The West Virginian. [volume] (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1914-1974, 1917-09-10

CHS. z. 2uSSEIL sia," death having
the inside track and being likelier
to win.
The universal belief in this "blooG
and IRON fantasy is one OF the moss
interesting examples have ever
known Of the possibilities of the fake
when 1t takes the form of pleasing
dream.
Kerensky is about as much a man
Of blood and iron" as he is OF pump.
kin rinds and jimson weeds. He is
about as much dictator" OF Russia
as you are.
Nevertheless, since the world is de.
termined to have him the man of tic
hour" in Russian affairs, ladies' and
gentlemen know Mr.. Kerensky, pres
emit prime minister of Russia.
He is about 40. rather we'll set up,
about feet inches in height, clean
shaven, thin-lipped, blue.eyed. He mas
a very good head, but you would
know instantly it was not the head Of
an American, because 1t is so much
up and down instead of fore and aft
He has rather lightish brown hair, cut
short and rising, straight from his
head. He has square shoulders, mlCn
grace OF bearing and an excellent
poise for his particular job, which is
oratory. But in private conversation
he has something of Grover Cleye-
lands habit of not looking much at the
person with whom he is talking, n
trick that az in Clevelands case pro-
duces a certain impression of shy.
ness.
Except when he gets started on one
OF his extraordinary flights of elo.
quence of men. 1t is hard to draw
him out on any ordinary tpic and stiil
harder to judge what he really thinks
about 1t unless he gets interested and
sits up to take notice of his surround
ings. Then his blue eyes betray him.
But at that he will never be a pr.e
winner at conversation. having too
much of fondness for words of one
syllable and only few of those.
He is an old.time revolutionist and
tasted all the bitterness that the old
regime handed ont to me of his faith
He is a Socialist, but that is no dis.
tinction in Russia ninetenths of the
people are Socialists.
Heis also an idealist and at the be.
: ginning of the revolution was as
dreamy as any. He, too, had this no.
ton that the downfall of autocracv In
Russia sounded Gabriels big horn for
the Earthly Paradise.
There were to be no more divisions
among men, and, of course, there were
to be no more wars. Universal broth
q
train. Everybody was to love every.
body else; the lion was to lie down
and the lamb was to cease to lie
chops for him.
: 1t was fine good feeling and one
that reflects great credit on the Rus.
sian people. They had Joy themselves
asd they wanted all the neighbors TO
come in and have some.
There were two men in Russia that
never for a moment allowed their en-.
thusiasm to distort their knowledge
OF the world as it really is with Ger.
many in it,
One was Prince kropotkin, the old.
time philosopher and revolutiontst,
whose daring escape from the fortress
OF Peter and Paul is one of the most
oIhIiu6 CudpLelS III the lmperlSlaDle
history Of Russian democracy, and tue
other was Placonoff, who first unfurled
the red flag Of revolution in the New.
sky Prospekt, the great thoroughfare
OF Petrograd.
These elder warriors in the lons
fight continually warned their coup.
trymen that so long as German auto.
cracy remained in the world unbroksu
there was no chance for democracy
either in Russia or in any other place.
/ heard Prince Kropotkin speak on
this subject one Sunday afternoon N
the Norodny Dom, great peoples cal.
ace Of Petrograd, and his logic was
like an avalanche rushing down
Swiss mounain side. 1t swept all be
fore 1t.
Kropotkin and Placonoff steadily
insisted that the first duty of the new
democracy in Russia was to give 10
the other democracies OF the world
all possible help in the life and death
struggle against autocracy. The reYc-
luton was only few weeks old when