The Topeka state journal., 1916-12-28

formation from his Russian news sources
snbsequent to his departure. Editor
Paris. Dec. aS.2Whatever Russia
NAV do in the future, 1916 will be set
down as one of the greatest years IN
her history. No period in all her ma
tional development has been more
sirnfficant. not even the sixties which
marked the liberation of the serfs-
During 1915 the Russian people, the
common people, seem to have touho
themselves and their place In the en-
pire. Their position may not as yet
be very clearly defined but the future
Russian students believe, will look
after that.
Russia, in the last year. has accom-
plished much. She recovered from
the blow Germany dealt her IN East
Prussia Poland and Galicia- she COM
Melted building a brand new army III
The field. She called to the colors
another army. twice as big, whlch Sne
holds in readiness for any emergency
which the war may cause. She sent
troops to France and to Salonlkl, VIA
Siberia and Vladivostok, and another
army she sent to help Rumania When
that country joined up with the allles-
Smashed Austrian Army.
.h. meantime she resumed the
,sfeneive in GaHcia and completely
5isrunted the Austrian armies eHere'
taking well over half million prisoners D
And in Asia Minor she waged pow
erful campaign against the TURKS pe-
youd the Caucasus. .,.-..
These are tremendous accom- Plisll- P'l
v,,ents when one remembers what Rus-
20 ,vas mn against in 1915, when she
bad during her great retreat, but one
she'll a day per battery. to IRE asdiii9'
the advancing Germans
The minister of war judged respon-
sfl,le for the bulk of the army HIS
fortunes. NJ. Soukoomlinoff, was ar
..,.,,.d q, the spring of 1916 and placed
in the Peter and Paul prison Oh NH
island in the Neva. ..>-.
T-bis was the test year of N
vodka - The imperial decree abollsh-
ing vodka came, it is true, IN the idi'
OF 1914, but 1915 was not a true MrIal- M
jag, so to speak, and 1t was oHly II,
1gTs that a steady, sober Russia got
a chance to show what she could DO
peasants Arc Prosperous.
Savings bank accounts went up by
leans and bounds Peasants, constltut-
ing so per cent of the countrys pcpu-
Iation of 170,0O0,OOO, We're never SO
well off in their lives. They were bet
ter fed. better clothed, put in on an
average double the number OF work
Ing hours a day, and sickness was re-
duced to an incredible degree one
hospital the correspondent knows OF
had 800 beds. Prior to 1915 it was
ovarfIowfng all the time having some
1000 patients to care for as best II
could. Now 900 beds have been sent
to a military hospital because there
are never more than 100 patients to
care for.
This wear saw the formation of a
central committee to coordinate the
work of all-Russian Zemstvo union
and the all-Russian Municipality un-
son. two organizations composed OF
Russian plain people banded together
to help the empire run the war.
Thru this committee every man
woman and child was brought more
or less directly into touch with the
war and perhaps lit has done more tc
make the war a popular war thar
any other movement. The ZemStvC
union. above all, is a peoples concern
and the Zemstvos have instructed the
peasants and common people gener-
ally thruout Russia as to what the
war means to them and the import
ance of carrying it on to successful
finish.
County Boards Control.
Each state in the United States is
divided into counties. If each county
had board composed partly of farm
ers, partly of village merchants ol
other property holders there and part
" of landowners. this board would cor
respond to the Russian Zemstvo ooarC
which is charged with roadbuilding
schools and hospitals of its district. L
IS easy to see the influence of a Zem
stvo board on the rural population.
The municipality union is doing il
the cities what the union of all the
Zemstvos is doing in the country
These two peoples associations durint
1916 have made millions of garment.