The Meridian times. (Meridian, Idaho) 1909-1938, 1920-05-21
Shall Chaos or Reconstruction
ii Europe Follow the Great
Word War?
RUSSIA OUT or BALANCE
That It's Industrial Life Has Not Kept
Pace With It's Agricultural Has
Been Fatal TO countrys
Prosperity.
Article XVII.
81 FRANK coMERFoRp.

Of Russia permanently" live in cities
OK towns. write the word 'tperIa-
BeHtIy" to cau attention to the fact
that a number Of peasants and gi!.
layers come to the cities and towns
20 EOrE for z part Of the year in the
Industries. They retain their peasant
status and their dOmlciIes in the VIII
lagos In 1910 there were only forty
cities In the Russian empire with a
population Of from 5000 to 10000 !;
only four cities with a population Of
over 10000.
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 companionshfp.
Il Is q principle Of mass psychology
that group Of men win dare to do q
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 ArteI
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 ii 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
a 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
sia one finds the Artel-in the cities.
in the lumber camps, even in the
prisons. When a building is to be put
up an Artel is organized. When rail-
road is being built an ArteI is formed.
In some instances the Artel resembles
labor union, in that the arrangement
Of the terms Of employment is made
by a delegate or committee appointed
by the Artel.
Live in SquaIor and Misery.
Village life is primitive. The vii
layers live out Of the world The vii
lagos are very small. particularly in
the extreme north. The houses are
generally cheap wooden shantfes. 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 fol
cleanliness. They live and sleep il
crowded, smoky. unfinished houses
Furniture-they haven't what we cal
furniture. even what the poorest farm
tenant in America would call furnish
ings. A board for a table, shake
down for bed.
Russia's industrial life has AWAY!
been out of balance with her agricul
tural life. Notwithstanding her richie,
of raw material and her great posi-
bflitfes for successful industrial life
Russia has continued to be a natio,
with 81 per cent farmers, or s De
cent permanently engaged In industry
and 3 or 4 per cent of peasants VIII,
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 tn
Great has been unceasing In its effort
/ for the creation and development O
home manufactures. All OF the eyi
dence / have examined refutes thi
| statement. There never has been IN
security to the worker in Russia. Tn
only protection he has had has bee
his interest in the family allotment
He could go back there and be hur
CRY; in the city starvation was tn
danger
The cars put every obstacle In tn
way of education and of course thl
prevented the growth of Industry.
| In 1902 the principal industries I
Russia, representing all of the fact,
rtes throughout the empire, of whfc
the annual production was valued s
more than $1,000, were textiles, foo
/ products, animal products, wood. D.
per, chemical products, ceramics. mil
Ing, metal goods, miscellaneous an
all OF these employed only 2.259, n
workers
Led Up to 6oIshevik Problem.
This dwarfed, stunted, paralyze
side of Rnssia--its Industrial side
has direct bearing upon conditions
Russia today and is an important pa
OF the problem Of the bolshevik 90
eminent.
A nation to be economically morn,