The Project Gutenberg eBook of Abused Russia
This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and
most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions
whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms
of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online
at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States,
you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located
before using this eBook.
Title: Abused Russia
Author: Charles Christian Young
Release date: July 27, 2026 [eBook #79195]
Language: English
Original publication: New York: Devin-Adair Company, 1915
Other information and formats: www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/79195
Credits: Alan, Tim Lindell and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive)
*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ABUSED RUSSIA ***
ABUSED RUSSIA
[Illustration: HIS EXCELLENCY A. S. YERMELOFF
To whom the book is dedicated]
ABUSED RUSSIA
BY
DR. C. C. YOUNG
[Illustration]
NEW YORK
THE DEVIN-ADAIR COMPANY
437 FIFTH AVENUE
COPYRIGHT, 1915, BY
THE DEVIN-ADAIR COMPANY
Dedicated
TO ONE OF RUSSIA’S GREAT MEN, HIS EXCELLENCY A. S.
YERMOLOFF, LIFE MEMBER OF HIS MAJESTY’S COUNCIL,
TO WHOM I AM DEEPLY GRATEFUL FOR THE
NUMEROUS COURTESIES SHOWN ME WHILE
TRAVELING IN RUSSIA, AND FOR HIS INTEREST
IN SUBMITTING MY ARTICLES TO
HIS GRACIOUS EMPEROR,
NICHOLAS II
CONTENTS
PAGE
PREFACE 11
CHAPTER I
SOME FALSE IMPRESSIONS 17
CHAPTER II
A BIT OF EARLY RUSSIAN HISTORY 31
CHAPTER III
THE RUSSIAN TEMPERAMENT 41
CHAPTER IV
THE RELIGIOUS VIEW OF THE RUSSIAN 47
CHAPTER V
THE COSSACK 53
CHAPTER VI
THE PASSPORT SYSTEM 57
CHAPTER VII
REGARDING A NEW TREATY WITH RUSSIA 66
CHAPTER VIII
THE RUSSIAN JEWS 70
CHAPTER IX
ASIATIC POSSESSIONS 83
NOTE 101
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
FACING PAGE
HIS EXCELLENCY A. S. YERMELOFF _Frontispiece_
A RUSSIAN DANCEUSE IN THE NATIONAL COSTUME
OF A TADJICK WOMAN OF BOKHARA 17
THE CHURCH OF RESURRECTION OF PETROGRAD 18
HIS EXCELLENCY, ACTING GOVERNOR-GENERAL
GALKIN OF WEST TURKESTAN 20
CATHEDRAL OF ST. BASIL 22
THE “TZAR KOLOKOL” OR MONARCH OF BELLS,
MOSCOW 24
VILLAGE AUTHORITIES IN SOUTH RUSSIA 28
TADJICK JUSTICE OF PEACE OF BOKHARA 30
AFGHAN “ISHAN” COLLECTING MONEY IN THE
NAME OF ALLAH 32
TURCOMANS 34
HEIR TO THE THRONE OF AFGHANISTAN 36
TYPICAL PEASANTS OF GREAT RUSSIA 38
TYPICAL “WHITE” RUSSIANS 40
A LITTLE RUSSIAN GIRL-MILKMAID OF KIEV 42
IVAN IVANOVITCH 44
PREPARING FOR THE “SHACHSE WACHSE” CELEBRATION 47
THE “SHACHSE WACHSE” CELEBRATION 48
THE “KREMLIN,” MOSCOW 50
REGISTAN SQUARE IN FRONT OF MECHET SHIR DOR
IN SAMARKAND 53
KARAVAN OF AFGHANS CROSSING THE AMU DARIA
RIVER AT KERKI 57
DR. C. C. YOUNG IN KARA KUM DESERT 60
HIS MAJESTY THE KHAN OF KHIVA, WEST TURKESTAN,
CENTRAL ASIA 64
KOMRAT REAL SCHOOL 71
MR. KONSTANTIN ALEKSANDROVITCH MIMI 72
A HEBREW WOMAN OF BOKHARA 76
“GORODOVOY”--RUSSIAN POLICEMAN 78
THE “PRISTAV”--DISTRICT CHIEF OF POLICE 80
ACTING GOVERNOR KARAUL BEGI 82
THE ATACHADJA MIRACHUR 82
TWO AFGHAN SOLDIERS 84
TREACHEROUS DAGHAS OF AFGHANISTAN 84
AUTHOR’S FATHER, MR. CHRISTIAN YOUNG, SR. 86
GURI-MIR, MAUSOLEUM OF TIMUR 88
KARAKUL EWE AND LAMB 90
THE FAMOUS “ARBA” OF WEST TURKESTAN 92
THE INHABITANTS OF KHIVA, WEST TURKESTAN 94
INTERIOR OF THE SUMMER PALACE OF THE EMIR 96
A TEKIN WEDDING 98
THE MINARET, THE TOWER OF DEATH, IN OLD
BOKHARA CITY 100
ENTRANCE TO OLD FORT OF OLD PALACE 102
KHIRGIZ WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN WEST TURKESTAN 106
HIGH-CLASS, VEILED, SART WOMAN 108
PREFACE
When, in 1907, I began my travels in Russia, I was honored with a
personal letter of introduction from Theodore Roosevelt, and I take
this opportunity to express my gratitude for his invaluable assistance.
It was this letter which enabled me to make the acquaintance of former
United States Ambassador to Russia, Hon. John Riddle, through whom I
met some of Russia’s Ministers and other men of prominence in public
life, including His Excellency A. S. Yermoloff.
In 1912 it was the Hon. J. A. Tawney, of Minnesota, who prevailed on
ex-President William Taft to speak a good word for me to Mr. Guild, our
Ambassador to St. Petersburg, who was at the time on a visit to the
United States. In 1913, I was again put under great obligations to Mr.
Tawney for securing for me a personal letter from His Royal Highness
the Duke of Connaught, Governor General of Canada, to Lord Buchanan,
the British Ambassador in St. Petersburg, to whom I owe a debt of
thanks for the many kindnesses extended me.
The most courteous Morris Sheppard, United States Senator from Texas,
interested President Wilson in behalf of my last Central Asiatic
expedition, so that when I came to St. Petersburg the beginning of last
year, I was most warmly received by our _chargé d’affaires_, Mr. Wilson.
My associate, Mr. Joseph Simonson, of Middlewater, Texas, a warm
friend of Dr. Osborne, our well-known Assistant Secretary of State,
prompted the latter to introduce me to the Russian Ambassador, Mr.
Bakhmeteff, who wrote a letter in my behalf to the Russian Minister
of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Sazonoff, for which I am more than thankful.
To Russia’s great railway Minister, Mr. Ruchloff, who saw fit to give
me an annual pass over every railway in the empire during 1912, 1913
and 1914, I owe no small debt of gratitude. Never in my life will I
forget the exceptional courtesy shown me by Russia’s Secretary of
War, General Suchomlinoff, who received me in his home, and honored
me with a personal letter to the Military Governor General of West
Turkestan, Mr. Samsonoff, to whom I also owe my appreciation. I am
obligated for numerous favors received from the Russian Embassy at
New Bokhara, Khanate of Bokhara, West Turkestan, Central Asia, who had
received special instructions about my visit to the northern border
of Afghanistan from Mr. Klem, Director of the Asiatic Division of the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Dr. Connor, until very recently United
States Consul to St. Petersburg, furnished me with most of the data in
reference to certain points dealing with our treaty with Russia.
For some of the facts contained in this book, I have made reference to
the Russian historians Kostomaroff, Karamzim and Ivanoff.
Mr. B. P. Egert, of St. Petersburg, author of the book “The Conflict
Between the United States and Russia,” placed me under great
obligations by his kindness. I have found the books of D. M. Lagofet, a
member of the Russian Imperial Geographical Society, of great help, as
also those of the English writer, Maurice Baring.
DR. C. C. YOUNG.
REFERENCES
The articles to which I would like to refer the reader are as follows:
“Some Foreigners from Oversea,” _Harper’s Magazine_, February, 1908.
“Why Russia is Misunderstood,” _Taylor & Trotwood Magazine_, November,
1908.
“Russia Waking up Under Third Douma,” New York _Times_, August 16,
1908.
“Is Russia Ripe for a Constitutional Form of Government?” Dallas
(Texas) _Morning News_, Sunday Magazine Edition, September 26, October
3, October 10 and October 17, 1909.
“A Glimpse into the Heart of New Russia,” Chicago Sunday _Tribune_,
September 25, 1910.
“West Turkestan and Bokhara,” New York _Times_, Sunday, January 18,
1914.
Chicago Sunday _Tribune_, August 21, 1910.
Columbus (Ohio) Evening _Despatch_, February 3, 1911.
St. Louis Post _Despatch_, September 10, 1911.
New York _Herald_, September 10, 1911.
_Literary Digest_, September 30, 1911.
New York _Herald_, April 20, 1913.
_The Journal of Heredity_ (Washington, D. C.), October, 1914.
_The Field_, Illustrated, November, 1914, etc., etc.
[Illustration: A RUSSIAN DANCEUSE IN THE NATIONAL COSTUME OF A TADJICK
WOMAN OF BOKHARA]
ABUSED RUSSIA
CHAPTER I
SOME FALSE IMPRESSIONS
In my travels over European and Asiatic Russia, I have often been asked
by apparently intelligent Russian people whether, in view of the Indian
and negro admixture, it will ever be possible to civilize the American
masses. My own sister anxiously asked me what was the ratio of white
people in such Indian cities as New York and Chicago. I couldn’t help
laughing at such questions, and often answered by telling my curious
Russian friends that there are practically only Indians in this country
of expectation and promise--white Indians!
Further discussion of American topics often brought out the fact that
having learned that mob violence occurred in the United States and that
negroes were burned at stake, my friends came to the conclusion that a
people displaying such barbarism could only be the progeny of inferior
Indian and negro admixture. For this reason, they believed one could
find white people only in certain parts of the country and that yellow
or swarthy hybrids filled the other sections.
[Illustration: THE CHURCH OF RESURRECTION OF PETROGRAD
Built on the spot where Alexander II was killed]
On one occasion a Russian Countess, who lived in the interior of
one of the Black Belt provinces, and had a national reputation as
a philanthropist and social worker, hotly and rudely retorted to a
remark of mine, that the lynchings of the United States ought to be
stopped by the well-drilled soldiers of Europe, that the President
ought to be executed for not exercising his power to stop these
inhuman and outrageous death penalties, which proved conclusively
that the Americans were not entitled to be called a civilized people.
It did require some explanation indeed to convince her that our
President could hardly be held responsible for mob violence, that it
was discountenanced by all good American citizens as well as by the
major portion of the press. To further free the mind of the Countess
from these erroneous impressions, I reminded her that even in her
own Russia men have been known to take the law into their own hands
under pressure of circumstances, and cited a case, then in the public
eye, of a certain Count of Crimea who was killed by his nephew for
having compromised the wife of the latter, and that a jury of twelve
representative Russian gentlemen adjudged the culprit “not guilty,”
and that, too, when the Count had been one of Russia’s richest and
most influential noblemen, and a member of the Emperor’s Council.
But the Countess would not be wholly persuaded. “If your President,”
she persisted, “should not be held accountable for these horrible
lynchings--of which we read pages and pages--why do you Americans hold
our gracious Emperor responsible for the deeds of criminals--deeds
which often make us blush for our country--and this when your own
United States seem to have their share of the lawless and unrestrained!”
“Is not the excuse for such degeneracy greater with the Russians,”
continued she, “since we have been the slaves of the barbarous
Mongol-Tartars for three hundred years and it has been our hard lot
to have had to assume the responsibility of educating fifty-three
millions of peasants, slaves for three hundred years, and who were
only liberated about the time your negroes became free men? Then, too,
some of our best people had become hybridized by the injection of the
dreadful Mongolian Tartar blood, the demoralizing influence of which
can be only likened to the awful effect of wolf blood when introduced
into a Scotch collie. To this day still applies the French proverb
‘_Gratez le russe et vous trouvez le tartar_’ (Scratch the skin of the
Russian and you will find the Tartar).”
Of a similar trend was the opinion of Prince Khilkoff, who, in order to
learn railroading, spent twelve years in America. “Instead of having
practically every race on earth to contend with,” he had stated, “your
people are rather homogeneous. They have not had to fight Asiatic
hordes of Mongols and Malays for nearly a thousand years. They are not
shut off from the world as we are by the jealousy of Europe, which has
denied us an outlet. We have no access to the Atlantic Ocean--and that
is practically true of the Pacific, and little can be gained by sailing
on the frozen Arctic seas. Why do your people,” he asked, “insult our
Emperor, who is the kindest-hearted man in the world, and who suffers
more than any other Russian when mob law becomes rampant in certain
communities? Moreover,” the Prince continued, “having been the
Minister of Railways during the Japanese-Russian war, and having had
_entrée_ into the court of our ruler, I know how he suffered because
the war with Japan could not be averted. The senseless attacks made
upon him by the all-powerful Semitic newspapers in the United States
were certainly uncalled for, and what especially pained me was the fact
that these papers were able to turn the entire country against our
government and our nation, all of which we resented and which cost your
people millions in loss of trade.”
