The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1920-02-06

seemed a good way out of the diff
Guilty. He did not expect to get it
back, but he hoped in this way to
keep control of the tannery, which he
wished to develop, having a paternal
interest in it.
Things worked very well. They
elected committee of control. Uncle
was elected president, 1 was elected
vice-president and there were three
workmen. We arc working on those
lines TO this day. They give uncle
1900 roubles a month, me a thousand.
and the bookkeeper a thousand. The
only difficulty is that the men will
treat uncle as the owner, and this
may mean trouble IL things go wrong.
Uncle is forever telling them, It's your
factory, don't call me Master and they
will reply Yes. it's our factory all
right, but you are still Master, and
that must be-"
Trouble came fast enough, with the
tax levied on the propertied classes.
Uncle" very wisely, had ceased to be
property owner. He had given up
his house to the factory, and been
allotted rooms in it, as president of
the factory Soviet. He was, therefore,
really unable to pay when the people
1LOul the soviet 10 ten
him that he had been assessed to pay
a tax of 10000 roubles. He explained
the position. The nephew was also
present and joined in the argument,
whereupon the tax collectors consulted
a bit of paper and retorted. "A tax
of 10000 has been assessed on you,
too Be so good as to put your coat
on"
That meant arrest, and the nephew
said he had 5000 roubles and would
pay that, but could pay no more.
Would that do?
Very WE'LL" said the tax collector,
fetch it,
The nephew fetched it.
and now put your coat on
But you said it would be all right
if 1 paid the 5000!'
That's the only way to deal with
people like you. We recognize that
your case is hard, and we dare say that
you will get off. But the Soviet has
told us to collect the whole tax the
people who refuse to pay it, and they
have decreed that if we come back
without one or the other, we shall go
to prison ourselves. You can hardly
expect us to go and sit in prison out
of pity for you. So on with your coat
and come along"
They went, and at the militia head
quarters were shut into a room with
barred windows where they were pres
emily joined by most of the other rich
men of the town, all in rare state of
indignation, and some Of them very
angry with Uncle for taking things
so quietly.
Next day the workmen from the
n nd
explained that Uncle" had really
ceased to be a member of the proper
! tied classes, that he was necessary to
| them as president of their soviet, and
that they were willing to secure his
| release by paying half of the tax de-
manded from him out of the factory
| funds. Uncle got together thirty thou
| sand, the factory contributed another
| thirty, and he was freed, being given
| certificate that he had ceased to be
| an exploiter or a property owner, and
would in future be subject only TO
such taxes might be levied the
working population. The nephew was
also freed on the grounds that he was
wanted at the leather works.
/ asked him how things were going
| on. He said, Fairly well, only uncle
keeps worrying because the men still
| call him Master"
DO the men work?"
WELL" he said, I'VE thought that
when the factory was in their own
hands they would work better, but we
| do not think they do so, not noticeably,
anyhow"
DO they work worse?"
mo, that is not noticeable, either"
asked him how the Red terror that
| followed the attempt on the life OF
Lenine had shown itself in their dis
trict. He laughed.
I'VE got off very cheapIy," he said
This is what happened: A certain
rich merchants widow had a fine
house, with enormous stores of all
kinds of things, fine knives and forks,
and too many of everything. For in
stance, she had % samovars of all
sizes and sorts. She was told that her
house was wanted and she must clear
out. She piled all those things in the
garrets, which she closed and sealed
and got the president of the Soviet to
come and put his seal also. In the
| end things were so friendly that he
| even put a sentinel there to see that
| the seal should not be broken.
Then came the news from Petrograd
| and Moscow about the Red terror
and the Soviet, after holding a meet
| ing and deciding that it ought to do
something, and being on too good
| terms with all of US to do anything
very bad, suddenly remembered poor
| Maria Nichola evna's garrets. They
| broke the seals and tumbled out all
| the kitchen things, knives, forks.
| plates, furniture, the % samovars and
the overcoats took them in carts to the
Soviet and declared them national
property, And a week or two later
there was a wedding of a daughter of
one of the members of the Soviet, and
somehow or other the knives and forks