Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-08-03
THE PEASANTS UNION
ORGANIZATION OF THE LAND
WORKERS OF RUSSIA.
Letters From Humble Classes~Praising
Gear Faxed to Furnish Cam
paign Literature.
Albert Edwards. in the Independent.


Albert Edwards, In the Independent.
The All-Russian Peasants Union is an
effort to harness the whirlwind. There are
In the country over 100000 peasants.
Their wrongs are matters of history; the
hunger of their bodies and the bitterness of
their hearts are so real that they can only
be imagined These things have aspoten-
tial force which neither municipalities nor
powers can control-this flood of $4,000 900
desperate men can only be checked by it
self; it cannot be stilled by those upon the
banks.
A short while ago a messenger came to
me in Moscow saying that there was to be
a meeting of the bureau of the Peasants
Union, and that If I wished to attend
must go at once to the house Of the treas
urer, who was friend of mine.
1t was chance I had been waiting for,
and j hurried to her house. We had an
uncanny ride, cireling the city, changing
from sleigh to sleigh in order to shake off
possible pursuers, and dfsmissing our last
driver in one of the outer boulevards. Then
we came to an immense gray building,
which had formerly been school. but was
now ostensibly dispensary. The treasurer,
my companion, was recognized by watcher
at the door. who. by sign, told her that
all was safe. and we went through a long,
dark hall into damp, ill-lighted room.
AT first I thought the place was empty,
but voice spoke to me In beautifully pure
English and over in corner I discovered a
small gray-haired man with immense
glasses-the secretary Of the union. He
asked me number of polite questions
about the health of my family and the part
of the country came from just as though
we were meeting quite openly on a purely
social basis. and he frequently found it hard
to understand my Americanisms
We were interrupted by the entrance of
stout workwoman carrying on her head an
immense basket of bread. She came in
laughing, and as she swung down her load
and took the shawl from around her head
the transformation was remarkable. From
workwoman she became woman OF cul-
ture and refinement She sat down on one
of the low benches, and, still laughing, told
US how she had just outwitted the police.
They had watched me so closely she
added, that ! have not slept twice In the
same place for six weeks. But they are so
stupid Today they were not looking for
bread woman. Why, the Sergeant Ivan him
self took>pread from my basket. See, here
are the three kopeks." She laughed again
at the thought of 1T.
mixture of peasants. isvostchiks, sick people
with their arms or heads bandaged. and
few in ordinary European clothes But IN
the dim room the peasant caps came on;
the padded coats of the isvostchfks CT dr1v-
ers were thrown aside. the Disgusting ban
dages of those who had come ostensibly to
the dispensary were pushed from sound
heads and the only ones who remained I'M
changed were those few-very few-in or
binary dress who had not yet attracted the
attention of the police.
Orderliness.
1t would be hardly correct to say that
the meeting "came to order" for without
any formahty they got down to business.
The first one to speak was young lawyer
chairman of the printing committee man
who 1 afterward heard spoke half a dozen
languages and was familiar with the lit
erary and political currents of western
Europe He had a bundle of letters in his
hand from comrades who were out in the
country districts organizing the peasants.
Every organizer reported that the peasants
were anxious to unite and eager to read
asked for more literature.
81 must have some more money" he said.
1T haven't single printed sheet left. The
last one has been sent out
He looked appealingly to my friend, the
treasurer of the bureau.
81 have nothing very cheerful to re-
port" she answered. lat our last meet
ing I had sixty-three rubles. and l gave
fifteen rubles to Ivan Michaelovitch when
he went out to the province of Tula and
the same to Maria Petrovna-you know
she went down to Kharkof. And SO I
have only thirty-three rubles left
among the peasants In the dead of winter
with only seven dollars and half did
not seem appalling to these "agitators."
Another one of their number was PLAN
ming to go into the north country, and
they finally decided to divide what was
left in the treasury-thirteen rubles for
her and twenty rubles for printing. They
talked over some other matters of de-
tall and then broke up into groups to
read the letters which had been received
since the last meeting. The little gray
haired secretary with the great glasses
sat down by my side, and got from him
the story of how the union was started.
Last spring, he told me, nobieman in
the province of Moscow, who wished to
win appreciation at court, called together
the peasantry on his estate, and forced
them. by threats and deceits to sign
letter to the ear. This letter, which
was written by the nobleman was print
ed and circulated through all the en-
pire as though 1t were a sincere state
ment from the peasants This began by
the car for his manifold kind
nesses, and went on to say that the Sign
ers were perfectly happy, that they had
all they wanted to eat, that they were
in favor of keeping up the Japanese war
and that they were so enthusiastically
loyal that they hated all the revolution
lists, and especially those "intellectuals"
who were bIasphemous enough to criti-
else his majesty.
Campaign Document.
OF course, no one who knew the con-
ditions believed in the truth of the let
ter, but 1t was widely circulated as g.
Campaign document" and might not
have been challenged II it had not come
to the attention of a former peasant from
this village named Kurneen. He had
come to Moscow as q boy and had edu-
Gated himself and become clerk in a
naphtha Arm The moment he saw the
letter he knew 1t was lie for his own
mother had died of starvation In that
village, and many of the peasants from
his home visited him when they came to
Moscow. He wrote a reply, which was
published in one of the liberal papers in
Moscow, In which he clearly and forctbly
exposed the real conditions In this VII
lage The letter drew to him the at
tention of number of educated people
who were interested in the peasantry,
and there were many conferences be-
tween them and Kurneen. The idea of
the Peasants Union was his. He knew
of the labor unions in the cities: he knew
of the professional unions which have
co-ordinated the efforts of the profess
sional classes throughout the country,
and he advocated the formation of such
q union among the peasants.
The Intellectuals' helped him In the
work and last June copfaranca