The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1924-02-16

@AAS@ AAAAtSo SAACy tNoCO VI liCCb III NflC
convent (strange times indeedD.
Men not unlike leather, in leather
jackets, almost ali OF them tall and
manly looking, handsome and strong
with hair curling out of their caps,
pushed deep into their necks. Each
of them had an excess of will in his
tensed muscles, in the expression
about the mouth and forehead, in
the soft and decided movements of
the 1.-THE bodies, heaps of viii and
audacity. Here we are before the
elite of the Russian people, one of
the oldest in existence. And it real
ly was good thing that they used
to wear leather, because thus the
sweat lemonade psychology could
not soften them. The whole of
their bearing said eve know we'll
what we are about, we have made
up our minds" Here is one of
them described more particu arly:
"Archip Archipov used to spend his
days in the Executive, in writing,
and the evenings about town, in the
factories, lectures, and meetings. He
used to write knitting his brows,
holding his pen almost like an axe.
In his speech he used to pronounce
the foreign words incorrectly. He
was an early riser, and in the morn
ing he crammed and crammed as
much as he could; algebra. political
economy, geography, Russian his
tory, Karl Marks Capital, he had
German grammar, and a diction-
airy of Russianized foreign words by
Gavkin.
Father Archip, on receiving the
information of his having cancer,
condemning him to awful -sufferings
and unavoidable DEATH, goes to his
son, and talks to him about it: "do
you believe it to be a wise thing
to make an end of it," he asks him.
An impressive scene follows. 81 be-
lieve I'd do it if in your place, father,
but of course you must act as you
think best" "Live, my son, go on
working, marry and bring up chill
dren." Not word more is wasted
on this occasion, both remain decided
and sure as to the next thing to be
done; the one for going on living,
the other to blow his brains out.
Everything in Pilniak's works is
tense and painful, except a lighter
passage following this stark one. A
couple appear in it. A Bolshevik
couple, strong and simple, both of
them, and Of an extreme inner hon
esty. The man Archipov speaks to
the girl called Natalia, whom he
wants to have for his wife: 81 am
always in the factory, in the Exc
cutive, quite taken up by the revo-
luton as "a Young man /
have had some love affairs, 1 have
sinned with women. But it did not
last. / have never been i'll. We
shall work together. We shall have
handsome children. I want them to
be sensible. well, you know, besides
you are better educated than am.
But l won't give up studying. We
are young and healthy" Archipov
hung his head. She consents with
no less simplicity. One might be
inclined to think that these revolu-
tionaries are afraid Of, and trying
to avoSi the passionate impulses that
burn in a couple who are about to
mate "Yes, children, that
is the chief thing, but / am no
longer a young girl. The man
shrugs his shoulders. Chief thing
is to be human" Cleanliness, reason!
"Love or no love-" she goes on
speaking, 1--WE will have an intimacy
of our own and children, and then
work, work, my love! There will be
no lies between US, no suffering!"
Archip turned silently back to his
room. The word intimacy was not
mentioned in Gavkin's dictionary of
the Russianized foreign words. Has
the author, perhaps, been trying to
idealize the Bolsheviks? 1t does not
room. The word intimacy was nat
the will to establish a new form of
life is their dominating trait.
Surely Boris Pilniak has seen
other heroes than those during the
revolution in Russia. But the Boz
sheviks are the most deliberate ones,
conquest is in them, simplicity, rea-
son, conscience, will.
I In the meantime the Russian an
archists are proclaiming a passionate