The Elk Mountain pilot., 1920-03-11
Shall Chaos or Reconstruction
in Europe Follow the Great
World War?
RUSSIA OUT OF BALANCE
That Its Industrial Life Has Not Kept
Pace With Its Agricultural Has
80 Been Fatal to country's
Prosperity.
Article XVIII.
BY FRANK coMERFoRp,

Less than 10 per cent of the people
OF Russia permanently" live in cities
or towns. 1 write the word "perma-
nently" to call attention to the fact
that number of peasants and VIII
layers come to the cities and towns
to work for part of the year in the
Industries. They retain their peasant
status and their domiciles in the vii
hges. In 1910 there were only forty
cities In the Russian empire with a
population Of from $4,000 to 1000 !;
only four cities with a population of
over 100000.
Poverty forced upon the Russian
people the cooperative spirit. In
great. long strain people can stand up
together better than alone. It is the
Idea Of consolation In companionship.
It is q principle Of mass psychology
that a group of men will dare to do
thing, to stand suffering or n dan
ger that no individual in the crowd
would undertake alone The Russians
have suffered from the dawn of his
tory, and one of the oldest institutions
Of Russian life is the Artel. The Artel
v0yN9cA yesembles the cooperative
society Of western Europe. with this
difference. that the cooperative socl-
eey in Europe and America is the out
growth OF an economic trend. In Rus
sia It was the unprecedented result
Of necessity. It is the difference be-
tween one who is hungry because he
II dieting and one who Is starving be-
cause he Is without food.
The workers Of Russia have suffered
the same slavery the peasants have en-
dured. The maximum wage has been
4 starvation pay. So when the work
Ing men from a province come to .
city to work in the textile industries
Or as carpenters, masons, etc. they at
once unite In groups Of from ten to
dfty persons. rent q house, keep q
common table. elect an elder Of the
Artel, to whom each ono pays his
share Of the expense. All over Rus
sia one Ands the Artel-in the cities,
in the lumber camps. even In the
prisons. When q building Is to be put
mp an Artel II organized. When q rail-
road IL being built an Artel 10 formed.
In some instances the Artel resembles
q labor union. in that the arrangement
Of the terms OF employment IL made
BY q delegate or committee appointed
by the Artel.
Live In squaIer and Misery.
Village life is primitive. The vii
layers live out Of the world. The vii
lages are very small. particularly in
the extreme north. The houses are
generally cheap wooden shanties. Ow-
ing to the great danger Of fire. the vii
lages generally cover a large area of
ground. The houses are scattered and
struggling. The conveniences found
even in the American tenemen.s are
unknown. There Is no chance for
cleanliness. They live and sleep in
crowded. smoky. unfinished houses.
Furnture-they haven't what we call
furniture. even whnt the poorest farm
tenant in America would call furnish
ings. A board for table. q shake
down for . bed.
Russea's Industrial life has always
been out Of balance with her agricul-
tural life. Notwithstanding her riches
Of raw material and her great possi-
bilities for q successful Industrial life.
Russia has continued to be nation
with 81 per cent farmers. or per
cent permanently engaged in industry,
and s or 4 per cent Of peasants who