[Illustration: HIS EXCELLENCY ACTING GOVERNOR-GENERAL GALKIN OF WEST
TURKESTAN]
Such, then, are some of the ideas current in Russia concerning America
and Americans. Are the conceptions of Russia and the Russians given
credence in the United States as true or just?
To the American who has made no special study of Russian conditions,
Russia is a country without a summer, with frozen landscapes, midnight
sun, and everywhere a covering of snow. He pictures the sleigh with
its troika as the mode of transportation, the wolves chasing behind;
buildings in wild and gaudy colors, terminating in bulb-like steeples,
resembling Mohammedan mechets; private houses, barbarously decorated
inside and out. The people of Russia, in his mind, are divided into
several highly dramatic types: diplomats hiding behind tapestry to hear
the state secrets of unsuspecting foreigners, crooked generals who
can be bribed for a dollar, gendarmes and Nihilists, poor, starving
peasants, who are always being knutted, robbed by the police or the
Russian priests, cigarette-smoking Nihilist princesses, who have
sacrificed themselves to secure liberty for the peasants. And if his
mind goes beyond this, the American layman fills in the picture with
gendarmes of the Ochrana constantly plotting against peaceful citizens
and arranging for their deportation to Siberia, without giving them
even a trial; with dreaded Cossacks, who, in conjunction with the
police, delight in chopping Jews to pieces or knocking them senseless
with knotted wire whips called “knuts”; with brilliantly dressed
Tartars, swooping down upon the people and gouging out their eyes. And
these divers classes are supposed to be ruled by a bloodthirsty Tzar,
who lives somewhere in dreaded Russia, and who is in perpetual fear of
being transported to another sphere by way of a Nihilistic bomb.
[Illustration: CATHEDRAL OF ST. BASIL
Built in 1554 by Tzar Ivan IV, and at that time said to have been the
most beautiful in the world]
These are some of the mistaken impressions of Russia prevailing in
this country. To trace their origin, we must bear in mind that all
peoples have a love of the sensational and will more readily accept
as true a highly colored tale of adventure than a calm, dispassionate
statement of facts. Then, too, a certain element of the press delights
in pandering to the appetite for the marvelous.
Some six years ago, I had an experience which vividly illustrated this
point. I was in Odessa at the time, and that city was then considered
one of the quietest in Europe. I remember being amused by reading
in the Paris edition of the New York _Herald_ an Associated Press
despatch announcing another dreadful Jewish massacre in that city.
On the night of the supposed massacre, I had been with a party of
friends, motoring through Odessa, until three o’clock in the morning,
and we had been aware of no disturbance of any kind, nor saw nor heard
anything that might have been construed as a commotion. When, later,
we showed the paper to Governor Tolmatchoff, he laughingly remarked
that if we stayed long enough in Odessa, we would have a chance to read
more such despatches, as they were being sent to New York from time
to time, and from there cabled back to Paris, by a certain class of
anarchistically inclined Hebrews, to stir up the minds of the better
class of their own people and of the Gentiles, and open a channel of
revenue, supposedly for the cause of the downtrodden Jews. The means so
obtained, the Governor told us, seldom reached the people for whom they
were intended, and generally went to further the ends of the anarchists
and revolutionists and, he laughingly concluded, to contradict these
false reports would consume the entire Russian budget!
Practically everything written on the subject frightfully exaggerates
the worst conditions of Russia and projects those false impressions
into intelligent American thought. Even Tolstoy, the most popular
Russian author in America, has not helped the American people to get an
unbiased view of the Russians, and many there are who do not realize
that the social evils he so ably depicts in his books are universal
maladies--alike in one way or another in all countries.
[Illustration: THE “TZAR KOLOKOL” OR MONARCH OF BELLS, MOSCOW
Its weight is 440,000 pounds. It is 20 feet in height and 60 feet in
circumference. The value of the metal in the bell is estimated at
$2,000,000. Originally it hung in a tower, which was burned in 1737,
and now it lies at the foot of the “Tower of Veliky,” built in 1600 by
Ivan the Terrible]
The truth of the situation was well expressed by the English girl who
said she greatly preferred English stories of Russia to Russian stories
because the Russian accounts lacked local color, while the English
tales of Russia were so much more Russian.
Careful observers have noticed that in the past twenty years, England,
Germany and France have tried in every possible way to influence
our people in favor of their countries. Their ambassadors delivered
numerous lectures, never missed a national convention, and inspired
many newspaper and magazine articles to turn the trend of public
opinion in the United States their way. We cannot say the Russian
representatives made many efforts to defend their country, nor have
Russian writers done even as much.
It seems deplorable that the Russian Department of Foreign Affairs has
not always exercised the best judgment in the selection of its consuls,
and has sent men to represent her here whom it would have been best not
to introduce to the American public. This fact has been brought to the
attention of the chief officials, but since the United States showed
a hostile attitude toward Russia in the Japanese war, and in various
other ways have expressed their unfriendliness, it seemed to them that
Russia’s efforts to cope with the situation here were futile, and
even should she send her most capable diplomats to America, the press
would hear no word in her defense, thanks mostly to a certain hostile
Hebrew influence. Only this year, one of the principal directors of
the Ministry told me that he was assured by some of the men who had in
the past represented the Department in America, that nobody could say
anything in favor of Russia on account of the attitude of the press. I
did not hesitate to produce numerous articles, written by my friends
and myself, and published by some of the largest newspapers in the
country in defense of Russia, and proved that some of the consuls had
apparently tried to hide their criminal inactivity by making false
statements.
It is only fair, however, to mention the fact that at present Russia
is very fortunate in having such representatives at Washington as Mr.
Bakhmeteff and Mr. Scherbatskoi. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is
to be congratulated not only for this wise selection, but for that
of Mr. Oustinoff, as consul general at New York, and for that of his
able assistant, the courteous Mr. de Routsky. Through these worthy
gentlemen, it seems Russia is at last bestirring herself and trying to
make an effort to explain to us her many and intricate problems, and to
right the wrong beliefs and prejudices fostered in the American mind by
misrepresentations and falsehoods.
It would be greatly to Russia’s benefit should she be able to deflect
the stream of travel over the eastern continent, and obtain for
herself the enormous amounts spent annually by American tourists to
see countries no more interesting than her own. To one who knows
Russia, it is pleasant to recall some typical country scene. The
level land divided into narrow strips, sown with barley, rye, wheat,
corn and flax, presents a veritable checkerboard appearance, here
and there interspersed with low-housed villages. In southern Russia,
these generally consist of squat one-story adobe houses, gorgeously
painted in all the shades of blue, vermilion, red and yellow, and
often pure white, while in northern Russia, the dwellings are quite
presentable frame houses. In the center of the hamlet is the church
with its five or more bulb-shaped cupolas crowned with the Greek
Catholic cross resting on the crescent, and this edifice, like the
“isbas” or peasant huts, is beautifully decorated in and outside. Near
the church stand the two most pretentious houses of the village, one
for the school-teacher, the other for the priest of the “derevnia,”
as the village is termed. Beyond, is the laundry place for the
inhabitants. Here the women sing joyously as they work. Close by is
the bathing place, a shallow pool in the river, where with the utter
unselfconsciousness of children, men and women sometimes bathe together
in Nature’s costume. And over all, hovers the beautiful calm--the peace
which comes to minds innocent of the thousand conflicting, complicating
circumstances of city life. Shakespeare could have spoken as truly of
this country as he did of the Forest of Arden, when he made Duke Senior
say,
“Hath not old custom made this life more sweet
Than that of painted pomp?
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
And this life exempt from public haunt,
Finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks,
Sermons in stones, and good in everything.”
Russia has thousands upon thousands of such hamlets, yet what a totally
different picture of her peasant life is maliciously projected into the
minds of those unacquainted with her!
[Illustration: VILLAGE AUTHORITIES IN SOUTH RUSSIA
From left to right: (1) The “starosta,” or village elder. (2) Village
secretary. (3) Village school teacher. (4) The “Uriadnick,” or chief of
village police. (5) The “Schits,” or town crier. Only the “Uriadnick”
is a full-blooded Russian Slav. The others are of Teutonic origin]
No less applicable to Russia than to any other nation is the truism
that the physical characteristics of a country more than anything else
determine the occupation and character of its inhabitants. The two
most important features of Russia in this respect are its uniformity
of surface and its absence of sea front free from ice. These two
characteristics present the keynote to the history of the Russian
nation, and to the character of the Russian people. The uniformity of
surface and the similarity of surroundings have always given impulse to
immigration and expansion.
From the point of view of production, Russia may be divided into four
zones of uneven extent: (1) the great forests of the north; (2) the
black land of the central provinces; (3) the zone of arable steppes;
(4) the deserts of the south and southeast. The largest of these belts
is that of the forests, which extends from the center of Russia to the
frozen marshes of the north. The so-called “chernoziem” or black belt
stretches from the banks of the river Prut to the Black Sea and is a
region of wonderful fertility, and forms a wheat-growing section larger
by one-third than the State of Texas. It was from this very part of
the country that Athens once drew her grain supply. Southeast of this
great section is the region of the arable steppes, the prairie home
of the Cossack or Russian soldier cowboy, and beyond, lie the great
deserts of West Turkestan.
Owing to the level character of the country, the climate of Russia
presents great contrasts in temperature. In winter the land is
ice-bound from the Arctic more or less to the Black Sea, and in summer,
in certain parts, it is too hot to go about in the day-time. Such,
then, is the plain of Russia, “mountain begirdled,” as the Tartar puts
it; the great plain into which have poured Novgorodians, Laps, Finns,
Esthonians, Letts, Lithuanians, Votishs, Tartars, Poles, Kalmucks,
Armenians, Circassians, Georgians, Mongolians and countless others; the
plain which comprises one-seventh of the world’s area and is the home
of a hundred and eighty million souls.
[Illustration: TADJICK JUSTICE OF PEACE OF BOKHARA, DECORATED WITH
MEDALS BY RUSSIAN GOVERNOR]
CHAPTER II
A BIT OF EARLY RUSSIAN HISTORY
The history of Russia is the history of so many diverse races and
governments that it is impossible here even to touch upon many events
of the greatest import. Of two phases of Russian history, however, we
must get a glimpse in order to understand her problems: first, of the
ancient Republic of Novgorod, and, second, of Russia’s long struggle
for the supremacy of the white race.
Over a thousand years ago, when the great Teutonic and Anglo-Saxon
races were still barbarians, there existed in northern Russia a
wonderful republic, with a constitution that causes men of modern
times to marvel, a constitution that could have been formed only by a
people supersaturated with the spirit of liberty and dominated by an
unshakable belief in the equality of mankind. This wonderful republic
was known as Novgorod. It was governed by the Vietche (Congress)
elected by the people, which, in turn, elected its head, or “Posadnik.”
This chief was looked upon as a servant of the people amenable to the
constitution of the republic.
The people of this ancient free country were of Scythian origin, from
whom all Slavic races have descended, and who migrated from some
Asiatic region into eastern Europe about twenty-four hundred years ago.
The inhabitants of Novgorod showed wonderful commercial tendencies,
their trading extending into Greece, Persia, and even the East Indies.
The republic was so rich and powerful that all the nations around it
became subservient to it, until eventually there was coined a phrase,
“Who dares to oppose God and the Mighty Novgorod!” The fabulous
wealth of this mighty republic became known to the Mongolians, who
made repeated attempts to overrun Novgorod. In time the Novgorodians
became surrounded by Asiatics of Mongolian origin, such as Finns,
Khozars, Tartars, and others, and instead of being able to follow
their commercial and agricultural pursuits, they were forced to defend
themselves against the hordes pouring down upon them from Asia.
[Illustration: AFGHAN “ISHAN” COLLECTING MONEY IN THE NAME OF ALLAH
Taken at Samarkand. Note in background Sarts, Tadjicks and Uzbecks all
wearing the “chalma”]
As to-day, so then the Aryans of western Europe could not see the
danger threatening the white race, and instead of banding with the
Novgorodians and helping them drive the Mongolians back to the place
from which they had come, they too made war upon them. When, in the
ninth century, the Novgorodians received as their grand prince, Rurik,
a descendant of the Variags (forefathers of the Scandinavians), it was
on condition that he be amenable to the constitution of Novgorod. But
finally, the downfall of that wonderful Republic came, the Tartars fell
upon the land like wolves upon prey. At length there was nothing left
of the mighty Novgorod, whose power had been likened unto that of the
Almighty. The divided sovereignties were again and again overrun by the
Tartars, who destroyed everything and carried back with them thousands
of Russian women to become inmates of their harems. Eventually, worn
out by the long struggle with the Tartars, weakened by internal
dissensions, and depleted by a plague, the republic of the people, for
the people and by the people disappeared from the earth.
