Evening journal. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1888-1932, 1917-06-23

(Following IS the first installment
Of a graphic picture story OF Russia
hard at work to achieve Democracy.
written by William G. Shepherd. Uni
ted Press Staff Correspondent. United
Press readers have been noting shep.
herds cahled stories from Petrograd
during the last few weeks. but this
is the first mail article that has been
received from him. The second Install
ment OF Shepherds story viii be
printed on Monday.
BY WILLIAM G. SHEPHERD.
! Omitted Press STAFF Correspondent
PETROGRAD. May 1.-(By MaiD.
All Russia is voting. Not only the
men. but the women. There isn't any
woman's rights battle I'm Russia.
Everybody accepts the feminine right
TO the ballot as perfectly natural
In all the history of the world. per
haps, there has never been so much
voting by so many different sorts OF
human beings on so many different
subjects. 8s there is In Russia this
very minute
Soldiers are voting, workmen are
voting, moulders. machlnists. wash
women, walters, scrub women. SER
wants. cab drivers. street cleaners.
railroad men. peasants are vot-
ing. They are voting for delegates 10
meetlrSs. they are voting ON hours
and wages; the soldiers are voting
on how to fight and on what orders
shall or shall not be given them they
hold meetings I'm the trenches, elect
delegates and send them back to
Petrograd 10 represent them in the
national gathering of soldiers
And while this storm Of voting is
under way the new government, alert
and on its tip toes. waits 10 know
the popular viii and translate e into
law The government has no army
behind Il: and governments without
armies are 'powerless. The army Is
behind the people-in fact. the army
is the people So long as the new gov
eminent carries out the will OF the
people u will have the support Of the
army Wherefore the masters OF pub
lie opinion like Kerensly, keep them
selves in the way of knowing what
the public will on any certain matter
may chance 20 be-
The first thing that strikes an
American IN Russia lis the fact that
this new twentieth century form Of
war IS going seriously to
with the king business in
Despotic kings are safe
enough, n they have a professional
army behind them and If their civil
liam subjects are not allowed to pos.
sess arms. But professional armies
are killed early, In such great wars
as this, and A. becomes necessary to
put workingmen and farmers into
and give them guns and ex-
pect them TO take the places OF the
professionals This expectation went
wrong In Russia. The uniform and
the gun did not change the working.
man into soldier They only turned
him into a workingman with a gun
and uniform, and n there's anything
more dangerous for despotic mon
arch or for any king who thinks he
rules by Divine Right than a lot OF
workingmen with guns. the worried
little man who has been planting 20
tatoes IN the garden at Tsarkoe Selo
would like 10 know about u. The
coat may make the man but the uni.
form doesn't always make the blindly
faithful soldier.
This Is one Of the newest discov-
cries In the history OF Russia
There was one brilliant second that
stormy afternoon of the revolution
when this fact that the uniform
doesn't make the soldier dawned on
the Petrograd crowd that was crying
FOR bread near the Finnish railroad
station A policeman struck a citizen