The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-10-11
WAR IS WORKING
 VAST CHANGES IN
 RUSSIAN EMPIRE Germany Is the Anti-Christ
 to Peasants-Pe0ple
 Eager for War NO OPPOSITION TO VODKA PROHIBITION Cost of War Will Be Covered in Few Years From This Source-Young Men Exempt From Army Eager to Serve
By JOHNSON MoRNGrs

| "s SOn3SON mOhNGES
 Fetrograd, October 1O-(Specia1 )-Many
 typical Russian traits are accentuated by
 the present conflict. Germany is the anti-
 Christ to the peasants. Everywhere the peasants are burning to expel anti-Christ In the shape of non-Russian ideas, words
 and customs. Russia's enemies from time
 immemorial have been anti-Christs. In
 certain districts ancient peasants who preached anti-Christ against England during the crimean war are now wander ing from village to village repeating that this time the real anti-Christ has come. It is an almost universal notion that there are transcendental virtues in the uneultivated Russian people that are lost through contact with foreigners In Tula has. appeared a religious old nan. Feeder Emelyanoff. who calls him self "ZhondolS'' and wants to lead a peasant host against the Germans some what in the manner of Joan of Arc.
 He holds that artillery is unfair and that the Germans should let the Russians get near instead of shooting them down. This naive notion appears also in the St Petersburg press.
 The peasants of Black Earth region arc solid for exterminating the Germans, their principal grievance being that the men from across the vistula charge too much for their spades and nails.
 Young Men Eager to Fight
 The eagerness of the young Russians for the war is producing some curious Incidents It must be remembered that the war has not drained Russia of men, az 1t has Germany and France There are fN ,fa
 Many of these would enlist, but are not desired at present. Tn Tchistopol district Of kazen province, where mobilization began first of all, a certain Pavl Rowan turned up In four copies. The surprised officer in charge told three of the Pavl Kovrins that they must belong to other units. It turned out that they were superfous, un- trained men, who hearing that the gen. ujne Pavl Kovrin was i'll, had hastened to take his place.
 The peasants are making great sacri- fces for the war. Their kopecks given for Red Cross and other charitable aims are mounting up to a large sum. That was always the Russian way, for the em- plre is over-burdened with charitable in- stitutions.
 In remote parts of olnetz learn. peas ants have started reading clubs to crit- else the war, and many communes with out being asked, have set to making good roads in order that the transport of rye to the army may be made easier.
 Other peasant communities are organ izing the collection of money saved from vodka. Against the prohibition of vodka no peasant has raised his voice. En- frightened public opinion and the news papers are unanimously against reopen ing the vodka shops. The good behavior Of the reservlsts during mobilization is due largely to the drastic measures taken against the sale of drink
 The temperance enthusiast Tcheluish- eff, who has been warning on the drink traffic for many years. says with some reason that the cost of the war will be covered in few years by savings due to stoppage of the vodka traffic, and that all the physical and moral suffering now impending will not be greater than that caused by drink in decade.
 No Sale of Vodka
 The traffic in vodka, wine and other al- coholic beverages is entirely suspended In the years following 1895 Count Witte turned the production and sale of vodka into a state monopoly. The state was to sell the vodka in sealed bottles The re- suit was widespread drinking in the street. The negative attitude of the peo-a pie towards the monopoly is well illusZ irated by the fact that small bottles are l). Including excise receipts the state gains $45O 0O0,O00 from vodka. Tho Duma and several anti-alcohol congresses have con- demned the monopoly as an instrument Of national demoralization; the Czar him self adopted that standpoint in a rescript issued at the time of M. Kokovtseff's fall Today the 10000 state '1avki" (retail 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 government has not gone so far. but 1. has promised to respect resolutions in favor of closing passed by peasant com munes under the existing local option law. Hitherto these resolutions have us ually for fiscal reasons been ignored. Meantime St Petersburg has been trans formed in a way which will be realized only by those who knew tho city before the war. Then on Sunday night, as l many as 10000 drunken persons were ar- 1 rested. or moro often. helped by police | men to stagger home. Since the first | day no drunken man has been seen. The threat of a fine af s15oo for the first offence has kept restaurant and wine dealers from trying to evade the law.