The Leader, enterprise and press. (Fitzgerald, Ga.) 1915-1921, 1917-10-05
RUSSIAN DEMOC=
RACy At WORK

training school for the Russian army.
In the great hall of this institution
now meets the National Council OF
Workmcn's, Soldiers and Peasants
Delegates, the only source Of govern
ment and authority, and so far the
only recognized expression Of the pop
ular will nRussia.
There is common dc1usion to the
effect that the Council represents only
Petrograd and the district thereabout.
In truth it represents every part Of
Russia, even far-away Asiatic Russia.
Only thirty Of the $50 delegates come
from the Petrograd district. Among
the rest are fishermen from the Lena
river, swarthy cattle-men from the
Crimea, and everything between.
Five OF the delegates are women.
ular will in Russia
The rear one-third of the hall is for
the public. Delegates occupy the rest,
$50 OF them, seated at the transported
old desks of the recent cadets. On
the high, red-fagged platform at the
extreme end sit the guests of the
Council, and its officers, including that
redoutable Tschaidse, the chairman,
of whom the world is to hear further.
At his left is the rostrum, a plain
reading desk for the speakers. Sit up
there and look judiciously over this
historic gathering. These men rep
resent all the organized power OF
Russia; they have its fate in their
hand, governments rise or fall, armies
move, policies are shapcned, the fate
.of the race is decided Observe them
well.
They mean business; they are not
here for amusement. They have need
of all the time they can save. Some
times the sessions begin at i O'Clock
of one morning and last with brief
recesses) until 3 o'clock of the next.
When the Council it at work it is
very different from the House of Rep
IreSentativcs or the House of Com
mons. Taking together the voting and
fraternal delegates there are more
than a thousand of them. None OF
them sleeps, talks, reads newspapers
or moves YEARLY about while the pro-
ceedings are on. All Of them sit and
attend upon every word. Look over
4 these hundreds of serious, intent faces
gazing hard at the dais, drinking in
every word that falls from any speak
7 er. Those at a distance make an ear
trumpets of rolled-up newspapers:
they are intolerant of the least moves
ment or noise that causes them to lose
any precious crumb of the proceed
ings. The speeches are always short
if an alien may assume to judge they
are likewise full of pith and matter.
A delegate is at the rostrum max
ing a speech now. He has round
close-cropped head. sunburned Wis
age, and the big brown veinous hands
of labor. He wears the soldiers tunic
and high boots and looks as it.. he
might but now have emerged from the
trenches. After listening little my
interpreter tells me the man is a peas
ant, unlettered and probably illiterate.
Among the delegates are twenty that
cannot read or write. Maybe he is
one of these.
Yet he is speaking with an astonish-
ing fuency, never hesitating for a
word. He has all the resources most
orators obtain by laborious study and
effort. He knows how to produce eff
tects. He modulates his voice to suit
his thoughts, he deals his sarcasm,
makes his hearers laugh or be serious,
builds in his climaxes Now he starts
upon his peroration. Steadily he car
RES IT along, up and up until he bursts
over his listeners a magnificent cur
rent of emotion and they are upon
their feet, cheering.
1t is the most extraordinary leeisla-
tive body in the world, or that was
ever IN the world, composed exclusive
ly OF persons that work with their
hands or are SO closely in touch and
sympathy with labor that they are a
part of it. No lawyers need apply. AL
so, no business men, employers, cap
tains of industry or members of the
better classes.
Three in four of the delegates, you
notice wear the uniform of the Rus
sian soldier. Seeing the over-plus of
these uniforms before us you jump to
the conclusion that this is military
body; all frst-timers here get that no.
ton. f isn't military. But military
service in Russia is universal and COM
pulsory. These uniformed men are
not only soldiers; they are farmers,
factory workers, day-laborers, carpen-
tiers, stonemasons, who had been call
ed to the colors and were wearing the
uniform of the service when they were
elected to the Council as workers by
workers.
II All the spectators are workin o,,,p :,