Three hundred years of Tartar yoke brought to Russia even a worse
calamity than the downfall of the republic--namely, the degradation of
the Russian character. The famous Tartar, Genghis Khan, appeared with
his vast armies, and sweeping all before him, subjected Russia to the
horrors of the darkest forms of slavery. It was not until the reign
of Catherine II, in 1783, that the last Tartar, Khan Shagin Gherei,
was deposed. That year, which saw the birth of the American nation,
found Russia getting rid of the last of the merciless invaders. No
people have ever been compelled to suffer the soul-racking tortures
and cruelties, the continual plunder and pillage, that fell to the
lot of the Russian people. The tyranny which the Tartars visited upon
them during this three-hundred-year period justified all efforts on
the part of the Russians to escape from it. Infamy no longer brought
shame in its train, and punishment was no longer the accompaniment
of crime. Honor disappeared, and only fear--great, overmastering
fear--held the Russians in its grip, brutalizing the natures of all.
The Tartar crushed every bit of pride from the haughty Russian heart,
vice and avarice became the leading characteristics of the nation, and
might became stronger than right. There was danger for travelers on
the roads, and families had no security against the desecration of
their homes. Tartars destroyed all the cities, first pillaging and then
burning them.
[Illustration: TURCOMANS
The most dreaded of robbers of the Kara Kum Desert, Transcaspia,
Central Asia. After the terrible battle with the Russians at Geok-Tepe,
they were practically subdued. They are related to the Tartars]
Russian history shows that prior to the Tartar invasion the Russians
were very thrifty, generous, law-abiding citizens, and that they
possessed, to a high degree, gentle and mild characteristics. When
other European countries indulged in all forms of tortures and inhuman
barbarities in punishment of political or religious offenders, it
was an unknown thing to them to mutilate or torture even the worst
criminal, political or otherwise. In 1113, Vladimir Monomachus
abolished capital punishment, saying, “Put not even an enemy to death,
for the soul of a Christian is sacred.” It was not again instituted
until a long time after the Tartar conquest, when the no less noble
Dimitri Donskoi (who administered a crushing blow to the Tartars
in 1380) was compelled to reinstate it owing to the then changed
disposition of the Russian people.
To the Russians of the early eleventh century blows were unknown even
in the heat of a quarrel. It was the Tartar yoke that was responsible
for the introduction of corporal punishment. The Tartars, too,
introduced the practice of branding a culprit, and during the reign
of Vassili the Blind flogging with the knut was practiced, and even
inflicted upon persons of noble station. Thus the Tartar brought about
the “falling from its high estate” of the Russian character, and this
corruption was consummated by the infiltration of Mongolian blood.
I often wonder what would be the result if the fourteen million negroes
living in the United States to-day were unqualifiedly permitted to
intermarry with the white people, and if to that were added the
Mongolian and Malay strains, which predominate in the Indians,
Mexicans, Filipinos and Latin Americans. It is certain that it would
spell the end of the white race in America, for history supports the
assertion that intermarriage of a superior with an inferior race has
always resulted in the reduction of the superior to the level of the
inferior. Not in a single instance has the inferior race been elevated
one iota. We have, for example, Spain, who early adopted in all her
colonies the policy of racial intermarriage. And where is Spain to-day?
In this same way, some liberty-loving Russians, excellent types
of the Aryan race, were gradually changed into hybrids with despotic
tendencies. Fortunately, the ruling class was mostly affected, the
peasants in general retaining their white skins, blond hair and
blue eyes. Think how the descendants of those Novgorodians must
have degenerated to submit to a quasi-aristocrat such as the stern
half-Tartar, Boris Godunov, brother-in-law of the weak Tzar Feodor,
son of Ivan the Terrible, making serfs and slaves of them, when in the
days of Novgorod all men were considered equal. Let us hope this almost
indelible imprint in the Russian trait of character will be obliterated
by time, for even to-day, to a slight extent, the debasing strain of
the barbarous Mongol makes itself evident.
[Illustration: HEIR TO THE THRONE OF AFGHANISTAN
Of Turco-Mongolian origin]
From the background of later Russian history three figures stand out
pre-eminently--Peter the Great, Katherine the Great, and Alexander
II. It is said that Peter the Great did not merely develop Russia--he
created Russia! This statement is largely true, for it is in great
measure owing to his shrewd foresight, his almost superhuman energy,
and his dogged persistence, in both military and constructive
undertakings, that Russia owes her place among the nations. Peter
obtained for Russia sea course upon the Baltic, he founded St.
Petersburg, and there established a new national capital where before
had been only a swampy marsh, he built a navy; he founded schools, he
forced upon his subjects the civilization of western Europe.
The reign of Katherine the Great, from 1762 to 1796, was likewise full
of important movements and developments for the strengthening of the
Russian Empire. During her reign large territories were acquired in the
east from the Tartars and the Turks and all the Polish territory east
of the Bug and Niemen Rivers was gained. Katherine was also a patron of
literature, art and science. She gave the large towns charters, with
the right to choose mayors and magistrates, and formed the nobles of
such provinces into corporate bodies, with the right to elect judges
and various minor offices. She even made an attempt to establish a
national parliament. Katherine corresponded with Voltaire, and he had a
great admiration for the quality of her mind. Speaking of her, he said,
“Light comes now from the North.”
[Illustration: TYPICAL PEASANTS OF GREAT RUSSIA
Note shoes made of birch bark]
The reign of Alexander II was a time of great forward strides in the
life of Russia. The working of coal beds and oil wells was encouraged,
and railroad and telegraph lines were greatly extended. But the
greatest achievement of the reign of Alexander was the emancipation
in 1861 of all the serfs in the empire, comprising some fifty-three
million souls, then almost half of the entire population; and the
establishment of a system by which the serfs in the country districts
could acquire the lands that they cultivated. After the war with
Turkey, the Emperor formed still larger designs for the improvement of
conditions within the empire. There is little doubt he would have made
a great change for the better had he been permitted to carry out his
plans. But during his reign, there was formed a class of discontented
theorists, the Nihilists, who became a dangerous element in Russia.
They were too hot-headed to give Alexander time to carry out the
plans he so earnestly desired for the good of the people, and they
assassinated him in March, 1881. He was succeeded by his son, Alexander
III, father of the present Tzar.
The genuine Russians are divided into three classes: Great Russia,
with a population of forty millions, occupying the northern section
of European Russia; White Russia, occupying the province of Mogilev,
Vitepsk, Grodno and Minsk; and Little Russia, in the southern part of
the country. The Great and the White Russians strikingly resemble the
Scandinavians. They are of colossal stature, and have blond hair and
blue eyes, excepting a small proportion where the Tartar influence has
crept in. Then the yellow pigment becomes dominant, the hair straight,
coarse and black, and the cheekbones quite prominent. The White
Russians are probably the least contaminated, but there are only from
three to four millions of them.
[Illustration: TYPICAL “WHITE” RUSSIANS]
CHAPTER III
THE RUSSIAN TEMPERAMENT
The Russian presents what would seem to an American peculiarly diverse
traits. Generally, he is peaceable, malleable and docile, has great
capacity for assimilation and imitation, but lacks initiative and
will power. A Russian is very sympathetic, and often finds it hard
to control his tears. Sometimes a whole group of men will be found
together crying over the troubles that might have befallen one of their
number, such as the death of a friend or the loss of an animal by theft
or death, a crop failure, or some similar misfortune. Russians dearly
love music and dancing. The most popular folk song is “Down on Mother
Volga.” The most popular folk dance is the Cossack Dance, where men and
women whirl about by themselves, and it is a most wild and inspiring
sight indeed.
Though on the whole peasants are very dirty, yet every village has its
public bath house, frequented every week even during the winter time,
and in the summer bathing is the great sport of the peasant.
In no country in the world are the women more carefully brought up
than in Russia. Of course, I refer to the intelligent classes. As for
the peasants, they grow up exactly as the peasants of the European
countries, excepting that they are probably better Christians. And it
is the fear of God that makes the percentage of virtuous women among
them exceptionally high. Weddings and Easters are the chief fiestas
in the life of the peasant. A wedding often lasts for two weeks,
every participant consuming a great deal of vodka. It is considered
a shame to leave a wedding sober. In fact, a peasant drinks when he
has sorrow, and he drinks when he has joy; he drinks when he has a
good crop, and drinks when he has a poor crop to drown his sorrow; he
drinks when there is a death or a birth in the family; he drinks at a
wedding, a baptism, an engagement; at the closing of a trade, and if
he can find no other reason, he will drink to the saints and to the
health of our Saviour Himself. I am not a teetotaler, but here say that
the ruination of the Russian peasant does not lie in his not enjoying
the liberties of a republican form of government, for which he is at
present not ready, nor in the bleeding to which he has been subjected
for years by a certain class of Hebrews, but vodka is his ruin, and
poor as the peasant is, about $1,000,000,000 are paid annually for this
poison. While it is realized that under the present system the Russian
budget would be wiped out if the government stopped the manufacture
and sale of vodka, it seems that some other way could be found for
the government to support its huge army, so necessary to hold the
conflicting elements of that vast empire together, and to protect life
and property. Great efforts are now being made in Russia to abolish
the drink evil, thanks to the personal interest of the Emperor in the
matter. We know how difficult is the solution of the problem in this
country, and we must give Russia time for the abolition of alcohol.
[Illustration: A LITTLE RUSSIAN GIRL-MILKMAID OF KIEV
She carries all her belongings with her and brings fresh milk from the
country to the people in Kiev]
The Russians are the most hospitable people in the world. They never
refuse a beggar alms. It is no more possible to escape the beggars of
Russia than death itself. When entering churches, business places, or
walking in the streets, you are trailed by a score of beggars. When
you reproach Russian officials for permitting this, they tell you
Russia is a free country, and any one may beg who wishes.
The Russian is essentially a democrat, but with a very loose plan
on how to maintain his democracy. He has a perverted conception of
what comprises personal liberty, and a queer idea of what constitutes
decency, although his family relations are doubtless on firmer grounds
than the American. A hotel in Russia where one cannot live for months
or years with a woman who is not his wife is unknown, notwithstanding
the fact that the passport is always certain proof to the proprietor
of a couple’s living together illegally. I have often wondered why
the government permits such indecency, but it seems to be a custom.
Of course, a large percentage of Russian women disapprove of this. A
certain class in Russian society, pretending to be progressives, was
incensed at the time the Russian writer, Maxim Gorki, was ousted from
one of New York’s respectable hotels, since the proprietor did not
fancy Gorki’s living there with his soul mate.
[Illustration: IVAN IVANOVITCH
Smoking a cigarette; his friend, and barefooted wife, all “taking it
easy,” as is generally the case with the peasants. Those of South and
Central Russia are far more active than the peasants of North Russia]
That we Americans should enforce prohibition, clean out our
red-light districts, arrest drunken men and women, see to it that
the motion pictures are not demoralizing, make it an offense for a
man to live with a woman unless he is married to her, punish people
trafficking in white slavery, stop the betting on horse races,
and fine Sabbath breakers, causes some educated Russians who have
traveled in the United States to return and speak of us as tyrannical
disciplinarians. Few Russians understand that political liberty
cannot exist without discipline, even if it should involve what some
consider to be a sacrifice of individual liberty. Until Russians come
to understand the wisdom of self-restraint, they can never be governed
otherwise than by the hand of a military autocrat. In my opinion, this
must continue for some years to come; otherwise Russia may suffer
not unlike Mexico, although I do not intend to convey the impression
that the open-hearted, faithful Russian has any of the despicable,
treacherous characteristics of the Mexican.
When a section of the United States demanded autonomy, the government
put down the rebellion by a long, bloody war. In Russia to-day some of
the Finns, Tartars, Armenians, Gruzins, Sarts, Kalmicks and Khirgis,
and even a few Little Russians think they can govern themselves and
establish a nation for themselves, and they resent the idea of the
government interfering with the carrying on of their propaganda. If the
Douma in Russia were independent of a certain conservative class, and
of the Tzar, and of the army, it would likely vote the disintegration
of Russia to-morrow. Until the Russians have some idea of what
self-government means, they need a Diaz as much as Mexico does, instead
of a too kind-hearted man like the Tzar. It is astonishing to note the
ignorance of a certain race which has in the past years represented the
Emperor as a tyrant.
[Illustration: PREPARING FOR THE “SHACHSE WACHSE” CELEBRATION
The pious Sheit Mohammedans beat their heads and backs with chains
until all sensation is gone and the flesh looks like black-and-blue
pulp. They then stick knives into the mutilated parts of their bodies
until they fall exhausted from hemorrhages ensuing, when they are
picked up and carried into the Sacred Bath Houses. (This photograph was
taken at Baku, Caucasus.)]
CHAPTER IV
THE RELIGIOUS VIEW OF THE RUSSIAN
In spite of prevailing opinions to the contrary, no people show more
religious tolerance than the Russians. In no other country would such
sects be allowed to flourish as the Christian Skoptsi, who mutilate
themselves and their children in order to go to heaven; nor the
Duchobortsi, with whom Canada knows not what to do. The same is true
of the Sheit Mohammedan sect, who beat their bodies blue with chains
and thrust knives into themselves, even on the streets where every one
must see them. This so-called “Schachse Wachse” would positively not be
tolerated in any other civilized country on the globe. Imagine, in the
streets of a big city, where every one must pass, a Moslem spreading
his prayer rug and, his face turned to Mecca, beating the ground with
his forehead, shrieking weird monosyllables in Arabic, asking Allah
to stand by those of the true faith. Of the hundreds of nationalities
in Russia, each appears robed in its own fantastic costume. Should a
person appear upon our streets in some such garb, he would be stoned
by the newsboys, as certain Greek Catholic priests learned to their
astonishment. Yet a Russian never molests anybody, and shows great
reverence for all worshippers of God, no matter how or where. To say
that he hates the Jew because of his faith is an abominable lie.
