The Lynden tribune. [volume] (Lynden, Wash.) 1908-current, 1921-06-02
COMMUNISTS
MOVE AGAIN
DOUKHOBOR COLONY IN
CANADA SAID TO BE
ABOUT TO LEAVE
FOR MEXICO
Russian Paci6cists to Leave Rich
Farms for Greater Religious
and Political Freedom.

A million dollars is about to be
spent in railway and baggage fare
to move that great Russian commu
nistic organization-the Doukhobors
from their holdings in Canada to
Mexico. 1t is reported that this
body of pacifists is about to pull out
OF its rich holdings in British Co
lumbia, travel across these United
States and take up life again in the
Truly this hard working, energetic,
thrifty people will &c source Of
wonder to the peon in the land to
which they are going; the fair-haired
toiling Slav and the swarthy, shift
less Spanish-Indian will certainly be
the basis for a wonderful comparison
In races and results.
The last time that the Doukhobor
moved they did not jump so far and
1t only cost them about $500, O00
That was when they pulled out OF
Saskatchewan and shifted over into
the Columbia river valley in British
was, you might say, their second
move, as they had originally come
from Russia in 1898 and settled tn
the wheat fields of Saskatchewan
where they had prospered in spite
of the fact that they had nothing to
start with but the raw land.
As a sect the Doukhobors have en-
listed in Russia for more than 200
years. They are peace-loving peo
pie and conscientious DIRECTORS to
fighting, holding that every one is
related to Christ and has a right to
live. 1t is easily imagined that such
q people were not at all popular in
Russia and that the cars did all
they could to eradicate them. The
Canadian government and the Ca
madam Pacific railway made it easy
for them to come to Canada and
about 10000 of them left their native
land for a country where they were
promised complete religious and po-
litical freedom.
The first year on the plains OF
northern Canada was terrible as they
did not have any shelter except from
tents and sod houses and the next
year when the women we're harnessed
to the plows in the place OF horses
which they did not have, was not
much better. But little by little they
have overcome the raw prairie and
established themselves.
They all work, even the little chill
dren, and they do not have many OF
the expenses common to other peo-
pie. They are vegetarians and any
one theorizing on whether it Is pos
sible for men to work hard and con-
tinue healthy without eating meat
can have a practical demonstration
by investigating the people OF this
colony. They do not have any
churches, or lawyers, or doctors, or
druggists, or many of the usual run
OF accessories to modern civilization
and their expenses are further cur
tailed by a complete lack Of civil gov
eminent, there being no police or
other officers to pay salaries to.
II a man does not do as he is sup
posed some one calls 1t to his at
tention and if he continues to run
amuck his offense Is called to his
attention before some OF the neigh
bors. II, and this is unusual, he still
does not observe the rights OF the
others his case is taken up before
the general assembly OF the village
The houses of these people are IN
reality villages as from 80 to 40 live
in each. They are built in the form
of a hollow square with shops and
warehouses on the north side TO
break the winter winds and the resi-
dent portion on the south. Two
women do the cooking each week, the
others doing the other community
work, weaving, spinning. drying fruit,
dressmaking and the other duties OF
the villoge.
When the settlement was first es-
tablished some OF the members were
more radical than others and were
prone to go astray. In 1902 large
number OF them started out on
pilgrimage to Winnipeg in the search
kof the Savior and to do missionary
swork among the Canadians. They
started in the dead Of winter, on
foot, many of them naked, or nearly
SO, and the suffering was intense.
However, they did not turn back
until rounded up by the mounted po-
lice. Another pilgrimage on
smaller scale was undertaken in 1904.
This radical spirit never entirely
died out and in 1916 some OF the
members gathered and burned the
leaders home. After sprinkling 1t
with oil they sat around it enjoying
the blaze, into which they had thrown
all of their clothing. This leader
was Peter Verigin, who is really the
strong man of the community. IL
was he who. in 1910, when the Ca
madam government insisted that the
Doukhobors should become citizens
and record their property, went to
British Columbia and bought 14,4oO
hoA