davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1917-03-25

to such an extent that they were al
most exterminated. They have greatly
decreased since we bought Alaska, and
it is doubtful whether there are a
thousand of them living today. At
Dutch harbor and on some of the ether
islands. the people are now living in
buildings erected by the whites, but
on many of the islets they have homes
half underground. living much as they
did when Capt. Cook came.
I am surprised at the mildness of the
climate of the Aleutian Islands. Their
summers are cooler than Sitka. but the
weather is quite as warm in the WIN
ter and warmer than that of either
Tennessee or Kentucky. At Unalaska
the average January temperature is 30
degrees above zero. Its climate is
warmer than that of Washington. Bal
timore or St. Louis. All of the islands
are rainy and foggy. The average rain
fall is about ten inches a month, and
Unalaska is said to have 250 rainy days
in the year.
1t is questionable whether the islands
will ever support any considerable
population. So far they have no whites
except a few fox farmers who have
taken single islands and are trying to
raise blue foxes there.
There has been some talk Of using the
Evening star., 1917-03-25

was chiefly occupied during the brief
period of summer, when navigation
was open. in getting in munitions. The
port was too crowded to think of re-
turn cargoes of wheat being brought
from the Volga basin. a thousand miles
or more over the railway lines.
So Russia had within her borders not
only the grains which formerly had
gone to feed other countries, but also a
normal production for home consump-
ton. But none of the bureaucrats
solved the problem of transportation
and distribution, so that the northern
provinces might be supplied with the
abundance of grains which were pro-
duced in the south.
When the American Red Cross So
ciety. by grace of the German military
authorities, was told that it could dis
tribute grain from Russia among the
starving Poles, it was ascertained by
the agents of the society then in Poland
that there were millions of bushels of
wheat available in the Nolga basin. The
Russian government confirmed this in
formation. The Red Cross then set out
to buy the grain. but was told that the
purchase would be useless, because
there We're no means of transporting it.
SO the Poles also starved. While they
were not in the midst of land of
plenty. they were subjects of an empire
Evening star., 1917-03-25
camadas Wheat Crop AS British Government Purchas

that the German people are not the
only ones who are liable to be hungry.
or at least to be denied their customary
amount of wheatbread-
England herself has not done much
toward meeting the deficiency by ip-
creasing her own wheat production.
No large areas Of game preserves and
parks have been turned into wheat
fields during the last year. Lloyd
George. however. has done something
to encourage the British farmer by
providing a minimum price to be paid
for domestic wheat. This years pro-
duction may be increased a few million
bushels by the inducement held out.
but Canada must continue to be the
main reliance for supplying the inhab-
itants of the British Isles and the Brit
ish troops on the continent with bread.
The Canadian wheat grower Of the
northwest. with his pronounced pa
triotism. is not likely to seek to drive
too sharp a bargain in his dealings
with the imperial government. What
is of more interest. however, is the
view he may take of the effect of the
proposed transaction on the futl- =
wheat production. State ownership of
the wheat elevators. with other forms
of governmental control of the crops.
so as to insure good prices, has been
agitated for years and is part of the
platforms of political parties.
The purchase of the entire crop by
the government would merely be an
other step in this form of socialism.
1t would be in line with the elimina-
tion Of the middleman, which is sought
after Just as earnestly by the Canadian
wheat grower as by the wheat growers
in Minnesota and the Dakotas. The
probabilities are that when the war
ends the wheat growers of the Cana
dian northwest will be citing the pur
chase of their crop by the imperial
government at a satisfactory price as
an example of what can be done
through government replacing the
middleman. They are not apt to rec
ognfze any distinction between war
conditions and peace conditions.
The United States Is apt to feel some
reflex from this attitude Of the wheat
growers of the Canadian northwest.
Evening star., 1917-03-25

bushels as against 326,000.0 600 bushels
annually during the five-year period.
Buckwheat and millet. which are sta
pie foodstuffs also were produced in
normal quantities.
These crop statistics show that not
withstanding the millions of men with
drawn from the fields to serve in the
army there We're still enough left to
plant and reap. so that the Russian
harvests suffered no diminution. Am
pie food was produced to feed the en-
tire population.
There was more than enough, be-
cause in the years before the war Rus
sia was able to feed her people and to
export enormous quantities of food
stuffs besides. England. Italy. Spain
and other European countries regular
ly drew on her wheat crops
The war closed these exports. OdeS-
sa, the great Black sea port through
which the agricultural products of
southern Russia were shipped. saw no
cargoes freighted aboard. The Oar
danelles We're closed and there was no
other way of getting the grain out
through the Mediterranean. Archangel.
the White sea port in the Arctic circle,
Evening star., 1917-03-25
Conserving the Oyster