[Illustration: THE “SHACHSE WACHSE” CELEBRATION
The less pious Sheits, who have not cut themselves so badly, giving the
photographer a chance. The “Shachse Wachse” celebration is rarely ever
permitted to be photographed. (Taken at Baku, Caucasus)]
The Greek Catholic clergy (Russian included) is not governed by one
head, as is the case with the Roman Catholic clergy, but is ruled
by several patriarchs, one of whom now lives in Constantinople, the
other in Antioch, in Syria, the third in Jerusalem, and the fourth in
Alexandria, and up to the time of Peter the Great, there also was a
Russian patriarch. All questions of either dogma or order are decided
by them working together. The moral influence of the patriarchs over
the religious Russian people has always been great, and at times the
patriarch has been a more powerful man than the Emperor. Previous to
the reign of Peter the Great, all laws had to have the signature of the
Emperor and of the patriarch. It happened that the patriarch of Moscow
during Peter’s sovereignty was not so strong a man as his predecessors,
and Peter purposely spoke of him in derision as a man who imbibed
too freely. As Peter did not like the idea of a divine interfering
with his temporal power, he stopped the election of a new, after the
death of the last patriarch of Moscow, and vested the power in a
conclave of bishops constituting the Holy Synod. Since that time the
Synod is presided over by a bishop, who happens to be the Metropolitan
of Petrograd. When a new rule is created by the Holy Synod, it is
submitted to the procurator, a kind of hard-worked hyphen between the
state and the Church, who, in turn, submits it to the Emperor, to
be approved, with alterations or without. For reasons of state, the
Emperor has a right to unfrock, through the Synod, any bishop guilty of
treason. In the history of Russia, this has happened but once.
Like the English king, the Emperor has the right to appoint bishops to
this or that province or city, but not as an ecclesiastic dignitary,
for he cannot consecrate bishops nor ordain priests. So much is the
Russian Church like the old Episcopal Church of England that Episcopal
ministers and bishops may take part in the divine services in the
Russian cathedrals, and are admitted behind the altar screen, where
only priests in vestment may stand.
Like the Roman Church, the Russian Church has seven sacraments. Little
and Big Lent are obligatory, and for forty days no meat or milk is
allowed, though fish, lobsters, oysters and clams may be eaten. The
priests must marry, except monks, before they are consecrated, but can
marry only once, and once married a priest can never become a bishop,
unless as a widower he takes the monastic vows. Then the degree of
Archimandrite is conferred upon him. After serving in that capacity he
may be consecrated a bishop.
The liturgy is very similar to that of the Roman Catholic Church, but
instead of Latin being used, they confine themselves for the most
part to the old Slavic and Greek tongues. From the former is derived
the language of the Russians, Poles, Bulgarians, Servians, Croatians,
Dalmatians and Bohemians.
[Illustration: THE “KREMLIN,” MOSCOW
A triangle two miles in perimeter, located in center of the city.
Within its boundaries are palaces, churches, an arsenal and museums.
The Old Kremlin was partially destroyed in 1812 and rebuilt during the
reign of Nicholas I]
The worshipping of ikons, as is the case with Roman Catholics in
Poland, is greatly in vogue, and, strange to say, the touching of
the ground with the forehead while kneeling reminds one of similar
Mohammedan salaams, the difference being that the Mussulmans have
absolutely no articles of worship in their temples, nor will they
tolerate the paintings of saints or even of Mohammed himself. It is
a curious sight to see hundreds of people kneeling in front of the
Iver-ikon of God’s mother at the entrance of one of the gates of the
Moscow Kremlin, kissing the frame which holds the miracle-performing
image. This, and the kissing of myriads of crosses and other ikons
seems a most unsanitary mode of worship. No doubt, it is the remnant of
those early days of Christianity, when external impressions had a more
forceful effect upon the mind filled with superstitions than they would
have upon the developed mentality of to-day. Since the imprint on our
minds would vary in significance were we looking at a statue of Venus
or at a Crucifix, the truth of the foregoing statement is too obvious
to need further comment.
Peter the Great created the Synod. A Greek Orthodox recognizes the
Emperor only as the temporal defender and guardian of the Church,
for in question of dogma the Emperor has no more authority than the
humblest peasant, and though he occupies a certain position of honor
in the church, he submits to all its rules--fasting, kneeling,
confessing, and kissing of ikons and crosses--so that while the Emperor
may represent the highest power in the temporal affairs of the church,
the highest spiritual power belongs to patriarchs and Synod. As to the
head of the Eastern Orthodox Church, of which the Russian Church is a
part, Christ, the Saviour, is its only head.
[Illustration: REGISTAN SQUARE IN FRONT OF MECHET SHIR DOR IN SAMARKAND
Built by the terrible Timur. Every Friday (Mohammedan Sunday) the
natives spread their rugs on the grounds of the square and pray for
hours, all of which does not seem to hinder them from being cruel
to their wives and animals nor from acts of immorality that are
indescribable]
CHAPTER V
THE COSSACK
Cossack is a Tartar word. In the sixteenth century the term was used
all over Russia to designate floating labor--the kind that has no
definite occupation nor permanent abode. During the kingdom of Moscow
mercenary soldiers were called Cossacks. In southwestern Russia, Little
Russians made serfs by the Polish gentry known as Shliachta escaped
into the steppes to the so-called Ukraina. Here they organized into
bands to fight the invading Tartars, and here originated the Little
Russian Cossack.
At the end of the fifteenth century, hunters from Kiev went south
into the steppes to “Cossack,” that is, to trade in fish and game.
These hunters made most of their money by inciting raids against the
Tartars and the Turks, and this incensed these races against Poland.
Poland wished to make soldiers of the Cossacks in time of war, and
workmen in time of peace. But that displeased the unbridled Cossacks.
They established a center of their own called Zaporojie, which means
“Beyond the Rapids.” These rapids are on the River Dnieper, and there
a camp of armed traders was formed. Their number was greatly augmented
by the Cossacks of the Ukraina, when they felt the yoke of the Poles
intolerable. Eventually any malcontent or adventurer was received by
the Cossacks regardless of race or creed. There was no conception of
nationality among them. They regarded Turkey, Moldavia, and even Moscow
as sources of plunder, and they considered the Polish gentry their
worst enemies. They offered their services to the Emperor of Germany
against the Turks, to Turkey against Moscow, and had no scruples in
siding with Moscow and Crimea against the Poles.
In the Seventeenth Century the Cossacks learned that an alliance had
been entered into by the Polish king with the Polish pans (gentry) and
the Jews, and that they were all preparing to make war upon the Church
of Russia. Thereby the Cossacks, being also orthodox, were drawn into a
religious war with the Poles. In 1625, the Metropolitan of Kiev called
upon the Cossacks to defend the Russian Church.
In the middle of the Seventeenth Century the Cossack commander, Bogdan
Chmelnitzky, decided to rid his country of the Polish yoke and forever
free the Ukraina, the real home of the Little Russian. He instigated an
attack against the Poles through the Khan of Crimea, and marched into
Poland with the Crimean Tartars and Cossacks. Poland was defeated, but
the Little Russians could not rid themselves of the Poles completely.
So they appealed to the Russian Tzar Alexis, and begged him to receive
Little Russia under his protection, and asked that all Little Russians
be accepted as his subjects. In case the Tzar would refuse, they
threatened to form an alliance with the Sultan of Turkey.
Upon Alexis taking in the Cossacks, there followed a war with Poland.
At first the Russians were successful and took Smolensk and Lithuania,
but in the second war (1664) the Russians lost because of a previous
five years’ exhausting war with the Swedes.
When Nicholas I parcelled off to the Cossacks of the Ukraina certain
lands, and told them to farm them, a great many became dissatisfied,
saying they were warriors, not tillers of the soil. So they became
the warrior population, guarding the southern and eastern frontiers
of their country; hence the Kuban Cossacks, the Don Cossacks, the
Ural Cossacks, etc. They retained the privilege of electing their own
ataman, or chief, who appointed all officers, and at first they took
orders from him only, and not even the Russian War Minister had power
to dictate to them. All commands were given directly by the Tzar to the
ataman, and his subordinates executed the orders.
The Cossacks constitute the most loyal body of men the Emperor has to
this day. It was told in the last revolution that an ultimatum was
sent to the Jews by the Cossacks to the effect that if they did not
discontinue their agitation against the Tzar, the Cossacks would march
against them five hundred thousand strong, and annihilate them. This
declaration had its effect, and while some few soldiers mutinied, no
Cossack was found wanting. The Cossacks are the backbone of Russia;
take them away and she will go to pieces.
Socially, the Cossacks are delightful, big-hearted people, very
hospitable and jolly. In many ways they resemble the cowboys as they
were twenty years ago in the West. Like the cowboys, they are excellent
shots, even better riders, though they cannot handle the lasso at all.
[Illustration: KARAVAN OF AFGHANS CROSSING THE AMU DARIA RIVER AT KERKI
As no foreigner is allowed in Kerki, I risked my liberty for daring to
enter this forbidden military zone]
CHAPTER VI
THE PASSPORT SYSTEM
The passport system existed in the countries of western Europe long
before the Russians appropriated it during the reign of Nicholas I.
From the middle of the seventeenth century there had been employed
what was termed a “boundary passport” for the use of official persons
traveling to foreign countries for governmental purposes, and for
foreigners arriving in Russia with a like intent. When the Dekabrists
(derived from the Russian “Dekaber,” meaning December) mutinied
for the purpose of enforcing a constitutional government, it was
considered dangerous for the Russian advanced classes to make journeys
into foreign countries, inasmuch as the leaders of the Dekabrist
party consisted mostly of officers of the Imperial Guard, who while
hobnobbing through other domains had become acquainted with the
constitutional form of government, for which Russia was by no means
prepared.
Upon the death of Alexander I, the crown descended to Constantine,
but he refused it and withdrew in favor of his younger brother,
Nicholas. The leaders of the Dekabrist party, in order to gain an
advantage, purposely confused the soldiers of the Guard with the words
“Constantine” and “Constitution,” and stated that they were making war
for the defense of Constantine, who had been illegally deprived of
the throne by his brother, when in truth their object was to force a
constitution upon Russia.
During the reign of Nicholas I, the present passport system was
inaugurated, mostly for the purpose of preventing the entrance of
undesirable aliens, especially anarchists, criminals and fugitives from
justice.
All foreigners entering Russia must have passports from their own
country, and these must be visaed by some Russian consul. Anarchists
are not granted this vise. Only such Jews as represent large firms,
or are professionals, and those known to the consul to belong to no
revolutionary class, are granted entrance right. The Russian Government
confines Jews to a certain pale of settlement, but in order to evade
military service, some of them escape and become citizens of the
United States without permission, which is a criminal offense. For
her to admit this class when they return as American citizens, and to
permit them to live anywhere in her kingdom, would be to show great
injustice against those Jews who reside permanently in Russia and
submit to military service.
Roman Catholic clergymen, especially those of Polish origin, are not
readily admitted. It is claimed by the Church that they proselyte among
Russians, and collect money for themselves. Absolutely no hindrance is
given to Protestant clergy. Roman Catholic priests must have special
permission from the Home Department, and Russian priests must have a
special permit from the Holy Synod.
On the whole, the Russian passport system is one to be condemned, and
I have received assurance from the most influential members of the
Russian Douma and from the Department of Foreign Affairs that the days
of the passport system are numbered. But while it is in force, we must
realize that under the sanction of international _comity_ each nation
exercises the right to vise its own passports with the words, “good
in the language of the country where used.” In the American passport,
the Secretary of State does “hereby request all whom it may concern to
permit........safely and freely to pass, and in case of need to give him
all lawful aid and protection.” Please observe the limitations of the
passport. It is merely a _request_ by the Secretary of State that the
bearer be allowed to pass, and that he be given all _lawful_ aid and
protection. It is addressed to no one in particular; but certainly the
word “lawful” contemplates the laws of the country where the holder of
the passport happens to be rather than the laws of the United States,
though in a smaller measure also the latter, as well as the laws of
nations, or international law. Let no one suppose that in going to
another country a citizen carries the undiminished sovereignty of
his own land with him, no matter how well he may be fortified with a
passport. His consul may vise the passport for him to give assurance to
foreign officials that everything is in order so far as the passport
is concerned; but the local police for good cause may thereafter place
him under arrest or conduct him to the frontier. The facts of the case
may then become a matter of dispute between himself and the local
government, involving the services of his own government; but that is
another matter.
