Vernon Parish Democrat. (Leesville, La.) 1917-193?, 1920-06-19
Shall Chaos or Reconstruction
in Europe Follow the Great
World WARP
RUSSIA OUT OF BALANCE
That lie Industrial Life Has Not Ksps
Pace With Its Agricultural Has
Been Fatal to country's
Prosperity.
Article XVII.
nY ERANK coMEREoRp.

nently" to call attention to the fact
that a number OF peasants and vii
layers come to the cities and towns
to work for a part Of the year in the
industries. They retain their peasant
status and their domiciles In the vii
lagos. In 1910 there were only forty
cities in the Russian empire with a
population Of from 10000 to 100000;
only four cities with a population Of
over 100000.
Poverty forced upon the Russian
people the cooperative spirit. In a
great, long strain people can stand up
together better than alone. It is the
idea Of consolation in companionship.
It is a principle Of mass psychology
that group Of men will dare to do a
thing, to stand a suffering or a 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
very much resembles the cooperative
society Of western Europe, with this
difference, that the cooperative soci-
ETY. IN Europe and America is the out
growth OF an economic trend. In Rus
Bia it was the unprecedented result
Of necessity. It is the difference be-
tween one who is hungry because he
Is 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
starvation pay. So when the work
ing men from a province come to a
city to work In the textile industries
or as carpenters, masons, ETC., they at
once unite in groups Of from ten to
fifty persons, rent a house, keep a
common table, elect an elder Of the
| Artel, to whom each one pays his
share of the expense. All over Rus
l-sia one finds the Artel=-ln the cities,
In the lumber camps, even in the
prisons. When building is to be put
up an Artel is organized. When rail
road is being built an Artel is formed.
In some instances the Artel resembles
a labor union, in that the arrangement
Of the terms Of employment is made
by delegate or committee appointed
by the Artel.
Live In Squalor and Misery.
Village life is primitive. The viii
layers live out Of the world. The vii
lagos 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
lagos generally cover a large area of
ground. The houses are scattered and
struggling. The conveniences found
even in the American tenements are
unknown. There is no chance for
cleanliness. They live and sleep in
crowded, smoky, unfinished houses.
Furniture-they haven't what we call
furniture, even what the poorest farm
tenant in America would call furnish
lngs. A board for a table, shake
down for a bed.
Russla's industrial life has always
been out of balance with her agricul'
tural life. Notwithstanding her riches
of raw material and her great posi-
bilities for a successful industrial life
Russia has continued to be a natior
with 81 per cent farmers, or 8 pei
cent permanently engaged in industry
and or A per cent Of peasants wht
devoted part Of the time to work IL
the industries. 1t has been said re
peatedly that the imperial Russian
government from the time Of Peter thu
Great has been unceasing in its effort
for the creation and development o
home manufactures. All of the evi
dence / have examined refutes thi
statement. There never has been an,
security to the worker in Russia. TIL
only protection he has had has beef
his interest in the family allotment
He could 60 back there and be hun
CRY; in the city starvation was tn
danger.
The cars put every obstacle in tn
way OF education and Of course thi
prevented the growth Of industry.
In 1902 the principal industries I
Russia, representing all Of the factc
ries throughout the empire, Of whie
the annual production was valued a
more than $1,000, were textiles, foo
products, animal products, wood, pc
per, chemical products, ceramics. mir
ing, metal goods, miscellaneous, an
eli Of these employed only 2259,T7
!, workers.
Led Up to 5oIshevlk Problem.
This dwarfed, stunted. paralyze
side Of Russia-its Industrial side
has direct bearing upon conditions
Russia today and is an important par
OF the problem Of the bolshevik go'
eminent.
A nation to be economically nOrmf
must have balanced agricultural, MAJ
ufacturing and commercial sides.
these three departments 81 actiyii
Z are net proportionately developed u
nation IS economically a cripple. Hu
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