Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-01-25
MANY EVIL CONDITIONS
HIT RUSS HOME LIFE
Privacy Destroyed by Crowded Condi-
Observation-Disclosures Environment
for People in General.

being made to capture these wild chill
dren and 70 put them into colonies
where they may be cared for properly.
Home Care Advocated.
zone of the things that struck me
most forcibly is the effort being made
to get away from the system of herding
children" said Mrs. Hamilton. The
influence of the home is no longer
regarded as baleful and prominent peo-
pie, such as Lenin's widow, who is head
OF the department Of education, are
urging, by their articles in Soviet news
papers, that children be raised in pri
vate homes"
The attempt to farm out the children
IN colonies to foster parents is ham
pered at present by the lack of floor
space and people complain about the
addition OF two or three more men,
bers to an already overcrowded house
hold
'Of course. we can't speak of children
without mentioning their mothers"
continued Mrs. Hamilton "a woman
VINO is a mother is highly regarded, but
the lot of all women there. although
better than it was before the revolu-
ton, is hard one. Hard work, pow
erty and constant strain age women
early and the harsh climate, hot Sum-
mers and cold Winters destroy their
beauty.
Spontaneous Laughter Missed.
There is no laughing spontaneity in
persons more than 16 years old. and
even some Of the children especially
the orphaned victims of the revolution,
are prematurely aged.
yet, in one respect. Russia leads the
world. Her women are given from four
To six weeks off with full pay before
the birth of child and similar pc
riod after its birth. Legitimate chill
dren receive the same care as legitimate
ones and both parents are compelled to
support it. each parent in proportion
TO the wage earned. In cases of divorce
the parents both continue to support
the children. the money being taken
from their wages by the government"
The ease with which a divorce may
be obtained has led TO special effort on
the part of each of the partners to q
marriage to return the others affection
Those who would quarrel are frequently
restrained by the thought that one day
they will come home and find a neat
little official notice to the effect that
they are free to choose new COM
panion.
Divorce Costs Rise.
Moreover economic pressure Is
brought to bear on those who would
make divorce habit. Each successive
divorce an individual obtains costs more
than the previous one and they soon
become prohibitive.
The bonds of matrimony are not
difficult to break. but there are other
bonds from which escape is impossible.
A crime against the government Is
vigorously punished. People live in con-
slant fear of offending and being spirit
n
no one dares to ask any questions.
In civil prisons, the only ones to
which I had access" said Mrs. Hamil-
ton, conditions are good. The prison.
ers are treated kindly. They are al
lowed to roam about freely to chat
and smoke. They sleep in wards and
when i'll, are taken care of in efficient
hospitals attached to the prison.
Short Terms for Murder.
Even murder is looked upon lightly.
The sentence Is not very severe, rarely
even as much as 10 years. One jolly
little man that / saw was in Tor seven
years for killing peasant. The Gov
ernor assured me that since it was his
first offense, and since his behavior
was good he probably would not have
to stay more than five years"
In the same prison Mrs. Hamilton
saw another man looking so miserable
that she wondered what crime could be
worse than murder. Pointing him out,
she asked:
What is he here for?"
He made vodka surreptitiously and
is IN for 10 years." was the answer.
Vodka is a government monopoly and
1T Is serious offense to make it pri-
vately and sell it.
In spite of their hard life the Rus
SLAMS have boundless faith in the fu-
ture," said Mrs. Hamilton. Many of
them assured me in hours of conversa-
ton, over glass of pale tea. that things
would all be well, that their experiment
was stu young and would eventually
be highly successful. They are ideaIists,"