[Illustration: DR. C. C. YOUNG AS HE APPEARED IN THE KARA KUM DESERT,
WEST TURKESTAN]
The root of the present difficulty is to be found in this: Russia
alone of all the great powers has so far refused, or neglected, to
conform to international _comity_ in the viseing of passports. This
position is manifestly indefensible. Upon what grounds can she seek to
justify her practice of requiring her own consuls to vise the passports
issued by other nations? How can she deny that it might be regarded
as a kind of impertinence for any government to assume the right to
say that the passport of a friendly country is not good? However, it
would be just as idle to lay this charge against Russia as it would
be to lay the same against the United States for interfering in the
internal affairs of Russia when she insists, as she has a right, that
her citizens shall be treated abroad with becoming respect. Russia has
never yielded this point in international _comity_, which has long been
accepted by the other great powers, simply because her right and duty
in the matter have never been challenged, and she has thus continued
to exercise this unjustifiable audit of foreign passports because it
suited her internal administration to do so. At present, as is well
known, any one wishing to come to Russia must have his passport visaed
by a Russian consul before he reaches the frontier. This, according
to Russia, is merely an administrative device to assist the police in
excluding undesirable foreigners and in giving timely warning to said
foreigners. For this purpose the Russian consuls are provided with
lists of proscribed persons, to whom they refuse passport visaes, and
such persons are accordingly excluded if they come to the frontier.
Now here is the only legitimate and real ground of contention by the
United States--namely, that in adopting this method Russia uses her
national administrative machinery to perform a police function, and
that, too, in foreign states; and in so doing she ignores the right of
other states to pronounce upon the validity of their own passports.
She could easily change all this and incidentally remove all ground of
complaint by the United States if she would do as follows:
First. Authorize her police on the frontiers to deal with foreign
passports just as she now authorizes her consuls all over the world;
Second. Honor the vise of foreign consuls within her own dominions
upon the passports of their respective countries; and as a necessary
corollary, discontinue the viseing of the same by her own officials.
It is evident by adopting this change Russia can effect what she is
now accomplishing with regard to the exclusion of those whom she does
not desire; but it would be upon _police_ grounds and would be freed
from its international features and consequent complications. To this
neither the United States nor any other nation can rightfully object.
Nor, indeed, can those Jews who are adversely affected reasonably
object; because the United States, acting upon this same right of
exclusion, in common with every other government, would eject by her
present laws many times more Russian subjects than all the Jews in the
world.
While we may consider the Russian passport system a nuisance, we must
admit that the entering of aliens into the United States is rather
humiliating, for even distinguished foreigners coming here as first- and
second-class passengers are often detained for hours, and have
to undergo an examination by the government board and answer many
embarrassing questions. On coming to the Russian border, a gendarme
takes your passport before you leave the train, to ascertain if it is
properly visaed by some Russian consul. Porters take your luggage to
the custom house and the police will inform you that it is against
the law to tip a porter. Nowhere in the world is luggage examined
more superficially than in Russia, nor can the custom-house officials
be excelled in politeness. Before the train leaves your passport is
returned to you, and when registering at a hotel it is given to the
manager, who upon a few hours’ notice has it entered into the passport
register of the precinct of police. When leaving Russia, the passport
must be visaed by the mayor of the town, and all this is attended to by
the hotel management. Once the passport is visaed by the Russian consul
all trouble is really over.
[Illustration: HIS MAJESTY THE KHAN OF KHIVA, WEST TURKESTAN, CENTRAL
ASIA]
The passport serves as the necessary identification in the banks when
cashing drafts, in the post-office in case of registered mail and
money orders, and before notaries, where the legalization of your
signature may be required; and it saves you from being compelled to run
around in a strange town imposing on some acquaintance to identify you.
CHAPTER VII
REGARDING A NEW TREATY WITH RUSSIA
When the treaty of eighty years’ standing between two then
traditionally friendly powers, the United States and Russia, expired on
the last day of the year 1912, it devolved upon that one of the powers
which gave notice of abrogation (the United States) to take the initial
steps in negotiating a new one.
Since notice of abrogation has been given, attention has been focused
upon Russia’s attitude toward the main point at issue--namely, the
exclusion of Jews, American or otherwise, from Russian territory. Those
most in touch with Russian affairs are impressed with her determination
to maintain her present position on this point, inasmuch as she
considers it merely a question of her right to regulate her internal
affairs unhindered, a right which the United States exercise freely. It
is doubtful if the international aspects of the case have appealed to
Russians at all, for they often express surprise that Americans, who
have a race question at home, should not understand that it is a race
question with them, too. Eventually, the United States must submit a
proposition which will successfully meet this situation, or otherwise
no treaty relations will be possible with Russia.
At first glance this would seem an impossible thing to do without an
undignified backdown by the United States, a thing which their national
self-respect could not permit them to contemplate. Fortunately,
however, the situation is by no means so desperate as that, and it is
the purpose here, with all due respect, to submit a way around the
difficulty. The suggestion is offered in the belief that both nations
are ready and anxious to reassume the traditionally friendly relations
which have always existed between them, and will do anything reasonable
and consistent with their dignity to remove all misunderstandings.
Moreover, now that a controversy has been opened between them, each
should seize the opportunity to make more definite and precise its new
treaty relations, in order to avoid misapprehensions in the future.
All diplomatic treaty negotiations in time of peace are essentially
give-and-take transactions, and the things which are yielded may
benefit the party yielding no less than the supposed beneficiary. So
it is quite conceivable that when the present situation is cleared
up, each side may find itself the gainer because of the things it has
conceded.
There are a few other matters of minor importance that should receive
consideration, now that the subject is open for the readjustment of
treaty relations. Instead of the general terms of the earlier treaty,
there should be a specific restatement of the rights and duties of
consuls in the two countries. This is all the more necessary because of
the fact that the bases of Russian and American jurisprudence are quite
dissimilar. The personal concern to the consuls signifies but little;
what is wanted is a fuller definition of what they may or may not
officially do. A comparison in this respect with the treaties of other
countries will reveal much to be desired.
The whole case, then, can be summarized thus:
First. Let it be granted by the United States that each nation has
a right to regulate its internal affairs unhindered, even to the
exclusion of any of its citizens that the foreign country may think fit
to exclude;
Second. Let it be granted by Russia that every government has the
exclusive right to vise its own passports. Then a slight readjustment
of her administrative machinery will leave nothing to which the United
States can rightly object.
CHAPTER VIII
THE RUSSIAN JEWS
In regard to the Jews, thousands of them would return to Russia from
the States were they permitted, like other foreign citizens, to live
outside the pale. In America, crowded together in the ghettoes of the
great cities, competition is infinitely more keen than in Russia, where
they constitute practically the only portion of the population engaged
in commerce. The beginning of a Russian middle class has made itself
evident the past twenty years, and in time this class no doubt will
make an effort to compete with the Jews.
[Illustration: KOMRAT REAL SCHOOL
Where the author received his preliminary education. The village of
Komrat is about sixty miles from Kishinev, Bessarabia.]
If usury, incendiarism and criminal bankruptcy could be made capital
offenses, and if the sluggish nobility of Russia would rid itself of
its anti-commercial tendencies, and its apathy for everything that has
the scent of business, and if the Russian budget could be arranged
so as to make available another $50,000,000 annually for the purpose
of educating all the peasant children, the friction now existing
between Gentiles and Hebrews would remedy itself. In the last four
years Russia has appropriated more money for educational purposes than
in the hundred years before, and since this is the case, I would like
to correct another false impression--namely, that the government is
fighting against the education of the peasants. Those circulating such
falsehoods in this country dare not confront a man who knows Russia.
There are schools, both for boys and girls, all over Russia, north,
south, east and west, where the children of peasants and those just a
notch above them, Jews included, can receive their education together
with the children of the highest nobility in the land. It was in one of
such schools that I received my preliminary education.
Among her bankers, manufacturers, large land-owners, generals,
bishops and archbishops, Russia can show many men whose fathers knelt
with uncovered heads before the great Alexander, listening to the
proclamation which made them free men. Russia’s able and most courteous
minister of railroads, Mr. Ruchloff, who, like Prince Khilkoff, is
making history for his country, is the son of a peasant; so is Bishop
Anatoly, a member of the Douma, and a most distinguished member of the
conservative party, and Tshelisheff, the great prohibition advocate.
Russia’s task, in the major portion of her European domain, is, of
course, easier than ours with the negroes, as her people belong to the
white race, but how does our record with our former slaves compare with
hers? Again, let us not forget that her people were in bondage six
hundred years.
History states that in the time of Vladimir, the Jewish emissaries came
to Russia and asked him to compel his people, who at that time were
heathens, to embrace the Jewish religion. He listened respectfully, but
when they came to relating the rite of circumcision, he spat upon them
and drove them from the country. They persistently returned, and in
less than no time gained control of the commerce of all Russia. This is
true even to-day, for nowhere can the Jews find a more prolific field
for the accumulation of wealth than in Russia. It is the knowledge of
this fact which draws them there, and, as has been said, thousands
of them from everywhere would flock back to Russia, were their
indiscriminate entrance permitted.
[Illustration: MR. KONSTANTIN ALEKSANDROVITCH MIMI
A large land-owner of South Russia, with his family. His wife is
Armenian. Mr. Mimi is typical of the more active titled land-owners.]
When Vladimir came to Kiev, at the close of the tenth century,
the people complained bitterly to him that the Jews were craftily
monopolizing all commerce. He called a meeting of the ruling princes of
the various Russian provinces, and in this convention it was decided to
drive the Jews out of Russia, and, should any of them return secretly,
to kill them.
In the days of Sviatoslav (1016), while fighting the dreaded Khozars,
the Jews were accused of acting as spies for these Mongols. In 1495
Alexander Jakloutshik, the Lithuanian Grand Duke, prohibited the Jews
from accepting any obligatory papers, or any other written acts, and
when this did not help matters he ordered the Jews driven out of the
country. In the sixteenth century, the writer, Michel Litvin, stated:
“To our country have come the Jews, whom we find in all great cities
of Podolia and Volynia. These are the worst people that have ever come
to us. They are fatalists, sly, dangerous in every way, adulterating
our goods, counterfeiting our money, forging signatures and seals,
and having no other art except cheating and blackmailing.” Ivan the
Terrible refused them the right to live in Russia. “They have poisoned
our soul and body,” said he. Even the pious Alexis Michalovitch drove
them out of Moscow, accusing them of being very dishonest.
In the bitter struggle between the Poles and the Little Russians the
Jews were said to have plotted against the Poles until the Little
Russians defeated them, and Kridanos, a chief of the famous Cossack
Bogdan Chmelnitsky, wrote the Polish Count Osproshsky advising him to
drive the Jews out of the country, as they were responsible for his
defeat. During the reign of Peter the Great, Catherine the First, and
Elizabeth, edicts were issued banishing the Jews from Russia. During
Elizabeth’s reign a law was passed permitting those Jews to remain in
Russia who embraced the Greek Catholic faith or any other recognized
Christian religion. This senseless law made it possible for converted
Jews to live anywhere in the empire, and is in existence to-day. During
the time of Catherine the Great the Jews were finally permitted to
settle in certain parts of Little Russia and Crimea.
The conquest of Poland added several millions of Hebrews to Russia’s
population. After the division of Poland, Catherine allowed the Jews to
remain there, but did not permit them to visit the central provinces
of Russia. In 1773, Count Kachrosky, Governor of Mogilev, wrote: “The
Jews, although a sober people, are very lazy when it comes to any kind
of physical work and are sly, dishonest and superstitious. They succeed
best where the government is weak and the laws lax; they live entirely
by fraud and on the honest toil of peasants; they borrow where they
can, and then declare themselves bankrupt; by flattery and giving away
free drinks, they corrupt people in all stations of life, and they mock
our courts; they are continually working in conjunction with our worst
class of robbers, many of whom they started in their lawless careers.”
At the end of the eighteenth century, we find Jews in all the large
towns of Great Russia. At first the right of residence had been
granted to business men of the first guild. (In Russia, the class to
which business men belong is determined by the amount and character
of business done annually, and to enter the first guild a business
man must, regardless of his race or nationality, pay $7,500 a year
into the national treasury.) Later, permission was given to college
and university graduates to live outside the pale, and finally this
right was extended to artisans, doctors, lawyers, druggists, midwives
and prostitutes. (In order to better control venereal diseases, Russia
tolerates prostitution.)
During the reign of Alexander II, the era of freedom and emancipation
in Russia, the Jews were permitted to have a share in public and
national life. They were granted the right to enjoy unrestricted
tuition in all schools throughout the empire, to enter the service
of the state, to take part in local self-government, to acquire
real estate in all places where they resided, and to participate in
industrial undertakings of every kind. Everything pointed to the fact
that the Russian Government had the fixed intention gradually to place
the Jews on a footing of equality with those of its other inhabitants.
Then came the assassination of Alexander II. The conservative,
progressive element of Gentiles and Jews suffered alike because of this
crime, which must be laid to the doors of the senseless hot heads
who called themselves Nihilists, and among whom there appeared more
than one nationality.
[Illustration: A HEBREW WOMAN OF BOKHARA
Seldom, if ever, seen unveiled]
The pale of settlement to which Jews are confined consist of fifteen
provinces of west, central and southern Russia, and ten provinces
of Polish Russia. The writer has seen practically every section
of European and Asiatic Russia, and while the pale constitutes
only one-twenty-third part of the Russian Empire, including the
uninhabitable deserts of Central Asia, and the dry steppes of the
Crimea, Caucasus and South Siberia, it does seem that the pale is the
only section of Russia where a white man would really care to live,
outside the two or three north Russian provinces, which include Moscow,
Novgorod and St. Petersburg. Here only a few privileged Hebrews are
supposed to have residential privileges, but a great many of all
classes are encountered. In principle, however, it seems an outrage
that a white man should be refused residence in any part of the earth
where he wishes to live.
