Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1916-07-18
By william Philip Sims


Omitted Press staff correspondent
Petrograd, June l7-(By maiD-
" as the abolition of Vodka done any
real good in Russia ~
l put this question today to Nicholas
Tchaykovsky, member or the Central
Cooperative committee of Petrograd
as he sat in front of his desk at com
mittee headquarters. Tried in 1907 as
a revolutionist and acquitted he is now
doing his bit for Russia. His sensa-
tive face, remindful of portraits of
Longfellow. surrounded as it is by
snowy beard and hair, became very
eager.
"DOne any good?' ne echoed, cit
has worked wonders. For one thing
it gives russia sober peasantry and
a sober peasantry means almost douzle
working capacity. And over so per
cent, of the Russia population-l70,-
100000 souls-are peasants 1t means
better farms, bigger crops, more mon
ey, better living conditions in homes,
better fed children and consequently
more rapid advance in schools. Better
children makes better men.
cit means more progressive, more
dependable, richer Russian peasantry.
1t means all that and more besides.
Tchaykovsky speaks English flu
emily. He moved to Kansas in 1870
and started community there. A
moral success, it failed for lack of
funds, whereupon the founder went to
Chester, Pa, and worked as a carpen-
ter Later he got job in a Philadel-
pha sugar mill. Subsequently to Par
is, then to London, (1905), he return
ed to the United States, (1906), ON a
mission, founding Russian committees
in New York, Boston, Baltimore; Phil
adelphia, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chi.
cago, Denver and other cities. In 1907
he returned to Russia where he was ar
rested and put in prison.
Since 1910 Tchaykovsiy has been
working as a member of the central co
operative committee, helping cooper
happy at the job that his face positive
| ly beams.
"We have always fought drink,
he told me, "but when vodka was pro
nibited our committee asked: 'What
are you going to give the people in
stead?'
lyon know our villages are few ant
far between. Our rural districts arC
lonely. Vodka was a curse but it was
also diversion, which was why it go
such a hold on Russia.
$50 our thousands of rural cooper
ative societies all over the empire go
busy. We organized diversions to keel
the peasants and villagers from miss
inc their vodka.
Most of our stores, offices bank
and warehouses are two storled build
ings. On the ground floor business il
transacted. On the floor above ar,
halls. These we turned into theatres
cinema halls and community meetin.
places where folks could come for di
version. We organized bands, amateu
theatricals and so on. We give con
certs. The people come in droves an,
Everybody has good time.
4" don t thing the vodka is misse,
much. -
"ln the meantime peasants hav,
more money than they ever saw be
lore.
"And despite the war our cooper
ative societies are growing at won
derful rate.
"ln one district alone the numbe
of cooperative unions has grown sine
the war from 80 to 800. We had onl,
10 wholesale societies last year. Nov
there are over 400. In 1911 there wer
but II credit unions in all Russr
whereas at present there are over III
through which about 10000 separat
cooperative credit societies are work
ing. Our Moscow, or mother, commit
tee alone is co-ordinating the work o
more than 2sO0 groups, each groul
composed of several societies.
"We have organized a central co
operative credit bank in Moscow ru