The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1917-04-04
HAS INCOME OF $l2,5OO,OOO.
'znr OF Russia and His Family Hold
u Tenth OF All the Land In The
World.

The autocracy Of Russia" said
1aakoll Prclookcr, the author Of many
books and the last edi-
tor of the Anglo Russian, a monthly
periodical published in London lust
Eelorc the war, is like the head OF a
family grown too largo for personal
direction and control. Successive au-
iocEats, or czars, have attempted to
preserve personal control through
members OF their family ad those in
sympathy with them until an inn
'hcnSe bureaucracy has been evolved
"h'1i IS entirely apart from the peo-
pc except as it controls their life and
property in the name OF the ear. The
ortocral, because Of this bureaucracy
"oald grant no rights to the people
Which would transfer its power TO
'hehi any more than the father of a
family would surrender any Of his do
nestle rights to his children without
aEdicating as their head"
IN the many ways in which the car
and his family and their servants of
TN" bureaucracy have managed to
maintain the autocracy the land uucs-
ton and the imperial revenues arc
&ad to offer Il striking example for
immediate adjustment by the rcvou-
ton
Since the treaty OF Portsmouth the
Russian empire has occupied 8.6l7,657
"iuarc miles or one seventh of the
land surface Of tho globe. II has a
population Of about 100000 900. or few
cr than twenty-five to the square mile.
Ncminally the autocrat owns" both
land and pcopc, but he and his fam
i!y out Of the immcnsc total OF 9IS.-
0G3, ,163 acres actually own and receive
the revenue from GS093S,927 acres,
about 20 per cent Of the whole land
area of Russia; onc-tcnth that of the
world. The balance or 2G7,124,S3G
acres, is distributed as follows accord
ing to the 1910 report of the depart
mcnt OF agriculture, the latest:
Acres
NoD'llty Isl ,GOG,5l9
Merchants IA. :. ;. ;. ;. 36,32l ,303
PcaSantS 20, 1856
Landed proprictorS :. :. S,3S! $50
Other classes :. :. ). :. 5,G73,2S9
Total . ;. :. .267, 7,l2l. .S3G
The nobility number ahou! 100000
the agricultural classes (pcasantS and
landed proprictors) ll0,000,000. Thus
the tillcr Of the soil and tax payer pos
scSs on the average about one-third
OF an acre tho Russian noblcman who
does not pay taxes, possesses on an
average some 12S.
TO put the case in another form:
iuced by the Russian agriculturist the
noble land owner alone takes away
some 3S3 loavcs for himself, leaving
one loaf for the producer; from which
the latter has yet to devote a part 10
satisfy the state or autocratic tax col
lccor.
In many instances, aside from the
tax, there is an autocratic pcruuisitc
ping Of sablcs. About every one in
ten is n jet black sable These from
tine immcmorial have been the prop
crty Of the Romanoff family and may
be worn in Russia by no one else
under severe penalty. Other penalties
are attached to attempts to export The
black pclts.
Concerning the autocratic power OF
the czar and how it may be used in
dcpcndcntly OF any legislative func-
tionS Of the council Of the cmpirc or
duma, NJ Prclookcr has cited the fol-
lowing instances:
An action was brought against
Princess Imcrctlnsky by her late hus-
bands heirs. The princess privately
pctitioncd his majesty to intervene on
her behalf, and he ordered the plain
tiffS to be nOnsuited, against the deci-
sion Of the law. SIMILARLY, in a case
when the Tula bank was charged with
the sale Of the estate Of bankrupt
to satisfy the claims of creditors, the
cZar intcrfcrred, issued personal or
der stopping the sale and suspcnding
the operation Of the law.
Again, in another case. some no.
blcman sold his estate TO a syndicate
of merchants; the transaction was
properly carried out, and legally rati-
fed. But Gar Nicholas II, by his