Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1905-1919, 1915-01-02
snecinl 10 Tho Mnrlh

IN; now 1t occupies thrOO-flttnS or |
Europe and two-fifths OF Asia, how |
It's Asiauc possessions are one and a !
half times as great AZ those OF China
and three times as great as those of
Great Britain; how II comprises one !.
sixth Of the landed area of the globe |
and one-tenth of the worlds popula- |
ton, Gilbert II. Grosvenor, director |
and editor of the National Geographic !
society, has just furnished the nearly |
$50, 600 members OF that organization |
with a striking pen picture Of Young |
Russia-A Land OF Unlimited POSI- |
bilities."
After giving an impression Of tho !
diversity Of the origin of its peoples |
who come from the Orient and the !
Occident, the frgid north and the
tropic south; of its range Of climate /
which gives the Palm Beach touch !
to it's Crimea and the breath of the /
north to It's White sea region; OF its
vast agricultural wealth; Of the
widely varying aspirations OF its peo-
pies, which differ as greatly as those
OF the Poles and Mongols, as those of
the Confucians and the Jews, as those
of the Tartars and the Lapps; and of
the vastness Of the geographic limits
of the empire Mr. Grosvenor says:
But with all its geographic great
| ness, Russia is about as poor III nat
ural 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 In a haystack. yet AM
sterdam does more international pus-
| mess than all the ports of Russia to-
| gether. Not one free outlet to tie
open sea does European Russia pos
sess except on the icebound shores 81
| the Arctic ocean. The path from the
| Black sea to the Mediterranean leads
| through the Bosphorus and the Dar-
! danelles, held by allen hands"
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 Australia
gary. Furthermore, If Russia grows
| from 1912 to 1000 as she grew from
1872 to 1912, her population will then
be upward of six hundred million.
He then continues: From such a
record of size, of bigness in every
thing, we should expect Russia to be
an old nation. like Great Britain,
with perhaps a thousand years of
unhindered growth behind her But,
| u'p "a ildNltI VI ld'l, iNuSsid ~ u yputl
among the nations compared with
England, stripping whose full stat
ure and breadth is still a subject of
conjecture and speculation.
| Russia Is young because she
never has had chance to grow
until recent years. Her geographic
shape or condition was such that for
centuries her people were constantly
being enslaved or despoiled by strong
er neighbors.''
Afr dealing briefly with Russia's
remarkable history, especially with
the surprising reign of Peter tho
Great, Mr.. Grosvenor shows that
when Alexander IL freed the fifty
million serfs of Russia, he released
from bondage Il population equal to
that Of the twelve leading states of
the United States, and population
more than twelve times as great as
was freed by Lincoln's emancipation
proclamation not very many months
afterward. Alexander bought $780,
000,00 acres OF land for them. per-
mitting them to buy 1t from the gov
ernment on easy terms lie thereby
carried into effect the most extensive
piece Of agrarian legislation in his
tory.
Each village conducts its own in
ings, and not through elected or a2-
pointed officials. Their lands are
held on the common ownership basis,
and is aportioned out for cultivation
from time to time.
with the bulk of its crops raised
by the peasantry. and for the most
/ part, employing most primitive means
Of farming, Russia Is stll able TO pro-
duce a very large proportion OF the
worlds food supply. In 1913 1t gave
to civilization nearly a fourth OF itJ
wheat Il full fourth of It's oats,
third Of its barley and more than
| half OF its rye. That year its wheat
crop was 200, 900 600 bushels greater
than our own; it's oat crop equalled
ours: It's barley crop was three times
as great az ours. and It's rye crop
! twenty-five times as large as ours.
Russia has more horses than any
other nation 90 earth, with $4,000
! 900, as compared with our $4,000, 600;
more sheep than any other nation.
with S0,000.000 as compared with
our 50,000,000; nearly as many cattle,
with 100000, as compared with
our 59,000.000.
"The latest authoritive information
| on Russian educational conditions,
that for 1908, shows that only 211 out
OF every thousand people In the en-
pire could read and write, AMI there
war two illlterate women for every IL
! literate man. With our hundred mt
! lion population, in 1912 we had an
enrolment OF l9,21s,O00 school chill
dren. with her population OF 112
! 900, 900 Russia's total enrollmen. w,s
! 1870, 900. 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 Russia
enjoys a freedom equal to that Uf her
kind in any other country IN the
world. They are even allowe 10 be-
come professors In mems 'uni}eHti.s,
and after twenty years OF service are
retired on pensions. which contn1e
| during the lives Of their husbands. Z
! they are married and are survived by
/ the heads OF their houses.
"The Tsar OF Russia is well paid
ruler. He receives the revenues from
/ the Russian crown lands. and their
area is equal TO that Of one-third OF
| the United States Several years ago
| the imperial treasurer is reported to
/ have advised the Tsar. Your majesty
need have no fear OF over coming -
feel the sting Of poverty Financially
you are solvency itself. With one