Los Angeles herald., 1905-03-11
TOLSTOY VIEWS
THE SITUATION
EXPLAINS. WHERE THE EVIL
REALLY LIES
penounces the Present War In seath.
ing Terms, but Says That All
Governments Are Prae.
tleslly Alike
BY Associated Press

BY Associated Press,
LONDON, March 1O.-Count Tolstoy
in a letter to the Times of London,
which will be published tomorrow
morning says that he regards not only
the Russian government but all gov
ernments as intricate institutions
sanctified by tradition and custom for
the purpose of committing by violence
the most dreadful social crimes"
He therefore thinks the efforts OF
those who wish to improve social life
themselves from governments, whose
futility in these times is becoming more
and more obvious This object can
only be attained by the unique means
Of religiously and morally perfecting
separate individuals. The idea is prev
alent that the evil accomplished by the
present particularly coarse, cruel,
stupid and deceitful Russian govern
ment' is due to the fact that the Rus
sian government is not organized on
the model of other existing govern
ments, which "are similar institutions
lOi litt COIlliIlllidl VI ali hlIlNS VI Utilities
against their peoples" For the purpose
of correcting this the people have used
all the means at their disposal, "im
agining that an alteration of the ex-
ternal forms might alter the essence"
Opposes Violence and Politics
Such activity, Count Tolstoy says, is
inexpedient and unreasonable, in that
the people assert rights which they
do not have. Violent strife by Tex
ternal means on the part of an insig-
powerful government defending it's
life is only comical from the point
of view of the possibility of success
and piteous as regards the unfortun- |
ate, misled individual who perishes |
in the unequal strife. The claims
made do not appeal to the great
mass of the people. One hundred |
millions of the peasantry heed moth
ing of these demands, their one desire
and expectation being the liberation
of the land from the law of property
or common ownership OF land, a mat
ter which is entirely ignored in lib
eral petitions and speeches and only |
incidentally alluded to in the revolu-
tionary socialistic program.
"One cannot participate in political
intrigue, subterfuge, strife and Spite
tending to murder. Political action
not only fails to contribute to the
liberation of men from the violence of
but on the contrary,
renders the people more incapable of
that vigor which only can liberate
them.
THE chief calamity from which the
people are suffering is not the
st. Petersburg events, but the reckless,
cruel war instigated by
score of immoral individuals. The
war, which has already destroyed
hundreds of thousands of Russians, i'm
poses an enormous tax upon the labor
of future generations. That which
took place in st. Petersburg on Janu-
ary % is nothing in comparison to what
is taking place in Manchuria."
In conclusion Count Tolstoy says
that in America, France, Germany
Japan and England the pernicious
character of be governments is
equally marked and yet those
nations point to events in
Russia and naively imagine that
what is done in Russia is done only in
Russia while they enjoy complete free
dom and need no Improvement of their
positions.
But he adds they are in the most
hopeless state of slavery-the slavery
of slaves who do not understand that
they are slaves and pride themselves
on their position as slaves. The fact
is that every coercive government is
in its essence great and unnecessary
evil. Therefore the aim both of the
Russians and of all men should not be
to replace one form of government by
another, but to free themselves from