Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1922-11-10
FAR EASTERN REPUBLIC
Territory as Large as Texas And
California Combined.
CURIOUS WORKING OF SOVIET SYSTEM
Passengers of Train Are Expected to
Get Out and Help Replenish Fuel
Supply of the Locomotive-Repre'
sentaton in the Government.

Get Out and Help Replenish Fuel
Supply of the ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
sentation in the Government.
Evacuation of Vladivostok by the
Japanese leaves the Far Eastern Re-
public free for the working out of
curious political experiment unless the
present system is overthrown by ad-
vancing Red troops" says bulletin
from the Washington, D. c, head
quarters of the National Geographic
Society.
"Vladivostok's new Importance arises
because it is the port city Of the Far
Eastern Republic. This republic, a
new entity in problems of the, Far
East is only slice of vast Siberia
the southeast corner in fact-and COM
prises less than one-twentieth Of the
old Russian Empire.
1.-The full distance from the port of
the new republic to Verkhne- Uhinsk,
near Lake Baikal, where the trans
Siberian railway cuts its western
boundary, is approximately that from
New York city to Bismarck, North
Dakota. Yet that distance~is only
third of the way across Siberia. And
the Far Eastern Republic itself, in
area, is greater than Texas and Cali
fornia together.
What "Trains Running" Means.
Trains have been running from
Verkhne- Udinsk to Vladivostok, ex-
cept for recent military interruptions,
but the running requires explanation.
An American traveller tells how, at m
tervals, the train stops while the con-
ductor trudges alongside the cars
shouting, 'Tovarishchi-za drovami!
This is the call for passengers to pile
out and carry sticks from adjacent
woodpiles to the locomotive.
This extreme application Of COM
munism extends to passenger accom-
modations. Only officials of the gov
ernment can procure coaches or private
cars. The 'proletariat,' word that
has a definite meaning in the Far
Eastern Republic, may crowd into box
cars and anybody is free to pick out
corner for himself. Generally this
form of equal opportunities for all
passengers resolves itself into men,
women, and children being herded into
the cars like so many cattle.
yet the Siberian peasant is not
communist in the sense Of his Boil
shcvist reighbors in Russia. The par
ticular brand of his communism is
summed up by Junius B. Wood, in a
communication to the National Geo.
graphic Society, substantially as fol-
lows:
Where Siberians Draw The Line.
"The Siberian peasant averages loo
acres of land. He can have as much
more as he wants to cultivate. 1t is
there for the taking. What he raises
is his own. He is willing to put his
crop in the community storehouse, but
the idea Of turning it over to a gov
ernmcnt on the strength of a promise
Of clothes, tools, or a free ride on the
railroad cannot be driven into his
head. He will not accept communism
to that extent.
THE constitution Of the Far East
ern Republic may have been a hand
made document when it was presented
to the 400 members Of the first as
sembly, but it showed the changes Of
many handsome crude, others
shrewd- before it emerged.
1T guarantees rights of private
property and goods; but all land, rivers
and mineral rights belong to the state.
They are leased in lieu of taxes, and
the novelty of paying taxes is the test
of the Siberian peasants sincere sup
port of the government. To induce
colonization in Siberia, the old Tsarist
government not only remitted taxes,
but gave bonuses Of machinery, seed
grain, or cash.
Minority Representation Provided.
Every citizen IS years old, regard
less of sex, religion, politics, or pre-
vious nationality, can vote. Minority
representation is provided for in ma
tional, state, county, city and village
governments.
Five states are created on geo.
graphical lines and a sixth on entirely
new lines-the autonomous racial Bur-