The Garland globe. [volume] (Garland, Utah) 1906-191?, 1906-03-10
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nificance of that fact. In Russia the
large cities are few and far between
and, with the exception Of Moscow
are almost all upon the extreme west.
ern or southern border of the Empire.
Eight-tenths of the population is still
to beffound in detached jillages of
from 1000 to 1900 inhabitants, scat.
tered over an area much larger than
that of the United States. Any spec
ulation upon the political future of
| Russia will be futile II : does not
take into proper account the nature
Of these village organizations Tor
Mrs" as they are called, and the
racial characteristics of the individ-
uals who constitute them.
The Slavic population of Russia is
| divided into three branches, the Great
Russian, the Little Russian, and the
| White Russian. or these the Great
Russian is by far predominant, num-
bering more tnan 4O,0OO,O0O. and &C.
| cupying the whole valley of the Volga,
a large part Of the basin of the Don,
and extending westward to the Dnie-
pei anu iDNihd NiNtios ioiStoy, WIN
| whose picture in peasant costume
every one is familiar, is both phys
ically ana temperamentally the typi-
cal Great Russian. With his stalwart
frame. lis light brown hair and beard,
his mild blue or gray eye, broad face
and gentle expression, and his belted
blouse overhanging his trousers, the
Great Russian meets you everywhere
in the kingdom. Not only in his
original nome, hut in Vladivostok,
throughout Siberia and Central Asia.
on the shores of the Black Sea and
the Sea of Azov, he is sure to greet
you with the offer of broad shoulders
or Of his swift droshky for the trans
portation Of your luggage and your
person.
The Little Russian, next in impor-
lance Of the Slavic population, often
has dark hair and dark eyes. sup
posed by some to have come through
slight intermixture of Tfrtar BLOOD
but In general his characteristics are
similar to those CT his brothers in
Great Russia. He is, however,
cleaner in appearance and manner Of
living, and his villages show sigrs Of
greater prosperity. The CossacKs of
the Don and the Ural are simply the
frontiersmen of Russia, with such
notifications as border life produces
in all classes Of people. They possess
a military organization, which is ex-
tremely democratic, except In the APP
pointment of its higher officers. Nat
urally they have come to be the chief
dependence of the Government in pre-
serving order throughout the Empire.
their relation to the ordinary army Of
conscrlpts being something like that
OF our regular army 20 the State
militia. We have much the same diff
ficulty In the United States in sup
pressing disorders through the militia
that Russia has through the regular
army. In repeated instances our mil
itia have refused to respond for the
forcible suppression Of disorders To-
mented by their fellow citizens. The
refusal Of Russian troops to fire upon
mob. and the resort to the Cossacks
as We resort to the regular army, are
no new things In Russia.
THE GENTLE RUSSIAN.
Nothing can be more erroneous than
the impre. sion which is conveyed by
picturinG the Russian as bear" for,
really, he is a gentle creature, over
flowing with sympathy, and this is
the basis of his most racteristic
faults. Beggars are everywhere toll
Grated. They line the approaches to
every church, and stretch out their ap-
pealing hands from every corner. Nor
are they rudely thrust aside by any.
Their very numbers indicate the con-
sideration with which they are treat
ed. The exile, as he starts for Siberia,
is universally looked upon as the more
unfortunate rather than criminal, and
is the recipient Of many parting gifts.
In Siberia itseli the free settler ever
leaves some bread and water outside
his door tina. the fugitive from justice
may find refreshment in his lonely
night marches. 1t was in obedience
to this sentlmentality of The peop'e
at large that capital punishment was
abolished in Russia $50 years ago.
The whole penal system of Siberia
has really sprung out Of the same ma
tional sentimentalism. Exile to 81
IBERIA, with speedy release from
close confinement and a chance TO re-
trieve ones fortune in now country,
has seemed TO the nation more humane
than summary execution or prolonged
close confinement. However mistaken
the policy may have been, the i'm
pulse leading to IL has been generous
rather than severe, while no one could
well Sc beforehand the incidental
evils which have been Connected with
1t. Now that the policy is to be re-
versed, the first requisite is the cree
tion Of large number of new local
prisons, whore II is doubtful IL the
unfortunate class will De any better
of than they have been. 1t is inter.
esting 10 noe that Prince kropotkin,
upon being confined in an up-to-date
French prison, emphatically declared
that the general effect of the Siberian
prison was better than that of the
prisons OF Western Europe.