they were invited,
and It was pretty clearly understood that
they would not be so much as represented.
All the members of the British royal fam
lily were to have some reason for being
unable to visit Berlin and Potsdam, and so
far as Great Britain was concerned the
silver wedding was to be left severely alone.
1t was because this abstention would have
I IL
increased a friction between the two coun-
tries which is already a cause of dis
auieting apprehensions that the kaiser has
made the published variation in the pro-
/ gram and that he showed his good sense
in doing so is undeniable.
Nothing can be more erroneous, says a
Sevastopol correspondent, than the impress
! sion which is conveyed by picturing the
Russian as bear" for really, he is a
: gentle creature, overlooking with sympathy,
! and this is the basis of his most character
istic faults. Beggars are everywhere toler-
, ated. They line the approaches to every
church and stretch out their appealing
! hands from every corner Nor are they
) rudely thrust aside by any. Their very
: numbers indicate the consideration with
l which they are treated. The exile, as he
starts Tor blDerlh, is universally looked
l upon as more unfortunate than criminal
, and is the recipient of many parting gifts
2 In Siberia itself the free settler ever leaves
4 some bread and water outside his door
that the fugitive from justice may find
r refreshment in his lonely night marches
1t was in obedience TO this sentimentality
r of the people at large that capital punish
e ment was abolished in Russia $50 years ago
t Since that time even the most hardened
: murderers have never been sentenced &c
e more than twenty years in prison. The
s few executions which take place in Russia
n are under the extreme enforcement OF
: martial law
3 The Japanese are making provision
e against whatever possibilities of danger the
c coming years may bring by the adoption OF
d a naval program which even first class
European power might hesitate to under
n take. One of their most authoritative news
II papers. the Jill Shimpo, asserts that th'
e Japanese navy of the future will consis
e of batteships displacing 1900 tons, will
l. a speed OF twenty knots and an armamen
i OF fourteen twelve-inch guns, and of cruis
II ers Of 1900 tons and twenty-five-kno
e speed capacity, but this is an aspiration