61HE high cost of living and the
nossihili+,, that tho nricas of sta l.
II - =,
pie 1oo9stuHs may never again
sink to that level which was generally
considered the normal one a few wears
A.,
ago are lac's WHICH are uihiiis 'i'e
thoughts of many persons to the need
of tho riyars bavs and seas as sources
49, o,.;o 80 III.
OF 1000 ana the cohsei'a''o' y. 'io
products of those sources. Washing
ron is in a region of food abundance,
aa,,.;o, h,ua s,o.red
thoush the hsheii ies Ia
great wastage through prodlsality ana
Indifference Many species of water
,.,,,s x,ioo, mr. so rare
iooos nave "eN''e
as to be beyond the purses OF 'he
great ma ioritv of the people, and there
= ~ - oe tho axti,ction of the
10 'aih' e'e'' '' t"0
crab and fears tha1 the supphes ol
oysters may become depleted
M ,.s+a. is .ngaeine rho attention
lhe oyster - e''sd s.ns tna a. ,,an,.
of conservation cohhissioh III MAJ
land and quite an amount of impor-
tant work looking to the state con
troll and scientific management of the
oyster bottoms of various rivers and
Evening star., 1917-03-25

never sets on British possessions. The
same is true of Uncle Sans dominions,
when we take in Attu Island and the
Philippine archipelago.
The Aleutian Islands are volcanic. They
are the heads of volcanoes which have
been almost drowned in the sea The
Island of Unimak has two active vol
canoes. but the heads of both were
lost in the clouds when we sailed by.
The highest of these mountains has an
altitude of more than 5000 feet. 1t
is known as Shishaldin. We could
see 1t plainly as we sailed through
Unimak pass. The foothills were green,
but far up the sides the grass was
lost in the snow of the mountains and
the peak was hidden in clouds. Dur
ing our passage the sun seemed to set
between the ship and the island. There
was a great black cloud floating in the
sky between us and Unimak. Out of
the bottom of the cloud came four
broad shafts of light, making a trans
Evening star., 1917-03-25

lucent veil. as it were. between the
ship and the island, and losing them
selves in the sea. These shafts were
of rainbow hues and through them we
could plainly see the smoky outlines
of the island beyond. The rays of
the sun seemed to mark the end of
this side of the world and Unimak to
belong to the other side. Above the
black cloud from which the veil of rain
bow came the sky was n brilliont
blue. and higher still We're golden clouds
painted by the hidden sun. 1t was a
combination of sky and land and sea
that l have never witnessed in any
other part of the world.
Unimak is the largest of the Aleutian
Islands. 1t guards the chief pass into
Bering sea and near il is Unalaska
Island, upon which is Dutch harbor,
one of the safe ports of the territory.
The harbor is on bay backed by
hills that slope gently up from the
water and are lost in high mountains
behind. Capt. Cook landed there just
two years after we declared our in
dependence of England. The islands
had been discovered by Vitus Bering
in 1741, but Cook was the first one
to tell the English much about them.
He found the natives gentle and in
offensive and said that they might
serve as a pattern to the most civilized
nation on earth. He described them
Evening star., 1917-03-25

as short. plump and well formed. The
women wore garments of sealskin and
some of the men had clothes made of
birdskins, with the feathers next to
their flesh. The men had holes in their
lips in which they wore buttons of bone.
Their houses were holes in the earth
covered with framework of driftwood
and held up by whalebone. They en-
tered their houses through dark
tunnel, going down ladder. The prin-
cipal room was from ten to twenty
feet in diameter. They used lamps
for heating and their furniture con-
sisted of bowls. spoons and buckets.
the latter being made of straw closely
woven.
There were about 10000 of these
Aleutians on the islands when the Rus
slams first took possession. They were
hunters and fishers. and were skilled in
catching sea otter. which was then
about the most valuable fur known to
man. The Russians exploited the Aleuts
Evening star., 1917-03-25

