The Ordway new era., 1911-07-21

peared. with every single ingot Of gold
on the premises. Since then Cossacks
have been looked upon In Irkutsk
minds in the same way as vigilance
committees are regarded.
DIseourasIno Burglars.
For the last year the city has had
a street.lighting system. but the resi-
Dental thoroughfares stones throw
from the main shopping streets are
left in pitchy darkness. When there is
nothing better doing the adventurous
element Of the population passes the
evening In the Quieter streets. beating
up belated householders returning
from carousals In the restaurants after
an unwise degree of Internal lubrica-
ton and trying ground-hoor windows.
Not infrequently, rs you are passing
down one OF these streets late at
night. you'll be startled by an explo-
sion over your head and the whistle
OF spreading bird.shot past your ears.
Timid householders. without any OBJ
lection being raised by the police. fire
shotgun from the window before
turning in to bed. to show lurking
burglars that there is a gun in the
house.
The policing Is done partly by mu-
nicipal. partly by private patrolmen.
the latter employed by property own
ers. The private patrolmen deserve
an honored place in the annals Of
twentieth century philosophy. The
American idea Of night patrolman is
a keen-eyed. stealthy. gum.shoe man
In blue, leaving what the Chinese eu-
! phoniously term the piecee stealee
men to play first and then taking the
trick. The Irkutsk patrolman. with
the high.souled idea Of warning pro-
spective burglars Of his approach and
causing them to abstain from shining.
makes the night hideous by perpetual
iy Gathering n powerful wooden rat
tie. He grasps 1t firmly in the hand
and parades the streets. whirling 1t
round and round at every few PAGES.
Lying half asleep in the early hours
OF the morning you might imagine
yourself in n Pittsburg boiler factory.
Ex.convicts as Servants.
Many OF the servants here are ex.
convicts who decided to settle down
In the east For instance. that tall.
portly head waiter with the restless
eye and the big bifurcated Slavonic
beard. who will be recollected by the
traveller who has visited the Hotel
Rossia at Tomsk. slew his wife and
her friend and has served n long term
OF Imprisonment In n barracks of the
frozen north. Three murderers are on
the waiting stan of the Hotel Central
here in Irkutsk. and one In our very
hotel. the Metropole.
Irkutsk is pretty gay at nights now.
but the citizens look back enviously
to the zenith of its career to the days
of the recent Japanese war. Then
champagne and wines were often cau-
tiously transported free of freight
charges from st. Petersburg and Mos
COW In steel cars labelled Powder
cars militant with painted imperiai
eagles and Cossack guards. At Irkutsk
the powder cars were shunted of
along the barrack sidings and found a
final resting place at the end of the
rails entering the officers mess store
shed in the barracks west of the big
grder bridge over the lrkut river. A
colonel of one regiment ~penly boast
ed in the Metropole restaurant the
other night that more champagne was
drunk In 1rkutsk In one month during
the Japanese war than Is sold on
Broadway, New York, In half a year.
The fun at 1rkutsk starts at mid.
night: the city is as dead as a Sunday
an hour before. Then the moving.
| picture shows. Of which there are