Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1916-07-11
Great Work of Zemstuo--
Made 1900, 900 Suits for
Soldiers in Single Month

Peasants, the landed gentry, and the
urbanites owning shops, factories or
other property. Originally a Zemstvo
composed of say 80 members, averaged
about 20 peasants, 20 gentry and 20
town property owners, but in 1890 the
gentry were given by law what by
the very nature of things they had had
from the start-a preponderant voice.
Russia is divided into 81 provinces,
these into districts averaging about 10
districts to the province. At present
SO provinces and about $50 districts
have Zelhstvo organizations.
The district institution once year
sends delegates to 10 day provincial
Zemstvo at which the work of the past
year is reviewed and the work for the
coming year co-ordinated. Further, a
provincial board of four men is named,
these to devote their entire time to
this work. The ordinary member of
the IemstvO receives no pay. The four
board members are on salary as are
the four members of a similar district
board VINO do nothing else but super
wise district work.
The Zemstvo has but slight legis
lative functions-levying local taxes,
etc.-and until the war its activities
were confined to four spheres: Work
ing the roads, supervising the schools,
aiding farmers with advice and look
ing after the hospitals: the primary
needs of country districts.
Restricted in scope though the Gems
two was it was nevertheless the ap-
premiership of the people. 1t furnish
ed the peasants with their first ments
of participating in public work. Side
by side with their former masters,
these farmers, newly out of serfdom,
elected their Zemstvo representatives
and labored for the community and for
Russia.
Such was the Zemstvo at the begin
ming of the war.
On Aug. II, 1914, less than two
weeks from the commencement of hos
tilites a general meeting of delegates
elected by the provincial Iemstvos
was held at Moscow. 1t was then and
there decided to form the All-Russian
Zemstvo Union for the relief work
among the sick and wounded soldiers.
And every Zemstvo joined in save one,
this solitary abstainer pretering to
work Independently
"Here we are; use us. - said the
Iemstvo people to the government, and
lhe government accepted. They were
to be under the orders of the war de-
partment and available only for work
in the interior. The limitation was
put upon them; they did not specify
the limitation.
IJ.,A Ill. nat ,I,l1
The army needed doctors, nurses, hos
pitals. The Zemstvo had been in the
hospital business for 40 years and it
went to the army s aid upon the very
field of battle and in the front line
trenches.
After this things moved rapidly.
Hospitals in the interior were organ
lied. So were first aids, distributing
centers bases. "Front brigades' were
formed for handling wounded, sanitary
trains equipped. During October and
November 1914 the Union sent the
Serbian army 215,000 fur and other
warm garments, paid for by the Rus
sian government but bought by the
Zemstvo and handled by them.
In October, 1914, General Shuvayev,
minister of war) asked the Union to
make underwear for his men. The
Union replied by delivering to the ar
my before the end of the month over
100000 complete suits! And this was
only side order; the Union did this
without Stacking up on any of its 9th
er- jobs
How was it doneg 1t was very sim.
pie. The Zemstvo is a people S organ
ization. Peasants are in it., SO the
Zemstvo simply went to lot of poor
women it had known for a long time
and said:
"Make us these articles. We want
them for the army.
And over night, almost, the articles
were cut out and sewed by Russian
seamstresses.
Another order, similarly executed,
was for wearing apparel to the tune
of seventeen million pieces. Russian
cooperative societies in large meas.
.ure filled these orders, societies embrac.
ing at least half the population of
Russia. And Russia numbers 100000
600 soulsl
SO you see quite small crowd is
L. g. tIts.