Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-07-07

PRINCE vOROvsOV DAsHKOFF.
VicerOy Of the Caucasus, Head Of the
| Civil Government Of Tinis, Who Is
Very Popular Among the
| People and Respected
by Every One.
By WILLIAM f. CURTIS.
Special Correspondence Of The Star and the
| Chicago Record Herald
| TIFLIS. Caucasus, June 4. 1910.
| The most satisfactory section OF Tifis
Is called by everybody The Colony 1t
is a settlement of between four and five
thousand Germans from Wurttemberg,
who came to southern Russia early in the
| nineteenth century by invitation of
Catherine the Great. She gave them
lands and guaranteed them the free
exercise of their religious beliefs and en-
emption from military service forever.
TIE latter pledge was violated during
the war between Russia and Turkey in
1877. Since that time the Germans have
been compelled to serve their five years
| in the army with all other Russian SUBJ
| jects. although they take no part in
politics, and have no social relations
with the Russians. but are exclusive and
tenacious in their adherence to the GUS
toms and habits of the fatherland
There are $1,000 wurttembergers in the
Caucasus. They are pretty we'll scat
tered, but always in colonies, this one at
Tif1is being the largest.
| They left their native country because
the government attempted to compel them
| to sing from a new hymn book which
| they did not consider orthodox Rather
| than submit they abandoned the homes
| OF their fathers and sought new ones in a
| far country where they could worship
| God in their own way.
Valuable Colonists.
| they have been valuable colonists. They
| are the best mechanics and the best farm
| srs in the country. They have minded
| their own business, maintained their own
| schools. built Lutheran churches, &C.
cumulated property, sung the dear old
hymns. Increased i'm numbers and -four
ished in a phlegmatic sort of way
The members of 1.-THE Colony" as it is
always called. have never attempted to
proselyte the Russians or other neighbOrs,
but are fanatical in their Professionalism,
which prevents them from marrying or
even mixing with believers in other faiths
They have wholesome Protestant con-
tempt for MOhammedans and also for the
Armenians- They regard the former as
worse than heathens and the latter as
treacherous, deceitful and insincere in
their professions of the Christian creed
themselves. They are compelled to use
Russian. however. in their business trans
actions.
The Colony was originally a distinct
town. When the railway was built into
Tiflis the station was located on the far
ther edge OF the settlement. Since that
time the gap has been filled and the Ger
mans have become surrounded with Rus
SLAMS, Persians, Armenians, Tartars and
representatives. of the numerous other
races which form the population here.
But they have maintained their exciu-
siveness just the same. They have their
own beer gardens and places OF entertain,
ment as we'll as their own church and
schools. They confine their trade TO their
own race. so far as possible.
Church and School.
The Lutheran Church is large. fine
building. Attached to il, under the direc-
ton Of Pastor Mayer. is a school for the
education of teachers. missionaries. minis
tiers and other religious workers for the
many German colonists throughout the
Caucasus.
Four miles in the country is a German
| farming settlement. resembling an agri-
cultural village in the fatherland as close
| ly as ii IL possible here. with big stables,
cattle yards and pig-sties ard evidences
| of German thrift on every side.
Their orchard fruits. their strawberries
y
| the best in the market and bring the
| highest prices. They furnish valua BILE
object lesson for the Russian and GeOr-
| gian farmers. which. however is not imi-
| tated so closely as IL might be.
| Pastor Mayer was anxious that we
| should visit this little settlement and see
| for ourselves the thrift and prosperity
| of his parishioners. in contrast with the
| lax and lazy methods of the rest of the
| community Our imperfect knowledge Of
| German misled us as to some of the
information the good man gave.
| We understood him to say that there
| would be an assembly at the colony
| Sunday afternoon and that the Governor
| General of the Caucasus had promised
| to be present. Naturally, we concluded
! that this would be an opportune time to
pay our visit and give us an unusual
opportunity of seeing both the governor
/ general and the people.
i Imagine cur surprise, however, when
| We found that the dominic had sent us
TO horse race a Sunday afternoon.
| Later it was explained that Pastor May
4 er in pointing out the way to the col
| ony had told us that We could easily find
II because there would be a large crowd
| going in that direction Sunday afternoon
/ to the Concourse, because the viceroy
i had promised to be there.
/ We saw one race, managed much like
4 those in England and the United States.
We saw the governor general sitting in
the imperial box. representing the Car
| of all the Russias. We inspected the
1 farms and garden plots of the Wurttem-
| bergers at the same time.
/ Palace Of viceroy.
The viceroy's palace is a miniature
copy OF the Winter Palace at ST Peters
burg, OF the same architectural design
and painted the same terra Gotta color