The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1919-08-04
MONDAY. AUGUST 4, 1919.
UNFORTUNATE RussIA

1 @f.~f NH6Hfy tiidI any OtniI IChIutHi
of Vermont and to a degree equalled
Iby few men Of the entire world. His
views written years ago in his books
)f travel are often Illuminating to
present day students.
Just now the whole world looks
with contempt on Russia for permit
ting a small minority of mentally
diseased human brutes to.contro q
great empire and to rob and pillage
its decent citizens to give wealth
and property to the dregs Of Russian
cities who rule by intimidation, muir
der and arson.
Russia is passing through ter
| rible experience but the Russian
tpeople are not as low e. present day
Feonditons would indicate. In his
book on souther Siberia and Turkes.
tan, written in 1904 Mr.. Shoemaker
has a comparison of the Russians of
that region with some other races.
Possibly he might amend II a little
today but the following paragraphs
from his work are interesting and in
structlve:
AS for the brutality OF the Rus,
SLAMS" | have seen no evidence
of 1t. On the contrary. | have never
seen a Russian soldier or policeman
do other than shake the man he had
in charge. This Empire has and 10
setting her new possessions in
very peaceful fashion Her soldiers
are also her workmen. They build
her railroads and her towns Her
vast army of railway guards and post
house keepers are her settlers. They
come to stay;,ilhey are all married
and have hordct5 of children, no mat
ter how poor their station. They get
to place, they live there, they bury
their dead there. and they stay there
| from generation TO generation. They
are building towns and cities all ever
| the vast extent of this Empire, and
building them far better than our
new towns at home Dalny is only
one of thousands Of the same dscrip.
ton and just as good Generally in
lher Asiatic provinces thee towns
are near neighbors to a native town,
where in consequence of the Russian
neighbor, peace reigns supreme and
| you may pass in perfect safety This
is especially the case in Turkestan
and Manchuria.l When Russia con-
quers country she does il thorough
| ly, and with | venture to say. no
more blocdshed than England or
/ Nra hne lt..l, 4
her purpose. she takes very good
caro- of her people, She is perfectly
aware that her army of ex.serfs are
stupid lot and scarcely capable of
| caring for themselves; so that when,
for instance. lot of them 90 TO
city to work, their wages are not
handed over to them to be squand-
cred, but sent back to the father of
their village, who first pays their
debts, then provides for their fam
| lilies, and then gives what is left to
The men. Have we ever taken such
care of our ex-slaves? Was our Fiji
teenth Amendment other than thd
| acme OF cruelty to the black-placing
a power in their hands which they did
not know how to use; making them
| the victims OF a horde OF carpetbag-
gers, and forcing us, State by State.
to defranchise them?
| 1t was my good fortune when last
in ST. Petersburg to attend the mill
| tary horse show. AS | sat in box
surrounded by all the gay life of the
capital | could not but feel that there
was strong resemblance between
the faces around me and our own
I % Tl,,tg 10 I,
uniforms one might have fancied one
self in the Madison Square Garden.
! There were some burly faces and
forms around, but no greater number
Of them than one could notice at
home. The others, men and women,
bore the same nervous, highstrung
! characteristics so marked in our own
people. If the language had all been
English and there was much OF
| that tongue to be heard.--I should
have felt more at home than | have
ever done in q like assemblage in
England. | hold the most friendly
feelings towards Great Britain and
| her people, but | really do not think
that an American ever feels really at
home amongst her people. Our wo-
men may do so after years of mar
rled life there, but AN American man
who gives up his country and settles
| in England loses everything in the
former save the money which enables
him to live in the latter, where he
will never be other than an outsider
We have had some very marked in
stances of that. AS for Russia's feel-4
ings towards America, what they
have been i'll the past was plainly sci
forth in Louis Napoleon's statement
to the Confederate envoy. Mr. La
mar,-'It would be fruitless to APP
proach the Court OF st. Petersburg
as not only the Emperor. but all his
advisers are hopelessly prejudiced in
favor of the United States, - and,
in the Cars instructions that his
fleets assemble in the harbors OF
New York and San Francisco. and
in any adverse demonstrations
should be made by France or Eng
land to place those fleets at the dis
'posal of the Federal government with
the information that IF money was
needed it would be furnished and il |
more ships were wanted they would
be sent. and if men were needed
they would be forthcoming" When
the Government of the Russians
should feel and act as it did is cur
ious question. | do not believe that it