whose more distant lands were produce
ing plenty.
Though little is SO far known, it is
not improbable that the workingmen's s
societies-the Russian trades unions
which have been so prominent in the
revolutionary movement. were stimu-
lated in their activities by the knowl-
edge that there was abundance of grain
in other sections of the empire. which
was denied them because of the ineffi-
cheney of the cars absolutist govern
ment.
While the provisional government
has many puzzling problems before it,
there is little question that in address,
ing itself to the means of relieving the
suffering of the great mass of the popu-
lation. as well as Of supplying the army
with sufficient food and munitions, it is
taking long step toward permanency.
The dispatches which filtered out
after the success of the revolution
stated that train service had continued
throughout, so that hundreds of cars
were rushing food to the hungry cities.
The provisional government itself was
Evening star., 1917-03-25

remain 100000 acres of French
wheat land that are not producing
grain that they should produce.
The cause of this decreased acreage
government to insure the farmers
sufficiently high prices. In the attack
made on the BRAND ministry in the
French parliament economic as well
is military shortcomings have been
alleged, and chief among the economic
grievances has been the decreased
wheat production.
The French government has fixed a
maximum selling price of $1.s0 a
bushel. This is declared to be too
tion due to the war and a maximum
price of s2.25 has been advocated. If
the French farmer could get this much
for his wheat he would be doing very
we'll, indeed. The Canadian farmers do
not expect that price in any agreement
ganizations for the big transaction
with the imperial government.
Italy has so small wheat production
of her own that the acreage does not
enter into consideration. Since the war
shut off the Rumanian and the Russian
crops, she has bought more largely
than ever from Argentina and also
from the United States. The purchases,
however. usually have been made in
conjunction with the British govern
ment
Whatever quantity of wheat Canada
may be able to ship to England for the
consumption of the allies. both the al
lies and the neutral countries of Eu
rope are likely to find something lack
ing in the bread basket.
A Paris estimate is that the allies
and the neutral countries require be-
tween $50. 100000 and 570.000.000 bush
els. while there will be available from
overseas countries, including the
United States, not more than 100000. 900
bushels. This means a deficiency of at
least 2O0,0O0,000 bushels and indicates
Evening star., 1917-03-25

a 7ANY causes combined to bring
th\Mt about the revolution which
JW( seems to have ended the
S0. RomanoT dynasty in Russia.
Some of them were working for years.
while others were due to temporary
circumstances. The latter. however,
may be said to have precipitated the
revolution rather than caused 1t. for
no such overturning that which has
happened in Russia comes from tempo
rary causes
Food shortage in a country producing
huge crops is undoubtedly one of the
principal circumstances which accel-
Grated the movement. The shortage
was not of an economic nature which
human agencies could prevent.
-
hungry people are not always dis
eliminating in their search for re-
sponsibility, and governments are
sometimes held responsible for what
nature denies But in the case of Rus
sia nature has been bountiful in pro-
ducing crops since the war began 1t
was the corruption, inefficiency and,
proba bly,. in some instances, reasonable
intentions of the absolutists and the
bureaucrats who Were responsible for
the transportation systems of Russia
that caused the failure of millions of
people to get sufficient food Not only
the troops suffered, but the mass OF
the civilian population as well.
In proportion TO size. Russia is not
so well supplied with means of trans
portation as the United States, but
there are railway lines enough to
transport breadstuffs from the centers
of production to the great consuming
centers, provided these lines are prop
erly managed. AT least, there is no
need of the Russian people suffering
anything more than a temporary incon-
venience.
Russia actually has had, during the
last few months. a large surplus of
food. yet II is known that there have
Deen munger riots in Petrograd Mos
COW and other large cities. and that
even some of the agricultural districts
themselves have suffered through the
inadequate transportation of the grain
products
European Russia last wear produced
442.o00.0o0 bushels of spring and win
Ter wheat. The average production
during tve-year period. from 1909 to
1913. was little under 100000. 900
bushels. SO that, comparatively speak
ing, there was no material decrease in
the crop.
Rye. which is a staple food product.
was produced during the last crop year
in excess of 900 600. 900 bushels while
the average annual product during the
fve-year period was only 730,60O,0O0
bushels
Oats were produced to the amount of
eos 200. 900 bushels in 1916, as against
100000 bushels during the five-year
period.
Barley showed little variation In
1916 the production was s0s.oOo,o0O
Evening star., 1917-03-25