That the Jews are permitted to send only seven per cent. of their
children to colleges and universities is of course a great hardship,
and, in my opinion, a great injustice. If the government fears, as I
have often been told, that by contact with the Jewish students the
Russian children are weaned from the Church and initiated into all
forms of Nihilism, which means political ruin for them and exile, why
does not the government force the Jews to build their own schools? The
majority of them are not the poor, downtrodden outcasts pictured in
this country by crafty revolutionists, but by far the most prosperous
people of the land, and many of them would make desirable citizens in
any country. Those Russians who see the urgent necessity of protecting
the peasants from the exploitations of the more commercially qualified
Jew should advocate such stringent laws as we made in the States to
protect the Indian, and then there need be no fear for the welfare of
the peasants.
[Illustration: “GORODOVOY”--RUSSIAN POLICEMAN, IN FOREGROUND
At right is a cabman or “izvostshik” on his “droshka”]
It is realized that to permit the Jews to own land everywhere in Russia
now would mean the reversion of many peasants to serfdom, due largely
to the peasant’s insobriety. The same condition is said to exist in
Hungary, where the Jews were treated as liberally as in America,
with the result that the political supremacy and the land slipped
into the hands of the Jews. This compelled many natives to emigrate,
for what chance has the shiftless Hun against the hardworking, sober
and shrewd Hebrew? Students of political economy say that in New York
Gentiles are being gradually driven out of business and forced to go
West by the erstwhile Russian Jews.
It is true that Russians as well as Americans when condemning the Jews
often do not recognize the fact that among them, as in every race
or creed, are grades and classes of individuals. It is true that a
great number who swarm to the ghettoes of our big cities are by their
presence and questionable business methods a thorn in the side of the
nation. Their own co-religionists of the better class--those thoroughly
Americanized Hebrews who are among our best citizens--suffer greatly
because of this element. There is nothing against the Jew racially, and
to hear an American speak of excluding him from this or that club or
society indicates a mind not free from ignorant prejudice.
Great responsibility rests with the better Hebrews, for upon them
devolves the task of freeing a large percentage of their brethren from
those traits which arouse the animosity of the Aryans.
In Russia as elsewhere the better class of the Hebrews will continue
to suffer from the wrongdoings of the worse, until they have taken
radical steps to instill into the minds of their weaker brethren a
proper standard of business morality. Instead of shielding Jewish
culprits and putting forward efforts to protect them from the laws they
have outraged, they should always refuse the wrong-doers any moral
or financial support, decline to tolerate guilt, and see to it that
justice was administered to every criminal. Surely, every right-minded
Gentile would aid in this work of correction. That the advanced Jews
fully recognize their responsibility in this regard I have been assured
by the eminent Hebrew, Rabbi Simon, of Washington.
[Illustration: THE “PRISTAV”--DISTRICT CHIEF OF POLICE]
With such men as Schmakoff, Purishkevitch and other prominent members
of the Union of Russian People, there prevails the mistaken idea
that to give the Jew equal rights would mean eternal slavery for the
peasant. This should not be the case if proper laws are enforced for
his protection, and especially if pressure is brought to bear upon
the authorities executing the law which regulates the rate of interest
for lending money, and if in some way the crookedness of the police and
gendarmerie could be bridled, there would be less of Jewish dishonesty.
Every member of the Union knows that practically all the money of the
country is in the hands of the Hebrews, and though they control its
commerce almost entirely, not every peasant is in the clutches of the
Hebrew money-lenders.
Just prior to the war, before any one thought of the great conflict,
the Tzar returned through Kishinev and Odessa from Constanza, Roumania,
where he had met the king of the country and where the finishing
touches were put to a previously arranged entente. The simplicity and
cordiality of the reception of the Tzar staggered me, and the behavior
of the Jews was above reproach. The Hebrews, forming a large majority
of the population, lined the streets on both sides, and any one of them
desiring to harm the Emperor could easily have done so. I remarked to
a friend of mine at Kishinev, known to be an unreasonable Jew-hater,
that apparently the Tzar seemed highly pleased with the assistance
the Semitics gave the local authorities, and he answered, “If the Jews
had always been loyal and had fought their battles by themselves, and
had not tried to induce your nation to poke its nose into our internal
affairs, they might have gotten what they so greatly coveted long ago.”
I resented the insinuation, but felt that there might possibly have
been more truth than poetry in the remark.
Everywhere in Russia it is evident that the conduct of the Jews in the
past few years has been such as to merit serious consideration by the
government of their demands for equal rights. It is to be regretted
that their cause received a considerable setback on account of the
Beiliss case, which the Jewish press all over the world tried and
passed judgment upon before giving the jury at Kiev a chance to render
its decision. Doubtless the Jews will soon attain the right they are
contending for, if they can subdue the zeal of their co-religionists in
other countries, that incites senseless attacks upon the Emperor and
the Church.
[Illustration: ACTING GOVERNOR KARAUL BEGI
Of the kishlack (town) of Karaul, capital of the district of Karaul,
Bokhara, and his staff]
[Illustration: THE ATACHADJA MIRACHUR
Aide-de-camp to His Excellency the Kushbegi, Vice Emir of Bokhara, who
drove with me through Old Bokhara City and its vicinity in this very
vehicle, imported to Bokhara from Moscow]
CHAPTER IX
ASIATIC POSSESSIONS
For many years the people of the United States thought well of Russia.
In a critical hour Russia sent her fleet over, and certainly placed the
American people under no small obligation, as the American historians
and writers of the Civil War period concede. In 1893, during the
World’s Fair at Chicago, Russia still was one of our most favored
nations. This state of affairs did not exactly please England. She
could not forgive Russia’s aggressive policy in Central and Asia Minor
and connived against her at every turn. It is no credit to that great
nation that through her intrigues in Afghanistan the Emir not only
turned out all Russian business men, but actually executed the natives
in Bokhara who traded with them. When in the early nineties the Russian
Ambassador at Kabul committed suicide, because he was continually
harassed by hired assassins who were spending English money, Russia
gave up the struggle.
Up to about ten years ago the English press never lost an opportunity
to abuse her enemy, and as English sentiment is naturally reflected in
our press, the American people gradually began to think less of Russia.
But since the English people have come to understand Russia better,
they have indeed regretted their former attitude. Public sentiment has
changed in England since she has learned that it is to her advantage
to work together with Russia (the same holds true of Russia), lest
some day Kaiser Wilhelm’s prophecy, made some twenty years ago, come
true, and the Asiatics, now ruled more or less through bluff by England
and Russia, wake up and drive the intruders into the Atlantic Ocean,
unless, as a saucy Mongol remarked to me, “the Christians in time will
embrace the Mohammedan faith and amalgamate with us.”
The United States have an all-powerful class of citizens of Semitic
origin who felt they were justified in weaning our people away from
Russia, and, controlling as they do a large portion of the press
of the United States, they took advantage of the events of the
Japanese-Russian war to turn public sentiment in this country against
the Russians. This same class showed its strength and hostility
when our treaty with Russia was abrogated, and caused some of our
Congressmen to make speeches which were anything but justified, and
nearly brought about a rupture with that country.
[Illustration: TWO AFGHAN SOLDIERS
Deserters taken at Kosan, Bokhara. They made me pay them $6 for singing
one Afghan song, “Sultan Djan”]
[Illustration: TREACHEROUS DAGHAS OF AFGHANISTAN
Photographed at Kerki on the border of Afghanistan]
That we have not entirely sacrificed our Russian trade, amounting to
millions annually, is entirely due to such able representatives as
Mr. Guild, of Boston, whom we had in St. Petersburg, and who had to
deal individually with every single proposition. The able _chargé
d’affaires_, Mr. Wilson, who is still in St. Petersburg, has also
proven himself the right man for the difficult task. Such a state of
affairs puts us in a ridiculous position, considering the fact that
Russia is the buyer of our products, and that, with the exception
of cotton, she can do very nicely without any of our goods. Where
in 1911 we sold her the value of $83,000,000, Russia sold us less
than $7,000,000 worth of goods. It is not my intention to criticise
those Americans who feel that Russia is dealing unfairly with their
co-religionists, but it does seem that it should be apparent by this
time that we cannot force Russia to run her country to suit us. In the
eyes of the leading German, French and English newspapers at the time
of the abrogation of the treaty, our government certainly deserved the
severe criticism it received. During the Japanese-Russian war, the fact
that we lent our moral support to Japan, and made it possible for that
country to place its bonds over here, and thus pursue the war (to-day
she is our dreaded rival), left a sore that we will find no easy task
to heal.
The present situation seemed to me to have been well summed up by a
business man of Tashkent, who said, “Once the time comes when we are
not only able to do without your cotton, but can compete with you in
the markets of the world, then your people will not be so anxious
to abrogate treaties with us or seek to meddle with the internal
administration of our country.” After discussing the matter with people
of all classes in nearly every section of European and Asiatic Russia,
I have come to the conclusion that we will sacrifice millions annually
in trade unless we try in every tactful way possible to improve our
relations with Russia.
[Illustration: AUTHOR’S FATHER MR. CHRISTIAN YOUNG, SR.
Photographed on Dr. Young’s ranch near El Paso, Texas.]
[Illustration: CARETAKER OF DR. YOUNG’S KARAKUL SHEEP]
The Tzar rules over one-seventh of the world, and it is his Asiatic
possessions that have made up his enormous empire. For lack of time,
much cannot be said about the conquering of vast Siberia, but a vital
point to us is that the building of the Trans-Siberian Railway through
the entire length of Asia has opened up a country fabulously rich in
resources. What the chernoziem of central and southern Russia used
to be to the world from the standpoint of wheat-raising, Siberia is
becoming now, as immense tracts of wheat land are being opened up. What
happened in Dakota and in Nebraska twenty years ago, from the point of
view of colonization and general development, is taking place to-day
in Siberia, no longer a country isolated from everything and used for
penal settlers only, but a country as fit for habitation as any of our
northwestern States, where one finds the latest agricultural machinery
and people up-to-date in every respect. Just as settlers in the West
have progressed more rapidly than those of the East, so have the
Russians who settle in Siberia left their less fortunate brethren in
European Russia far behind.
Siberia is the coming country of Russia, and if we use any judgment,
we can develop a market for our goods that will bring us millions
annually. But another blunder such as the abrogation of the treaty, and
we will have lost forever our chances of doing business with Russia,
and Germany, by rattling her saber, will get it all.
The section of Asia that will interest us the most is Turkestan,
Central Asia, as it is from here that the beautiful Persian lamb and
Astrakhan furs are imported. The country known as West Turkestan, where
immense areas of cotton are now planted, lies immediately west of
Chinese Turkestan, is bounded on the west by the Caspian Sea, on the
south by Persia, and by Afghanistan and Chinese Turkestan on the east.
On the north it graduates into the plains of Siberia. This country is
one-fourth the size of all Europe. The longitude is the same as that
of South France, Italy and the Balkan Peninsula, but the climate is
different from that of those countries. Owing to the distances from
large bodies of water, the summers are extremely hot and the winters
intensely cold.
[Illustration: GURI-MIR, MAUSOLEUM OF TIMUR
The murderous Tartar conqueror, in the city of Old Samarkand]
Turkestan can be divided into two parts, the low northwestern part,
which comprises two-thirds of the area, and the southeastern
section, which is mountainous and takes up one-third of the desert.
Occasionally one finds large hollows below the level of the ocean, such
as the Sari Kamish, ten thousand square miles in area, and one hundred
and thirty-five feet below the sea level. Between Merv and Khiva is a
hollow with an area of eighteen thousand square miles, two hundred and
thirty feet below the level of the Caspian Sea. In the lower portion of
Turkestan are some of the worst deserts in the world, such as the Kara
Kum, Kizil Kum, Minunistrum, Sari Tishk, Otran and the Hunger steppe.
For thousands of years the storms have blown a fine white sand from the
exposed mountains, and together with that carried down by the rivers,
enormous piles of sand are formed in these awful deserts, considered by
some to be worse than the Sahara.
When traveling on the Transcaspian Railroad from Krasnovodsk east
toward Bokhara and Samarkand, one beholds for miles and miles in every
direction nothing but the shifting sands, in dunes and hillocks,
very much like the choppy waves of the Black Sea. Wave on wave of
sand drifts back and forth. Sometimes the wind will sift a mound
against the Sacksaul, the only plant of the desert. It resembles the
mesquite bushes of Texas, excepting that it has no thorns and furnishes
nourishment for camels and for fatrump and Karakul sheep.
