The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1906-12-29
my THE GEAR MUST FEAR
rsoo0o0 TREkKlNG PEASANTS
WHO DEMAND LAND.

r.yolutionists-Dr. Mackenzie Wal
-. Describes Their PitiabIe Con
ation.
rprther light upon the great trag
=, that is being enacted III Russia
thrown by DR.. Mackenzie Wallace
he London Times, where he dis
-.ses the condition of the handles:
...sants. He is now living in the
sr air with a company which is one
ssrtingent Of vast host of 100000
, trekking agriculturists. He is with
hand who left their homes months
a according to the annual custom
I GEEK work on the crops in other
Its OF the empire. They are now
rtuning.
M told, he says, they are nearly
s.ne as numerous and they may
.,cye as influential as all the work
ren in the towns, of whom so much
!. heard, and the return of this army
I, ,aborers from their dispersion in
i, ouarters of the empire may have
,.sults not less important than those
at have already followed the re.
,atriation of the army of soldiers from
lie Far East.
sThe lot of these wanderers" says
Dr. Wallace, is miserable enough,
nod knows. Most of them are from
title Russia and the steppe prov
,nces Some of them travel as far as
f0oO versts. They are absent from
their villages from two to six months
md their average wage is 50 rubles,
~ which they have minimum outlay
a q rubles for passport and food
. route. This leaves II rubles, which
! makes an average wage CT ii kopecks
~ 9 cents a day. Some travel By
rain in fourth class, or on the slow
81 Volga boats part of the way, but
multit1des 60 on foot. They spend
he night wherever they happen to be
vhen darkness falls. They suffer
ianumerable privations from hunger.
cold. heat and sickness and finally. if
hey survive, they reach their destina-
tion with all their strength spent be-
fore they have begun work.
Land, give us land. these peas
ants cry. Nor do they dream of COM
peusating any of the present land
owners whom they may dispossess.
Al the bottom of their hearts is the
ineradicable conviction that d man
Who works on the land has a natural
hight to it; which if put in the bal
ance against all the positive laws
Of property makes them kick the
beam. We are the Lords they say,
and the land is ours Yes, they still
believe in the Lord and before they
lie down on empty stomachs On the
tteppe they commit themselves by
he sign of the cross to the Divine
care. They believe, too, in the Bless
"a Virgin and the saints and in ikons
and heaven and hell. This steppe
over which they wander loses Itself
b the dim horizon where the earth
md sky mingle and are lost and there
h I mystical background encompass
ing these wanderers lives, in the
midst OF which are superstitions, por-
tents and signs.
In the Russian revolution what IS
these peasants role? 1t was discov-
cred to me by a man who had been
tie companion Of my joIrneyings for
txo days. He forced his company
upon me, for while I was driving
6cr0ss the country he sprang upon
1e from behind tree and made the
demand which, almost with impa-
Hence, had long expected to hear
lands up!' Even if l had possessed
I revolver should not have fired, for
] could have blown the wretch out OF
sKistence with a puff of smoke from
~ cigarette. I have seen pitiable
specimens Of humanity in my day.
Mt none ever stirred my compassion
. profoundly as this man, and
eheerfrlly gave him the few rubles |
pa and some of my cigarettes.
As he smoked he told me his
alstory. For a political offense he had
zen provided by an administrative
eder with what the peasants appro-
1Iiately call VOLTS passport, which
osces him to be a perpetual wan
lHef on the face of the earth, or
th part Of it as is under the dom
siOn Of the Car, reporting himself
lpecifed police stations as he goes
ING, and forbids all the Cars sub
ces to give him shelter for more |
IN one night. It is the curse OF
s1ln, and certainly this mans pun
lment is greater than he can bear,
nough his sin was not murder, but |
rely completely in printing some
4egal literature which the Govern !
ut was making vain efforts to sup
-. am told by this wolf that
"a nad met fewer Of his kind dur
i the last four or five months than
EARLIER times, and it is to be hoped