ished serfdom in order to avoid anarchy
in the agricultural regions.
The Zemstvos are cooperative bodies
chosen by the landowners of the differ
ent districts Originally they managed
chiefly the agricultural affairs of the
community, but their functions were
extended until they had considerable to
do with the government of the district,
even to the extent of fixing the local
taxes and providing for the local needs.
All this was done under the shadow
of absolutism and without the peasants
being allowed to think that it was
in any way the exercise of political
Evening star., 1917-03-25

worlds production for the present
year can now be calculated with some
certainty and the probab Bile price de-
termined. The Canadian farmers know
in advance that they will get at least
as much as they would under free COM
petitive buying conditions. and proba-
bly, more. At any rate, they Will not
be subjected to 'maneuvers of wheat
spectators or unexpected market de-
velopments.
The Canadian crop is of special value
to the British government now, since
Germany is making her last desperate
effort to shut off England's food sup
ply by means of the submarines and
raiders. 1t is much easier to get the
Canadian wheat crop to London and
Liverpool than that of Australia and
India. and the time required is much
shorter.
The bulk of the crop will follow the
usual route east over the transconti-
Evening star., 1917-03-25

mental lines and out through the great
lakes and the st. Lawrence. An APP
preciable quantity. however, may go
out by way of Vancouver and through
the Panama canal Experience has
shown that the wheat cargoes can be
so we'll taken care of as TO avoid the
danger from the moist heat of the
tropics while following the canal route
Vancouver continues TO maintain a
substantial monopoly of the Pacific
coast shipments. The Grand Trunk
Pacific. with its terminus so much
further north. is not yet a factor in
the shipments, and the other transcon-
tinental line still further north is not
anything more than a right of way
for a considerable distance. since a
thousand miles of track were taken
up and shipped to France for military
transportation purposes This was be-
cause rails from the mills could not be
obtained rapidly enough.
The Hudson Bay railway, which is an
experiment, has not yet reached Hud-
son bay, so that the prospect of trans
portation through that debatabie sea
route cannot be realized during The
war.
The British government is proposing
to buy the entire Canadian wheat crop
for the use of its allies as well as
itself. That was done in the case of
the Argentine and the Australian pur-
chases France and Italy, which are
the allied countries chiefly concerned,
may FURNISH some OF the bottoms for
transporting the grain after il reaches
England. but the purchase transaction
is left to the British government.
France in particular needs a share
of this Canadian wheat crop. Her own
crop this year is unusually short. The
estimated yield is between 1SO, 900. 600
and .190.000.00O bushels. while the re-
quirement of consumption is calculated
at 317,oO0,0oo bushels This leaves
somewhere between 125.000,O0O and
130,O00,000 bushels that France must
obtain from beyond her own territory
in order to feed her army and her
civilian population.
The shortage in the French crop has
been serious disappointment to the
government. 1t is partly due to the de-
creased acreage planted in the terri
tory not held by the German army.
The invaded districts comprised about
100000 acres. Last fall the area sown
was about 1o.500,000 acres. or 5,500.O0
acres less than normal Manitoba wheat
for spring seeding Ia expected to be
sown on about 100000 acres. but there
Evening star., 1917-03-25

