The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1914-10-11
RUSSIAN TRAITS
REVEALE|D'BY WAR.
Everywhere Peasants Are Burn
ing to Expel the Anti-christ,
in Shape of Germans.
FOR CONFLICT
Some Curious Incidents Come to
Light During Days of
Mobilization.

| PETROGRAD, October 10.-Many
typical Russian traits are accumulated
by the present conflict. Germany Is
the anti-chrlst to the peasants Every
where the peasants are burning to ex-
pei anti-Christ in the shape of nom
Russian ideas, words and customs.
Russia's enemies from time immemorial
have been anti,Christs. In, certain dis
tricts ancient peasants who preached
anti-Christ against England during the
lCrimean War are now wandering from
village to village. repeating that>thls
time the real nnti-Christ has come.
1t is an almost universal notion that
there are transcendental virtues in the
unculttyated russian people that are
lost through contact with foreigners.
| In Tula has appeared a religious old
man, Peoder Emelyanoff, who calls
himself "zhondok," and wants to lead
j n peasant host against the Germans
somewhat in the manner Of Joan of
| Arc.
He holds that artillery is unfair"
l ana that the Germans should let the
russians get near. instead of shooting
| them down. This naive notion appeA re-
also In the st. Petersburg press
/ Thc peasants OF, the Black Earth re-
! gion are solid for discriminating the
Germans, their principal grievance
being that the men from across the
|
! spades and nails.
/ The easerpess of the young Russians
1 TOT the war Is producing some curious
incidents. II must be remembered that
the war has not drained, Russia Of
| men, as II has Germany and France
| There are many cxempt-only sons for
| Instance. Aiany OF these would enlist.
but arc not desired at present In
the tTchistopol district OF Kazan Prov
ince' where mobilization began first of
| arr tn G0.txy
In four copies. The surprised officer
| In charge told three OF the Payl Koy-
rims that they must belong to other
units II turned out that they wore
| superhuous, unframed men. who, hear
Ing that tho genuine Pavl Kovrin was
/ III. had fastened to take his place,
PEASANTS MAKING
GREAT SACRIFICES
| The peasants are making great sacri.
! fees for the war. Their Eopecks' given
| Tor Red Cross and other charitable
aims are mounting UP to large sum.
T Tn tn, was s-, always the Russian way:
charitable institutions.
! In.remote parts Of Olnetz, learn,
! r-p g have started reading clubs
s@unities. Without being my .as Is fha@c
.asbas ssG Tss s0 70
/ be made easier. fS ~
aanizing the collection sof money
saved from, vodka. Against the ptohi-
Dition OF vodka no peasant has raised
and the newspapers are unanimously
against reopening the vodka shops.
The good behavior OF the reservists
during mobilization is due largely to
the drastic measures taken against
| the sale of drink.
| The temperance enthusiast, Tchelui-
shelf. who has been warning on the
drink traffic for many years. says with
some reason that the cost OF the war
/ will be .. cred in a few years by say
ings due to stoppage OF the. vodka
moral suffering now impending Will
not be greater than that caused by
| drink In decade.
| The traffic In vodka, wine and other
| alcoholic beverages IS entirely sus-
pended. In the year following 1896
/ Count Wittc turned the production and
! sale OF vodka into state monopoly.
The state was TO sell the Vodka in
spread drinking in the street The
negative attitude of the people towards
the monopoly is we'll illustrated by, the
fact that small bottles are called little
| scoundrels'' (merzavtchikD. Including
excise receipts. the state gains $780,
| 100000 from vodka. The Duma and
several antialcohol congresses have
condemned the monopoly as an instru-
ment of national demoralization; the
Gear himself adopted that standpoint
| w Il TtSCIlpl iESutu lHc llluc Ol NJ
| Iokovtseff's fall. To-day the 10000
state "lnvki" tretail vodka shops) are
| closed.
A strong agitation is going on to
keep them closed till the>end OF the
! war. That means that they would
never be reopened. The goSernment
has not gone SO far. but it has prom
ised to respect resolutions in favor OF
closing passed by peasant communes
under the existing local option law.
| Hitherto these resolutions have usually,
for fiscal reasons, been ignored. Mean
time st. Petersburg has been trans
| formed inS way which will be re-
allied only by those who knew the
city before the war. Then. on Sunday
night. as many as 10000 drunken per-
sons were arrested, or, more often,
helped by policemen to stagger home
Since the first mobilization day no
drunken man has been seen. The threat
of a fine OF $1,000 for the first offense
has kept restaurant proprietors and
wine dealers from trying to evade the
law.
TO BE SOLD AT AUCTION