The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1920-05-01
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
Been Fatal to. country's
Prosperity.
Article XVIII.
BY FRANK coMEREoRp.

eSSo'' tAdh ~ pei NCHl VI tht DtOplo
of Russia permanently live in cities
or towns. | 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 a part of the year in the
industries. They retain their peasant
status and their domiciles in the viii
lagos. In 1910 there were only forty
cities in the Russian empire with a
population of from $4,000 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. 1t is the
! idea of consolation in companionship.
| 1t is q principle of mass psychology
| that group of men will dare to do
! thing. to stand 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 Ariel
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
STA it was the unpremeditated result
of necessity. 1t 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
n starvation pay. So when the work
ing men from 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
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
/ sla one finds the Artel-in the cities,
: in @the lumber camps. even in the
prisons. When building is to be put
= up an Artel Is organized. When rail
z road Is being built an Artel is formed.
In some instances the Artel resembles
= labor union, In that the arrangement
q of the terms of employment is made
by delegate or committee appointed
by the ARIEL
= Live in Squaior and Misery.
e Village life is primitive. The vii
i layers live out of the world. The VII
T 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
q lagos generally cover large area OF
Q ground. The houses are scattered and
e struggling. The conveniences found
c even in the American tenements are
5. cleanliness They live and sleep ir
/ crowded, smoky, unfinished houses
y Furniture-they haven't what we cal
: furniture. even what the poorest farm
y tenant in America would call furnish
- ings. A board for table, a shake
" down for a bed.
Russias Industrial life has Away
1t been ont of balance with her agricul
Of tural life. Notwithstanding her riche
eel of raw material and her great posi-
N biities for successful industrial life
- Russia has continued to be n nation
= with 81 per cent farmers, or 8 pc
- cent permanently engaged in industry
and 3 or 4 per cent of peasants VIII
o. devoted part of the time to work il
H. the Industries. 1t has been said re
It. peatedIy that the imperial RUSSIA
p-I hn nf 4 !,
r. Great has been unceasing in its effort
ne for the creation and development O
81 home manufactures. All of the ev
- dence | have examined refuteS thi
, statement There never has been an
nj security to the worker in Russia. TIL
ar ONLY protection he has had has bee
C. his interest in the family allotmen
Of He could go back there and be hun
e. CRY: in the city starvation was tn
lie danger.
r. The ears put every obstacle in til
'o' way of education and of course til
q, prevented the growth OF industry.
d. In 1902 the principal industries
ell Russia. representing all of the fact
It. ries throughout the empire. of whc
en- the annual production was valued
Ter more than $1,000, were textiles. foe
OF products. animal products, wood p
IN per. chemical products. ceramics, mi
nv ing metal goods. miscellaneous. ar
~ all of these employed only 2.259.7 Z
workers.
10 Led Up to Boishevik Problem
ISL This dwarfed. stunted, paralyZt
"a side Of Russia-its industrial side
ell has direct bearing upon conditions
a Russia today and is an important pa
hg of the problem of the bolshevik go
!" eminent.
\ nation to- he economically norm
aul must have balanced agricultural ma
,oa ufacturing and commercial sides
hc these three departments of actlri
lin are not proportionately developed Il
nation is economically cripple III
STA has been and is in this sense
5hel chicago has motor hospital viii