The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1914-12-11

ine. how Russia has gone dry by Inn
perial ukase, describes the man who
set the movement going, and what
he had to do, as follows:
The man who made Russia dry.
who removed the vodka curse, from
country of 15O,OOO.0OO population
at a cost to the government OF that
country of s5OO,OOO,00O annually In
revenue, told today, in a modest way.
how he had accomplished his vast
undertaking-how, through his ef'
forts nation too much addicted 10
drink, had become sober. industrious
kindly, thrifty, prosperous; and all
within a period of two months.
The man is Michael Demitroviteh
Tchelishef, a peasant by birth, a
house, painter by trade. then mayor OF
Samara, member of the duma and
now millionaire humanitarian.
Speaking of what he had accom-.
plished for the cause OF sobriety In
Tile
81 was reared in a small Russian
village. There we're no schools or
hospitals or any improvements we are
accustomed to in civilized communi-
ties. l picked up an education from
old newspapers and stray books. One
day / CHANGED upon a book in the
hands of a monk, which treated OF
the harmfulness of alcohol. II stated
among other things that vodka was
poison.
At Samara decided to do more
than passively diapprove OF vodka.
At this time / was an alderman. and
many OF the tenants living In my
houses were workingmen. One night
a drunken father in one OF my houses
killed his wife. This incident made
such an impression on me that I de-
cided to fight vodka with all my
strength.
On the supposition that the gov
eminent was selling vodka, on which
it had a monopoly, for the revenue.
calculated the revenue, received from
it's consumption in Samara. then In
troduced p bill in the city council.
providing that the city give this sum
of money to the imperial treasury re-
questing at the same time that the
sale of vodka be prohibited. This bill
passed and the money was appropriate
ed. 1t was offered to the government
but the government promptly refus-
ed it.
1t then dawned on me that Rus.
sian bureaucracy did not want the
people to become sober. for the rea-
son that it was easier TO rule auto
cratically a drunken mob than a so
Der people.
This was seven years ago. Later
was elected mayor of Samara, CAPT
tai of the Volga district. a district
with over a quarter of a million in
habitants. Subsequent to holding
this office / was elected to the duma
on an anti-vodka platform. In the
duma | proposed bill permitting the
inhabitants of any town to close the
local vodka shops. and providing also
that every bottle of vodka should
bear label with the word poison"
At my request the wording OF this
label, in which the evils of vodka
were set forth, was done by the late
Count Leo Tolstoy. This bill passed
the duma and went to the imperial
council, where it was amended and
finally tabled
l then begged an audience OF En-
peror Nicholas. He received me with
great kindness in his castle in the
Crimea, not far from the scene Of
the recent Turkish bombardment. He
listened to me patiently. He was
impressed with my recital that most
of the revolutionary and socialist
excuses were committed by drunk.
ards, and that the Sveaborg. Kron.
stadt and Sebastopol navy revolts and
the Petrograd and other mutinOus
military movements were all caused
by inebriates. Having heard me out
His Majesty promised at once to-
speak to his minister of finance con.
corning the prohibition of vodka.
Disappointed at not having been
able to get through a government
bill regulating this evil. had aband.
oned my seat in the duma. II was
evident that the bureaucracy had
been able to obstruct the bill. Min
lister of finance Kokovtsoff regard.
ed it as dangerous innovation. de-
priving the government of 100000
600 rubles ($5OO.OOO.OOO) yearly. with.
out any method of replacing this rev
enue.
XVbila 7 1Ohbiad In pafrourad fha