Just as in the Dakotas and in north Russia the railroad tracks are
protected by high snow fences, so here we find dry bushes arranged for
miles in fencelike fashion. In spite of this precaution, traffic is at
times tied up for weeks, and the people at stations, dependent upon the
trains for their water supply, are left to perish. Where water reaches
the clayey soil from the Zaravshan, Sir Daria or Amu Daria rivers, such
crops as cotton, corn, alfalfa, wheat, barley, and fruit such as pears,
peaches, apricots and plums, will grow. The Bokhara melon is much more
delicious than our Rockeford canteloupe and keeps through the entire
year. In Turkestan too, are the Pamirs, which constitute the so-called
roof of the world, where the average elevation is 14,000 to 16,000
feet. In these mountains are wonderful glaciers, higher than those of
the Alps, and one there is thirty miles in length. There are absolutely
no trees in the Pamirs, excepting in the Aktsh Valley, near the fort
of Shah-Djan, where the brother of the Chief of Andijan, Mr. Bjezitsky,
was stationed for three years. He boasts of having planted three trees,
the only trees in the Pamirs. Mr. Bjezitsky is the only Russian who
has traveled through the entire Pamirs. He has gone as far south as
Djilala, the most northern railway station in India, near the River
Indus.
[Illustration: KARAKUL EWE AND LAMB
Note beautiful tight black curls of lamb at birth. After maturity,
curls open and the black pigment oxidizes into gray]
The principal rivers in Transcaspia are the Murgab and Tedjent, and
they furnish considerable water for irrigation purposes. The very
ancient kingdoms of Sodigian, Baktria, and Khorezm occupied the rather
unprotected sections of Central Asia, and were entirely dependent
upon a few rivers for their existence. It was but necessary for a
hostile people to interfere with these rivers, and immediate submission
followed. It was in this way that Assyria and Babylonia imposed their
rule over the people of southwest Turkestan. Persia then occupied this
country until the conquest by Alexander of Macedonia, and it is an
easy matter now to collect coins here made at the time the Greeks held
that country. When the Greeks lost their power, all of Central Asia
came under the control of China, and Jian Kian, who one hundred and
twenty-six years before Christ, traveled through Khiva, speaks of the
grapes, rice, wheat and fruit which grew where the land was watered,
and of the vast amount of territory under irrigation. The Chinese began
first to trade with Central Asia, then went west as far as Rome, and
eventually they made the Aryans of South Turkestan their dependents.
In going from the railway station of Bairam Ali to Merv in Transcaspia,
one sees about forty square miles of ruins of the old city of Merv,
built by Shachrock, son of Timur, in 1409, after the awful Mongolian
invasion. To-day the Russian Emperor irrigates at his own expense an
immense area of land at this place, and is having modern methods of
agriculture taught to the natives. From time immemorial the Aryan
population of Turkestan was subjected to forced hybridization with the
Turkish-Mongolians, and has resulted in a people called the Sarts, who
occupy Central Turkestan. In the same way were formed the Taranchi,
who occupy Chinese and Eastern Turkestan. In the mountains of the
districts of Samarkand and Fergana are still found remnants of the old
Aryan race.
[Illustration: THE FAMOUS “ARBA” OF WEST TURKESTAN
The driver always mounts the horse; the driver here is a Sart]
From the sixteenth to the nineteenth century, Turkestan was invaded
by Russia, and caravans from Bokhara and Khiva came to Russia. In
1717, Peter the Great tried to get into Khiva, but every man of his
was slaughtered. Failure after failure taught the Russians where their
weakness lay. Finally Perovsky, Chrutcheiev, Tshernaev, Skobelief,
Kauffman and others conquered the country for Russia. The oldest town
in West Turkestan is Samarkand, which was founded by Persian kings four
thousand years ago. This place has had an interesting history under
the various peoples and dynasties that have ruled it. It was taken for
Russia by the celebrated Kauffman.
The Khanate of Bokhara is of great interest to Americans, as we spend
millions in that country annually. It is from there that we obtain
Persian lamb, Astrakhan and Krimmer furs, also beautiful rugs and
silks. (See Altman’s collection in New York.)
In 1912, 1913, and some five months this year, I traveled in Bokhara
in quest of Karakul sheep, and made three importations to the United
States and Canada. Up to September 1, 1914, no one else had ever
imported any of these animals. Numerous tests have been made by various
breeders and my own associates, and the Department of Agriculture,
proving that we can produce the so-called Persian lamb skins and
broadtail in America, at no small profit to the breeder, by crossing
Karakul rams to our lustrous coarse-wooled long wools, such as
Lincolns, Cotswolds, Leicesters, Black Faced Highlands, etc. But to
obtain satisfactory results only such Karakul rams as are free from
fine wool admixture must be employed, and American breeders are here
warned against the purchasing of worthless animals from unscrupulous
breeders, to whom some inferior stock has been sold by us with the
understanding that none of it must be offered for sale until properly
bred up, which they failed to do.
[Illustration: THE INHABITANTS OF KHIVA, WEST TURKESTAN, LIVE IN TENTS
RESEMBLING THOSE OF OUR INDIANS
Summer and winter, they wear fur caps about half a foot in height,
which is modest compared to the outrageously high caps of the Turcoman
and Tekintzi, which often are twice that length]
Even as recently as the reign of Alexander II it was still impossible
to penetrate into Bokhara. To cross the Caspian Sea meant certain
death, and the Russians had a proverb, “If you don’t wish to
die, don’t cross the Caspian.” In the early sixties England sent a
representative to Bokhara with a view to making a commercial treaty,
but the fanatical natives could not tolerate a non-believer among them,
and after frightful torture they killed him. This was the fate of every
European who ventured into the forbidden country, and often Russians
living on the border were attacked. After cutting women and children
into pieces and destroying everything by fire, the wild Turcomans would
return to their homes and prepare for other raids. At one time an
Italian ventured into the country of the bloodthirsty Sarts in quest of
the larva of silkworms. He was imprisoned and tortured and a frightful
death awaited him. Frantic efforts were made by the Italian Government
to liberate him, and the kind-hearted Alexander II was appealed to.
At this time several influential Uzbecks from the capital of Bokhara
were in Orenburg trading. The Russian Emperor ordered their detention.
Word was sent to the Emir that unless the Italian was released he would
order the execution of some five hundred Bokharans, including Karavan
Bashi Azis, son of one of the great favorites of the Emir. This
resulted in the liberation of the Italian.
When last in Bokhara I enjoyed the hospitality of this very same Azis,
the oldest and largest dealer in raw Persian and Astrakhan skins in
Bokhara. He is eighty years old and a millionaire. He lives in a house
that has no windows on the outside and looks like any common Mexican
adobe hut, but in the interior is a veritable oriental palace, whose
decorations are most beautiful. Only in the summer palace of the Emir
could one see the same character of decorations and rugs. I could not
help feeling that American money paid for many of these luxuries,
because the States and Canada buy the greater part of the entire output
of Karakul skins, known under the trade name of Persian lamb and
Astrakhan furs.
[Illustration: INTERIOR OF THE SUMMER PALACE OF THE EMIR, THREE MILES
FROM THE CITY OF OLD BOKHARA
Here is shown His Majesty’s bed, and chair used by him when receiving
foreign guests. The decorations are gorgeous inside the house and
outside, and the rugs are among the costliest in the world. The
Atachadja Mirachur stated that this was the only photograph ever
permitted to be taken of the interior of the palace]
I enjoyed the hospitality of Mr. Azis and will never forget the
“ploff” on which we feasted. We were all seated on rugs, there being
no furniture of any kind. A little “taburetka,” a small, low, square
table, was placed over a hole in the floor, into which hot charcoal had
been poured. The table was then covered with a quilt. This positively
constitutes the only furniture in the reception-room of any native,
rich or poor, and while it is thus possible to warm one’s feet, the
rest of the body freezes, as the quilt seldom reaches farther than
the hips, and it certainly does get very cold at times in Bokhara.
Green tea was first served in Chinese cups, and then came the “ploff,”
consisting of mutton, raisins and rice, and served for all in one
dish. No guest ever gets a chance to leave the palace of the Kushbegi
(Minister of Interior) or any of the beks (governors) before he has
thoroughly stuffed himself with “ploff” and fruit, and he is expected
to drink from five to ten cups of green tea.
Though the inhabitants of Transcaspia, who for years were the most
dreaded of desert robbers, have become a peaceful people, they are
still closely guarded by Cossacks. But civilization does not seem to
have affected them in the least in other ways, and they live in their
iurtas (felt tents) and mud houses just like the wildest tribes of the
North American Indians. They are ideal horsemen, and the Tekin horse is
said by some to surpass even Arabian breeds.
The Turcoman women do not always cover their faces as do the Sart,
Tadjick, Uzbeck, and Jewish women. When girls are seven to eight years
old, they have already been sold for wives, and, provided they are
paid for, are delivered by the parents or nearest male relative when
twelve to fifteen years old. If only partially paid for, the girl may
live a while with her betrothed, but must again return home until the
balance is paid. The price now paid for a wife is fixed by the Russian
Government at twenty-five hundred rubles, although secretly much higher
prices sometimes obtain.
There is less polygamy in Turkestan now than in former days. This is no
doubt due to the influence of Russians and others who trade among the
natives, and never miss an opportunity to tell them of the financial
advantages of monogamy.
Old Bokhara City and Old Samarkand are indescribably filthy. The water
holes, known as “gowsy,” are never cleaned, and it seems incredible
that a people who perform their daily gluteal ablutions (a religious
rite practiced by every Bokharan, from the Emir down to the shepherd
in the desert) in these mud holes would also drink out of them! But
they do, and as a result about thirty per cent. of them suffer
from the dread disease known as “reshta.” Infection due to filth
causes the death of many. Is it any wonder that cholera, plague, fatal
dysenteries, and the dread “pendinka” are always prevalent?
[Illustration: A TEKIN WEDDING
Transcaspia, West Turkestan]
A European must not touch a morsel of food that has not been boiled
for at least fifteen minutes. In spite of the greatest care, in some
districts few Europeans escape “pendinka,” which causes wounds to
appear all over the body that cannot be healed up with any known
medicine. They leave frightful scars; but fortunately after nine months
this awful disease cures itself, usually leaving no bad effects, though
it sometimes predisposes one to rheumatism, as can be testified to by
my own experience.
In her treaty with Bokhara, Russia agreed not to interfere with the
Emir in the internal management of affairs, but it seems that His
Highness is unable to bring about any reforms whatsoever, and for that
reason has refused to reside in Old Bokhara City, preferring to live
on his estate, about one hundred miles east of the capital. Only a few
years ago, when the old Emir still lived, criminals were hurled from
the tower minaret, which is about three hundred feet high; others
were chopped to pieces on the square in front of the palace, while the
public looked on, apparently enjoying the awful sight. Still others
were thrown into a noisome stink hole and there left to die. This hole
has never been cleaned and proves the method of punishment most feared
by the natives.
It has taken the Russian Government and the Emir several years to do
away with some of these awful penalties, but as the Russian Ambassador
stated, to bring about other reforms now would mean a bloody war, so
by educating the children of the better Sarts in the Russian schools,
which have been established in the principal towns, it is hoped that in
time the natives may learn to live like human beings.
Russia’s problems with her fifty millions of Asiatic polygamists are of
a most serious nature, and she must take every precaution to prevent
the Mongol from asserting himself again and ruling the white race, as
he has done before. We may thank God that we have no race problems to
solve quite as serious as Russia’s.
A Russian prince said to me, “Admit our Asiatics and we will admit all
Jews.”
I do not think we want to trade with Russia.
[Illustration: THE MINARET, THE TOWER OF DEATH, IN OLD BOKHARA CITY
Only a few years ago, a woman found guilty of prostitution was put into
a sack and hurled head downward on the Registan Square]
NOTE
The last pages of this book were written on the northern border of
Afghanistan, and when I parted with the camels in Old Bokhara City, I
was already apprised of the possibility of trouble between Russia and
Austria. I was not in the least disturbed, but scarcely had I reached
my birthplace, one of the German colonies in Bessarabia, when certain
events occurred which made war a stern reality. I left Libau three
days before the town was bombarded by the Germans, and en route to
St. Petersburg came face to face with mobilization. I witnessed the
mob which broke up the German Embassy, and saw numerous processions
of many nationalities, and it became evident that the Russian people
were together in this war. I saw a demonstration by the Hebrews, who
carried a picture of the Emperor through the streets, and numerous
flags and emblems placarded “Down with the Kaiser,” and I learned
subsequently that a handful of Jews in St. Petersburg raised in two
days one hundred and forty thousand rubles for the war fund. The
leading Russian newspapers stated that all over Russia the Hebrews
were collecting money and offering their services to the government. I
prophesy that after the termination of this terrible war, whether it
ends satisfactorily to the Russians or not, the Jews will win by their
loyalty what they most covet--namely, the right to live in any section
of the empire, a right to which they were entitled long ago. That the
demands of the Polish and Finnish people will be satisfied in every
respect is a foregone conclusion.
The great demoralizing effect which vodka has produced among the
peasants has already been removed by the Emperor, and I am sure laws
will be passed which will make it extremely difficult for the peasants
to obtain this life-wrecking poison, responsible for ninety per cent.
of all of Russia’s ailments. Until the early fall of 1914, Russians
were perishing with drink. Drink was the real obstacle to progress,
and more than anything else retarded the manifestations of the many
talents of this gifted nation. Yet lo and behold! when people saw
that the exigencies of the present war were demanding the utmost
self-possession, the coolest brain and the clearest eye, there came
a word from the Imperial Throne, half stern command, half earnest
supplication: Stop drinking, close the drinking shops, devote sober
heads and calm hearts to your country! And drink was stopped. Saloons
and houses trading in vodka were closed. People obeyed because they
believed the Emperor was right.
