Der Deutsche correspondent. [volume] (Baltimore, Md.) 1841-1918, 1917-01-31
THE RUSSIAN PEOPLE, SUFFER-
ING lNEENSIlLX, DEMAND
IsHACE.

Boris Knlazey, a native Of Russia,
who knows the conditions existing
Throughout the vast empire Of the
Car, writes IN the Evening Mail:
The Russian Government is rot
ten 10 the core, and is, moreover, on
the brink OF terrible struggle with
the Russian nation"
A member Of the Cars immediate
body Of advisers declared this as his
firm conviction, and his words gain
in significance when one learns that
the notorious corruptions Of Govern
ment officers during the Crimean
War, and later during the Russo-Jap-
anese War, are as nothing compared
to the heinous frauds and outrages
practised on the Russian people to-
! day
An American, if visiting Russia to-
day, would cape in open-mouthed
astonishment and incredulity at the
monstrosities committed in broad
daylight under the very nose Of the
law" But even the grisly Russian
bear is sensitive beneath his skin,
and now that his skin has been al
most excoriated by spectators in the
! guise OF Government officials, the
bear is beginning to growl
The muzhiks Of the vast steppes
arc beginningto mutter and humble.
Like the bear in the legend who
never deserts his lair even when
hungry, but satisfies himself by lick
ing tho sole Of his great foot, SO the
! Russian muzhik never deserts his
hoyel on the estate OF his lord.
He suffers the pangs Of hunger
Whenever the crops fail and the
stalks OF grain wither; his children
wither with them and die, but he
simply bows his head and remains
in his hut lf ever voice OF protest
rose from those $4,000, 900 souls
against the handful OF bureaucrats
who held the key to the shackels
that bound them it was the voice Of
the cities with their factory laborers.
The "miIp or village had always
been the stronghold Of the autocracy.
But what a changc
Peasant sentiment unanimous.
Sentiment among the muzhiks in
any village is almost always unani-
nous, for in thinking, as in acting,
the peasants are pretty nearly all
alike. And the sentiment most
prominent is an ominous one to the
future Of the Governments integrity
Here IS in Substance what ! gath
cred from interviews with hundreds
Of nuzhiks from many parts Of the
country which | visited in my recent
tour through Russia;
I'VE have slaved for hundreds of
years; for hundreds of years we have
been under the heel, and we have
never so much as WINGED
do you know what Grand Duke
Nikolai Nikolayevitch said when al
most quarter of a million of our
brave sons were lost in the battles
around the Mazurian lakes? I'll
tell you. He said; There's no use
being SO thrifty about it. No matter.
there arc hundred and eighty MILL
ion more where those come from.
But his calculations are incorrect.
He has been too far away from Rus
sian life, and he doesn't know what
is ranking in our breasts
Enough or wari We arc stceped
in blood to tho shoulders aud are
drunk at the sight OF 1t. Six million
OF the best OF our land have met
their doom in foreign countrea The
bones Of our sons are scattered from
the Carpathians to tho Caucasus
mountains, aud their bodies trace an
underwater path along the Danube.
And what arc we fGhtirg fOr2 For
the safety OF small nations2 For
their protection Bahi
Enough Of war"
Disease Is as common among us
as food is rare for you will find q
single doctor to every 1000 muzhiks.
Do you wonder that VIC are tired Of
it all2 It has taken long for some
OF Us to realize it, but now that we
have, they'll hear from us. Enough
blufing, enough blood spilling,
enough war Down with warl Hur-
rah for peace!"
Tho bureaucracy has not remained
blind to this growing sentiment
among the masses, for the people
have learned to back their words by
dccds. There rs continual disorder
in Government factories, and strikes
arc particularly common.
Tho countrywide movement toward
peace has mado itself evident IN tho
action OF the high officials who
rather than allow their indifference
to public clamor to carry the State
to destruction. have begun to foster
open expression for peace ncgotia-
tions. SO much for the political
changes that Russia is experiencing
There is q more poignant phase:
the economic side.
II food conditions in Germany
might be compared with food condi-
tions in Russia, even one little
yeised in statistics would readily OBJ
sorve that Germany's condition is by
far the happier ono.
Starvation Of Russian babies has
been heard little Of, Russian muzhiks
dropping dead for lack of food has
| occupied little OF the worlds atten-
tion. Yet these are all naring reali-
ties, for if in Germany there is
scarcity Of food, there is at least TO
balance il efficiency OF organization,
but in Russia there is a sad scarcity
of both.
DisintegratiOn among people.
i irst Of all there is complete dis
organization n disintegration
among the people Secondly, the
Government is owned by fortune
seekers who fix market rates accord
ing to their lust for making money,