Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1914-12-19
Pen-Picturs 81 Vast Domain Is
Furnished by Geographic
b, Society. NM

" IA SlOt VCl oCODo0N
Of that organization with a striking
pen picture of young Russia n A
Land of Unlimited Possibilities
After giving an impression of the
diversity OF the origin OF its peoples,
who come from the Orient and the
Occident, the frigid north and the
tropic south; Of its range of climate,
which gives the Palm Eeach touch to
it's Crimea and the breath of the
north to its White Sea region; of It's
vast agricultural wealth; Of the wide
" varying aspirations of its peoples,
which differ as greatly as those OF
the Poles and the Mongols, as those
of the C%onfucians and the Jews, as
those of the Tartars and the Laps;
and of the vastness of the geographic
limits Of the Empire, Mr.. Grosvenor
says: J,
"But with all its geographic great
ness Russian is about as. poor tln
natural outlets to the world as the
smallest of the countries of the earth.
Holland could. be hidden in the vast
reaches Of the Russian plain, almost
as a needle insJa haystack, yet Am
sterdam does more international bust
ness than all the ports Of Russia TO-
gether. Not one free outlet to the
open sea does Europear Russia pos
sess except on the icebound shores
Of the Arctic ocean. The path from
the Black Sea to the Mediterranean
leads through the Bosphoms and the
Dardanelles held by alien hands"
't. -, i Her Population. ~ .,
Mr.. GrOsvenor next shows how
there lives within the boundaries of
the Russian Empire enough people to
duplicate the population of Germany,
Great Britain and France combined,
with enough left over to duplicate
half the population of Austria-Hun-
gary. Furthermore, if Russia grows
from 1912 to 1000 as she grew from
1872 to 1912, her population then will
be. upward Of six hundred million.
- He then continues: From such a
record Of size, of ,bigness in every
thing, we should expect Russian to
be an old nation, like Great Britain,
with perhaps a thousand years of IN
hindered growth behind her. But, as
a matter of fact, Russia is a youth
among the nations compared with
England, a STRIPPING whose full stat
ure and breadth is still d subject OF
conjecture and speculation. .
Russia is young because she nev
err has had a. chance to grow until
recent years. Her geographical shape
or condition was such that for cen
turtles her people were constantly be-
ing enslaved or .despoiled by stronger
neighbours ~ r
:, FREEING THE sERFs.
After dealing with Russia's re-
markable history, especially with the
surprising reign, Of Peter the Great,
Mr.. Grosvenor shows that when Al
exander Ii freed the fifty million
serfs of Russian lie released from
bondage a population equal to that
of the twelve leading states of the
United States, and a population more
than twelve times as great as was
freed by -iincoln's Emancipation
Proclamation not very many months
:afterward. Alexander bought $780,
900, 900 acres of land for them, per
hitting them to buy it from the gov
eminent on easy terms. He there
by carried into effect the most ex-
te1sive piece OF agrarian legislation
In history. a
Each village conducts its own. in
ternal affairs through town meetings
and not through elected or appointed
officials. Their lands are held on the
common ownership basis, and Is ap-
portioned out for cultivation from
time to time.
with the bulk Of its crops raised
.by the peasa1try, and Tor the. most
part, employing most primitive means
Of farming, Russia is still able to
.jprodlce a very large proportion OF
the worlds food supply. In 1913 it
gave to- civilization nearly a fourth
Of it's wheat, asfull fourth Of its oats,
a third Of it's barley and more than
half of its rye. That year its wheat
crop was 2O0,O O0, 1000 bushels great.
er than our own, its oat crop equall-
ed ours, it's barley crop was three
times as great as ours, and its rye
crop twenty-five times as large as
ours. ~ t.,. !.
Russia has more horses titan any
other. nation on earth, with IS 100000
as compared with our 24,0Oo,0O0;;
more sheep than any other nation,
with 80, 900, 900 as compared with our
$4,000, 900; nearly as many cattle,
with 51.O00,00O as compared, with Our
&c. OO, 900.
"The latest authoritative informa,
ton on Russian educational lcondi.
| tons, that for 1905, shows that only
I'll out Of. every 1000 people in the
empire could read and write, and
there were two flliterate women for
every illiterate man. With our 100;
600, 900 population, in 1912 we had an
enrolment of 19,218,O0 school chill
dren. With her population of III,
0O0, 1000, Russia's total enrolment was
100000, and 23 of These, were boys
for every 10 who were girls.
"And yet the first woman civil en-
gineer in the world was a. Russian
and the educated woman Of Rlussi
enjoys a freedom equal to that of hel
kind in any other country in the
world. They are W allowed to be
come professors in mems UNIVERSE
titles, and after 20 years Of service are
.Eretired on pensions, which continue
during the lives of their husbands, Il
kthey are married and are survived 10y
the heads Of their houses. !.
THE Tsar OF, Rilssia is a well paift
ruler. He receives the revenues from
the Russian crown lands, and thei1