The Celina Democrat. (Celina, O. [Ohio]) 1895-1921, 1917-05-04

ITl HE downfall of the czar of
i Russia means liberty and a
ISES5TNI chance of happiness for thou
60 sands of men and women in
Siberia. 1t is the dawn of new day,
for which they have worked and hoped
with pathetic eagerness for many
years, always believing it was just
ahead, just within sight. Many a polt-
ical prisoner, sentenced to Siberia for
life, kept hope alive by the belief that
the revolution would cut short his SEN
tence.
The story of Marie Sukloff, Jewish
girl sentenced to Siberia, is not an un-
usual one, though it is fraught with
horrors calculated to make the West
ern mind reel Three years ago the
story of Miss Sukloffs experiences was
published in America by the Century
company under the title, "The Life
Story of a Russian Exile"
Marie Sukloff was born of peasant
people in a tiny village. Till she was
fourteen years old she could not read
or write. Then the daughter of a rab-
bi, child of seventeen, began TO read
revolutionary pamphlets to her, and
Marie learned to read that she might
know more of this strange new learn
ing. She and the rabbits daughter and
a few other children held secret meet
ings, sometimes in the woods, to read
together and talk over the wrongs and
sufferings of the working people. 1t
all had to be done secretly, for their
parents feared what such activities
would lead to. Once the two girls
slipped away to nearby town and
helped stir up strike among stock
ing makers of that town. They made
speeches, urging revolt, and came near
falling into the hands of the police.
Marie's father sent her to Odessa, |
to get her away from her revolution |
ary friends. She ran away from the !
uncle to whose home she was sent |
and went to work in a candy factory;
her real business in life was revolu-
tionary propaganda.
There were six of us living in a
sort of commune-Zhenia, factory
girl of twenty-five, who was most
ardent agitatOr and strike organizer;
David, clerk; Grigory, a bookbinder
who had already been in prison for
distributing prohibited literature Mich
OLAF. a painter who became socialist
and joined our circle after his re-
lease from prison, where he was put
for preaching Tolstoyism; Ivan and
myself. 1t seldom happened that we {
all had work; sometimes the whole
circle lived on the earnings of one or ;
two" Thus she speaks of her fellows.
Secret printing offices were estab- {
lished and thousands Of proclamations !
printed and distributed; educational
work was done among the factory peo-
pie.
"Of course" Miss Sukloff says, leach t
one of them knew that prison, solitary I
and exile were their in |
evitable lot, but this did not deter 5
them in the least. Although they |
awaited arrest at any hour of the day I
or night, they spent their spare time g
as merrily as if nothing special were v
going to happen to them"
This went on for two years Zhenia t
and Ivan went to prison, Grigory to s
Siberia and NiChOlai was sent to serve l
in the army. Marie Sukloff went TO
the neighboring city of Kishinev to h
establish a printing office. She was s
arrested and taken to prison. She was
ler were taken the two innocent old o
lcople in whose house she was staying. Il
They kept her in prison for more than e
year, before her trial. 81 began to
suffer with insomnia. The twenty min Il
ltes' daily walk in the prison yard be- S