[Illustration: ENTRANCE TO OLD FORT OF OLD PALACE
It was here I was received by His Highness the Kushbegi, Vice Emir of
Bokhara in 1912, 1913 and 1914]
The Anglican Bishop of London said in a recent address that what
especially won his heart to the Russian people (“Our Eastern ally”) was
exactly this wonderful, tremendous, self-sacrifice involving an annual
revenue to the state of ninety-three millions sterling, let alone the
sacrifice of personal habits, which at first, at least to many people,
meant sickness and in few cases even death, and the loss of their
habitual though factitious psychic equilibrium. The eminent British
ecclesiastic added: “When we in England hear of our public houses
(saloons) being crowded sometimes even in the early mornings now, I
hope that we shall follow the example of our Russian ally.”
The following despatches on this subject are most interesting:
LONDON, January 25, 1915.--A despatch from Petrograd says that
Kharitonoff, Secretary of the Russian Treasury, speaking before the
Douma Budget Committee to-day, declared that, owing to the great
increase in the national savings due to prohibition, the extraordinary
outlay occasioned by the war has as yet caused no great suffering in
Russia.
As proof of this, Kharitonoff said the national savings in December,
1913, which had amounted to 700,000 rubles, had increased to
29,100,000 rubles in December, 1914. He added that the total savings
for 1913 amounted to 34,000,000, as compared with 84,000,000 rubles
for 1914.
About vodka, a Petrograd despatch says:
With war and without vodka, Russia is more prosperous than with vodka
and without the war.
That the Tzar and all the people are together to-day as they have never
been before in the history of the empire is a well-known fact. What is
especially gratifying is the knowledge that this war will break the
backs of the last remaining bureaucrats, who owe their existence to the
old, haughty, aristocratic German barons of the Baltic provinces, who
have always been under the influence of Berlin.
The teaching of the Russian language in all of the public schools has
been made compulsory. This is a measure which I had been advocating
for years, but which had always been met with opposition on the part
of my friends, who told me that the Americans must have queer ideas of
liberty when they forced the English language upon all their people
regardless of nationality. All arguments to the effect that one
language and one system of teaching in all public schools in the entire
land meant the creation of a homogeneous unit and the obliteration
of the spirit of nationality--often a block to the concerted action
of a people--were met with ridicule and derision. In view of all
nationalities seeming only too eager to support Russia to-day in her
terrible war, and seeming ready to sacrifice the last drop of blood
for their country, one might be led to believe that the opposition
with which I met whenever in the past I discussed the necessity of
Russification of all the empire’s people along the same lines as
practiced by us in this country, was justified. Yet prior to the war
I was confronted with a picture of the various conflicting elements
of Russia’s vast domain expending most of their time and efforts to
exterminate each other, due mostly to strong feeling entertained
by certain nationalities. Every one knows of the great animosity
which exists between the Russians and the Jews, the Tartars and the
Armenians, the Poles and the Russians, the Sarts and the Persians, the
Uzbecks and the Tadjicks, the Osetins and the Liazgins, and known, too,
is the attitude of the Teutons of the Russian Empire, who hold their
heads high above every other nationality, to give the impression that
they are conferring a favor on all the others by condescending to live
among them, and who are ever anxious to impose their language and their
iron discipline on all of them, feeling that because they educated the
Russians along practically every line imaginable, that that entitled
them to be the only rulers of the land.
[Illustration: KHIRGIZ WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN WEST TURKESTAN
They are the only Mohammedans who never did veil. Like the Mongolians,
and their relatives the Burats, Kalmicks and Jakutsi, they were
originally Buddhists]
The Douma should discountenance every proposed unreasonable restrictive
measure resulting from the war against those Germans who have been
Russian citizens for a long time. In this way they will avoid adding to
Russia’s already full measure of race problems. I fear that the very
recent compulsory introduction of the Russian language into all German
schools and throughout the empire has been more the result of revenge
upon the millions of Germans living in Russia than the desire to
Russianize the hundreds of different nationalities of the empire, but
no matter what the motive may have been, I predict that in this case
the end will justify the means. With one national ideal, united on all
national problems--as she is to-day on the one great question of the
war--and ever ready to make sacrifices for a still greater Russia,
upholding the motto, “One People, One Country and One Flag,” Russia
would become invincible.
Those of Russia’s great men who are doing the thinking for the empire
should remember that in order to accomplish what we have in this
country--namely, the practical obliteration of all nationalities and
subsequent general amalgamation, they must ever bear before them the
fact that there should be equal privileges for all and special favors
for none. While we in the States have not been entirely successful
in carrying out this maxim, the bulk of our people and many of our
greatest reformers are working earnestly in that direction.
The great moment has arrived for Russia. All caste distinction
and special privileges to the nobility should be eliminated and
every nationality put on an equal footing. All people born in
Russia, regardless of their nationality, should be honored with the
political term “Russians” in the same sense as we in America use
the term “Americans,” and religion should not be the only means of
classification, for every sane man knows that no child is responsible
for a religion which the Russian Government, as has been the case until
recently, and Russian parents force upon it. I have never contented
myself with the fact that because I am of Teutonic origin and because
my parents determined upon my being a Stundist, that I had not the
right to consider myself a full-fledged Russian until I saw fit to
accept the anointment imposed by the Russian Church, at my request, I
must admit, or that because of my German origin I could not consider
myself an American when the Constitution of the United States granted
me that right.
Every fair-minded Russian must acknowledge that it is an injustice to
say that only those of Slavic origin or those having become members of
the Greek Orthodox Church are true Russians. Have few people not of
Slavic origin and not members of the Greek Orthodox Church helped to
make Russia the great empire she is?
[Illustration: HIGH-CLASS, VEILED, SART WOMAN
In Old Tashkent, the capital of Sir Daria Province, West Turkestan,
Central Asia, where the Russian Governor General of Turkestan resides.
The architecture of the house and the introduction of windows indicate
the dawn of civilization]
Most Russians resent the idea of Hebrews born in Russia calling
themselves Russians--which, biologically speaking, they are not--yet if
they are born in Russia and are Russian citizens, I cannot see why they
may not apply to themselves the political term “Russians.”
The peasantry should be compelled to remain sober forever, and the
necessary protective laws made for the peasants who desire to sell
their land, and if the most stringent laws governing the rate of
interest are enforced, the laws now on the statutes affecting Hebrews
could be repealed, and the same rights granted to them as are accorded
to all other nationalities without doing the peasants the slightest
injustice.
That the nationalization of all those Russians who are styled
foreigners by the true Slavic Russians is most imperative, I am firmly
convinced.
I think the Emperor voiced the proper sentiment in this matter when, in
appealing to all his people after the declaration of war, he stated,
“Let us forget all internal dissension, and let us all be Russians.”
Transcriber's Notes:
Italics are shown thus: _sloping_.
Variations in spelling and hyphenation are retained.
Perceived typographical errors have been changed.
*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ABUSED RUSSIA ***
Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will
be renamed.
Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright
law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works,
so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United
States without permission and without paying copyright
royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part
of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project
Gutenberg™ electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG™
concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark,
and may not be used if you charge for an eBook, except by following
the terms of the trademark license, including paying royalties for use
of the Project Gutenberg trademark. If you do not charge anything for
copies of this eBook, complying with the trademark license is very
easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose such as creation
of derivative works, reports, performances and research. Project
Gutenberg eBooks may be modified and printed and given away—you may
do practically ANYTHING in the United States with eBooks not protected
by U.S. copyright law. Redistribution is subject to the trademark
license, especially commercial redistribution.
START: FULL LICENSE
THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG™ LICENSE
PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK
To protect the Project Gutenberg™ mission of promoting the free
distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase “Project
Gutenberg”), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full
Project Gutenberg License available with this file or online at
www.gutenberg.org/license.
Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg
electronic works
1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg
electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
(trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all
the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or
destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg electronic works in your
possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a
Project Gutenberg electronic work and you do not agree to be bound
by the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person
or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.
1.B. “Project Gutenberg” is a registered trademark. It may only be
used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few
things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg electronic works
even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See
paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project
Gutenberg electronic works if you follow the terms of this
agreement and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg
electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below.
1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation (“the
Foundation” or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection
of Project Gutenberg electronic works. Nearly all the individual
works in the collection are in the public domain in the United
States. If an individual work is unprotected by copyright law in the
United States and you are located in the United States, we do not
claim a right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing,
displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as
all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope
that you will support the Project Gutenberg mission of promoting
free access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg
works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the
Project Gutenberg name associated with the work. You can easily
comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the
same format with its attached full Project Gutenberg License when
you share it without charge with others.
1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are
in a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States,
check the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this
agreement before downloading, copying, displaying, performing,
distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any
other Project Gutenberg work. The Foundation makes no
representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any
country other than the United States.
1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:
1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other
immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg License must appear
prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg work (any work
on which the phrase “Project Gutenberg” appears, or with which the
phrase “Project Gutenberg” is associated) is accessed, displayed,
performed, viewed, copied or distributed:
This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most
other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions
whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms
of the Project Gutenberg™ License included with this eBook or online
at www.gutenberg.org. If you
are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws
of the country where you are located before using this eBook.
1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg electronic work is
derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (does not
contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of the
copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed to anyone in
the United States without paying any fees or charges. If you are
redistributing or providing access to a work with the phrase “Project
Gutenberg” associated with or appearing on the work, you must comply
either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or
obtain permission for the use of the work and the Project Gutenberg
trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg electronic work is posted
with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any
additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms
will be linked to the Project Gutenberg License for all works
posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the
beginning of this work.
1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg
License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg.
1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
Gutenberg License.
1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including
any word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access
to or distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg work in a format
other than “Plain Vanilla ASCII” or other format used in the official
version posted on the official Project Gutenberg website
(www.gutenberg.org), you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense
to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means
of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original “Plain
Vanilla ASCII” or other form. Any alternate format must include the
full Project Gutenberg License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.
1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg works
unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
access to or distributing Project Gutenberg electronic works
provided that:
• You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
the use of Project Gutenberg works calculated using the method
you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed
to the owner of the Project Gutenberg trademark, but he has
agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project
Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid
within 60 days following each date on which you prepare (or are
legally required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty
payments should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project
Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the address specified in
Section 4, “Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg
Literary Archive Foundation.”
• You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg™
License. You must require such a user to return or destroy all
copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue
all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenberg™
works.
• You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of
any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of
receipt of the work.
• You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
distribution of Project Gutenberg™ works.
1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project
Gutenberg™ electronic work or group of works on different terms than
are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing
from the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the manager of
the Project Gutenberg™ trademark. Contact the Foundation as set
forth in Section 3 below.
1.F.
1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
works not protected by U.S. copyright law in creating the Project
Gutenberg™ collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg™
electronic works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may
contain “Defects,” such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate
or corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other
intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or
other medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that damage or
cannot be read by your equipment.
1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the “Right
of Replacement or Refund” described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
Gutenberg™ trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
Gutenberg™ electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
DAMAGE.
1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you
received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium
with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you
with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in
lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person
or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second
opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If
the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing
without further opportunities to fix the problem.
1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you ‘AS-IS’, WITH NO
OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT
LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.
1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of
damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement
violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the
agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or
limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or
unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the
remaining provisions.
1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
providing copies of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works in
accordance with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the
production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg™
electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses,
including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of
the following which you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this
or any Project Gutenberg work, (b) alteration, modification, or
additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg work, and (c) any
Defect you cause.
Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg
Project Gutenberg is synonymous with the free distribution of
electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of
computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It
exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations
from people in all walks of life.
Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg’s
goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg collection will
remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project
Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
and permanent future for Project Gutenberg and future
generations. To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary
Archive Foundation and how your efforts and donations can help, see
Sections 3 and 4 and the Foundation information page at www.gutenberg.org.
Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non-profit
501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
Revenue Service. The Foundation’s EIN or federal tax identification
number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg Literary
Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by
U.S. federal laws and your state’s laws.
The Foundation’s business office is located at 41 Watchung Plaza #516,
Montclair NJ 07042, USA, +1 (862) 621-9288. Email contact links and up
to date contact information can be found at the Foundation’s website
and official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact
Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg
Literary Archive Foundation
Project Gutenberg™ depends upon and cannot survive without widespread
public support and donations to carry out its mission of
increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
freely distributed in machine-readable form accessible by the widest
array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations
($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
status with the IRS.
The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations
where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND
DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular state
visit www.gutenberg.org/donate.
While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
approach us with offers to donate.
International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.
Please check the Project Gutenberg web pages for current donation
methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other
ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. To
donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate.
Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg electronic works
Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project
Gutenberg concept of a library of electronic works that could be
freely shared with anyone. For forty years, he produced and
distributed Project Gutenberg eBooks with only a loose network of
volunteer support.
Project Gutenberg eBooks are often created from several printed
editions, all of which are confirmed as not protected by copyright in
the U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not
necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper
edition.
Most people start at our website which has the main PG search
facility: www.gutenberg.org.
This website includes information about Project Gutenberg,
including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.
