The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1918-06-03
Letter Tells of Hopelessness and
Chaos Which Overwhelms
That Country.
RUSSIAN WOMAN
OF CASTE WRITES
Says Present Government Has
Abolished Laws, Courts,
Police, Etc.

| NEW YORK, June 2.-The distress
| hopelessness and chaos which over
| whelmed the we'll do and officia
classes in the Russian Revolution are
vividly portrayed from the standpoint
of a Russian Woman In letter receiv.
| ed by her foEhW classmate in thi
| country The writer is a daughter o
| a Russian diplomat who was connected
| with the Russian Embassy in Wash
ington about twenty years ago and 8
| widow of an officer in the Russian
army who was killed early in the war
Russia. crushed by exterior enc
mies, justly despised and abhorred by
| the great countries that once trusted
| her, is ruined and disappearing she
wrote. MY country is ceasing TO ex-
/ ist. 1t was bad enough before the
March revolution, when our unhappy
half-witted Emperor, under the infiu-
ence of his German wife, seemed to
do everything possible to make people
loose patience. have a thousand
anonymous potentates. the top ones
paid by Germany. and the lower ones
lured into supporting them by money,
money, and money.
''The present government has abol-
ished all laws, all courts, the police.
in town. all distinction of castles and
grades in the army and navy. They
have seized all the banks. are opening
all the private safes and confiscating
all gold and silver found therein
though it had never been said before
that it was criminal to have it,
"Of course eeetything they decree
is so mad that 1t is quite sure not to
last forever. but the chaos they make
will take centuries to forget. The
country is going back to savage
state And we will not live to wait
for better times.
"All Russia is suffering-every day
brings new. surprises that show that
there is but one way out of 1.-THE
grave. On the ground of liberty they
abolish all laws, judges. attorneys, and
substitute for 1t peoples courts of JUS
tice' with only soldiers, workmen or
peasants, often quite illiterate and al
ways without the slightest knowledge
of court proceedings, taking the places
of the former judiciary.
"On the same ground they abolish
all police, let loose all the criminals
from the prisons, arm them, consti-
tuting from their number together
with workmen, deserters and hooligans
their utmost with all those who crave
for order and will not work together
with them towards the total ruin OF
the country.
"On the pretense OF equality they
abolish all grades in the army and
navy and make all posts elective by
the simple soldiers In most places
il is understood as complete extermi-
nation. lynching of the officers. who
for being better educated, are under
suspicion of being 'counter~rfevolution
ary.' The highest posts are occupied
by elected soldiers who very often car
hardly sign their faces and the form
er officers are made simple soldiers
| with a soldiers pay of $3.50 month
| and ordered to the lowest tasks: clean
ing of the barracks, cooking food tax
ing care of the horses
"Our great country could only exist
when all the wheels of the government
We're working in harmony New ev-
erything is a perfect chaos. Every
body was willing to throw over the
Czaristic government, but not In order
to change il for this one, OF loot. an
archy and treason toward our allies
oh, the shame. the disgrhace and the
folly of it.
f'The army which consists OF young
boys (the regular long ago killed.
without any sense of duty. morale and
discipline, so their acquired freedow
| in the freedom to go home when they
want to. And to an the trains. all the
stations, are attacked and destroyed by
this horde of sava ges, who will bu
| engineers, IL II seems to them the trair
/ goes too slowly, the bafiine the rail
way agents who tell them OF the inn
possibility OF starting their train fol
| there is another one coming towards
! them in the same time. AS this hu
/ man flood goes home without organi-
| zation. everything is looted and de
| stroyed{
| Some months ago. I was believing
/ myself to be quite well off. I have Z
house in Petrograd. Last spring wa:
/ offered $12, ,555 for it, but was advised
| not to sell and go over TO America Il
1 have my little girl become happy
| American school girl Now-I have
on hand about $4,000 and no othel
1 resources: the house, like other pri,