requisitioning grain stores wherever
they could be found, and was appealing
to the peasants to bring forward all the
grain possible, in order to relieve the
food situation.
1t is not disclosed that the Russian
peasants actually had been holding
back grain. They simply did not know
that the crops which they had harvest
ed were still on their hands through
the inefflciency, and worse. OF the cars
government. They had no notion of
cornering foodstuffs in order to get
higher prices. They probably will be
getting better prices now that the pro-
visional government has come forward
and is seeking to distribute the enor-
nous surplus that has accumulated be-
cause of the complete cessation of the
outside market.
The attitude of the Russian peasants
toward the revolution is still uncer-
tain. The great question is how far
they will find a common bond with the
workingmen'S societies of the cities. In
the little news which has come from
Russia during the last six months there
has been almost nothing to show what
the agricultural classes who consti-
tute the bulk Of the population, were
thinking. 1t was assumed that they
were still fanatically devoted to the
little father, the czar. as the head of
the church, who was to them the source
of all authority.
" X
The possibility of the reactionaries.
the bureaucrats and the absolutists
generally, seeking to foment a coun-
ter revolution, is not overlooked by any
of the European governments. Stu
dents of history will recall the upris-
ing of the peasants of the Vendee dur
ing the French revolution and their
fanatical devotion, under the leader
ship of the aristocrats, to the cause of
liking and God" Conditions are not
exactly similar in Russia today, yet
there is a certain parallel.
When the cZar consented to abdicate
in favor of his son, the sickly young
Grand Duke Alexis. and it was pro-
posed to establish a regency under the
czar's brother. the Grand Duke Michael,
the possibility of saving the house of
Romanoff by this means doubtless was
in the minds of all the autocrats and
absolutists.
Notwithstanding the ill-feeling be-
tween Michael and the cZar a regency
under him would be difficult to convert
into the means of his own transfer as
the head of the autocratic government.
The humbleSt peasants would take
regency in it's literal sense, which is
simply. under royalty, an interregnum
until the recognized heir of the royal
house becomes of age and takes over
authority. If the mass of Russian
peasants are deeply impregnated with
ity, their conversion from belief in the
young Grand Duke Alexis as the
little father for whom some one else
must act until the age is rea ched when
he takes on the robes of autocratic
authority and becomes the real head of
the government and the church will
be difficult matter.
But there are signs which indicate
Evening star., 1917-03-25
Important Factors of the Russian Revolution

rights. Nevertheless, it was practiced
in local government. although In q very
limited way. under cooperative Forms
If the Russian landowners, small and
large can cooperate successfully for
common ends in relation to their crops
and their local affairs generally, there
is no reason why they cannot cooper
ate for the larger ends Of central
government without an autocrat at its
head.
The zemstvo is especially a
operative institution. In the co-opera-
tive activities relating to the crops
some of the zemstvos have had pur-
chasing agents stationed in the United
States to buy agricultural implements
Their members thus have learned some
thing of countries beyond seas. and of
not been direct enough to reflect popu-
lar government as understood in the
United States. yet there may be some
reflex. At any rate. the zemstvo hence
forth may be looked on as political
institution that furnishes the medium
through which the Russian peasants
will be drawn closer to the central gov
ernment.
Among the causes which have been
potent in the revolution. industrialism
should not be overlooked. All the ac-
counts indicate that the workingmen's
societies or delegations in cooperation
with the loyal section of the army and
the scholars and thinkers who COM
prise the Russian intellectuals have
been aggressive in overthrowing bu-
reaucracy and absolutism. 1t was the
workingmens strikes of 1904 and the
following year that first made the
absolutists fearful of their continuance
were hunger strikes then. and there
was the bloody Sunday when the police
and the government troops did their
worst, and yet IT was made apparent
that the disorder could not be suppress
ed. Then the duma was authorized by
the car as a concession to the revolu-
tionary sentiment.
The duma was a s much representa-
tive parliamentary body was posi-
BILE in Russia at that time. but when
ever 1t sought to exercise real legisla-
tive functions autocratic government
was able to thwart 1t. Much of the
learning and talent of Russia was rep
resented in the duma. But thinkers and
all sorts of philosophers in their devo-
tion to liberty are not always capable
of organization. This was the case of
the duma.
The mechanics and artisans had
shown that they were capable of or
ganization. Count de Witte himself
unconsciously had strengthened the
influence of the workingmen's societies
by the measures he instituted to create
an Industrial Russia.
Time alone will disclose how far the
growth of Russian industrialism has been
a cause of the revolution. but in the
light of present events there is no
question that 1T has been one of the
most potent agencies in overthrowing
the autocracy of centuries. c. NJ. P.