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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (June 7, 1903)
THE SUNDAY OBEGOXIAX, PdRTIAND, JUNE 7, 1003. 3 THEU MIX -RELIGION AMD BUSINESS A GLANCE AT THE "RUSSIAN WHERE THE AMERICAN r -INVASION HAS NOT YET REACHED THEY HALFSOLB YOUR T, PETERSBURG, May 14. tapecioi j Correspondence) I have come from i Berlin to St. Petersburg as an ad- i vance scout or the American Invasion. I went across North Germany to Stettin on the Oder and there got a German steamer which took mo over the Baltic to Kronstadt and landed me In St Pet ersburg. The trip cost $15 and lasted three days. Our ship was so heavily laden with German goods for Russia that we could not move about upon deck, and the cab Ins were so filled with commercial drum mers that we had to sleep three in a room. Everything about the steamer was Ger man. The beds were too short and the bedding was shorter. It Is cold on the Baltic at this thneof the year, and the fat feather tick which was my only cov ering reached but to my chest. "When I covered my neck I had an attack of cold feet, and If I saved my feet I was in danger of bronchitis. The food was Ger man. "We had coffee and bread and but ter at 8 o'clock in the morning, pork" chops or veal cutlets or hamburger steak along about 10, a dinner at 2 and supper at 7. There was plenty of light and dark beer' "with each meal, and cheese of all kinds, from Schwelzer to Llmbyrger. I talked with the German drummers as to their trade with Russia. They claim that they have the foreign trade of the -whole empire with the exception of agri cultural machinery in their inside vest pocket, and as far as I can Judge at this early writing they are not far from correct- I find Germans everywhere. They have their stores in every city and their agents on every Toad. They do ao much of the business that German is generally understood by the larger merchants. There are more than, 13,00) of them In St. Petersburg alone, to about 2000 French, 2000 English and less than 50 Americans. The Hit? Russian Market. "We are sending a few million dollars worth of goods here every year, but our exporters have not begun to tap the trade. The most of the American goods are han dled by Germans or sold through Ger man agents, and we do not seem to real ize the magnitude of the empire nor the enormous possibilities of its trade. It Is already one of the greatest markers of the world and in the future It will be a hundred times greater. Have you ever thought of the size of Russia? You know It is big, but do you know how big It is? From the top of Russia In Europe to the bottom is about as far as from New York to Salt Lake City, and across It from west to east is almost as far as from New York to Den ver It comprises about two-thirds of the European continent, and It Is about two thirds as large as the United States without Alaska or our outlying colonies. A large part of the country lias some of the best soil on the globe, but It Is not half cultivated. The better farmers are Introducing our agricultural machinery, xind year by year the crops increase. But Russia in Europe Is less than one fourth of the Russian empire. It has more than 6,000,(00 square miles of land In Asia, the most of it In great blocks, including vast tracts which will raise wheat, cotton, dairy products and every talng under the sun. The land contains minerals of all kinds, and is on the whole the greatest undeveloped property in the world today. Altogether the Russian em 1 !re contains more than one-sixth of all the land on the earth's surface, or about two and one-half times as much as is cwned by the United States. Our Russian Castoaers. This vast extent of territory Is thinly populated. It will probably support 100 n?n where It now supports one, but, nev crtheless, it has a vast population. The Czar rules almost 130,003,000 people, or just about one-twelfth of the population of the globe. That means If you could I ut all the people on this big, round earth into one place one In every dozen would be a Russian. These people are not like the sax-ages of Central Africa, who have but few wants, More than one hundred million of them are white people who spend money like water If they have It. The peasantry of Russia are very poor, but when they get rich they scatter their money around more extravagantly than any other people on earth. They want the best, and will pay tig prices for it. The great market of the future will be In their increased wealth and increased wants. As It is now. the average Russian Is not worth one- fifth as much, as the Average American. There are vast territories where the earn Ings of the inhabitants are not more than 12 cents a day, and altogether the foreign trade is now worth only $5 or $6 per per son. The people live upon almost nothing, a few cents a day supplying them with their blak bread and cabbage soup, and their tlothcs belns the cheapest of the cheat). Most of these (Russians are farmers, but there are a million and a half who are cow working In the factories, and there ire at least four millions who carry on tillage Industries in addition to tilling the loll. But all this I shall describe as fo over the country. St. Petersburg is 1803. In this letter I want to tell you some thing about St. Petersburg, and how it BOOTS WHILE YOU WAIT. does, business. I was here, ten years ago, but since that time an almost new cap ital has sprung up on the banks of the Neva. St Ptersburg is the same cen ter tf politics and society as It was then, but It is now a great manufacturing cen ter, and It does a.n enormous business with all parts of the world. In riding out Into the country on the railroads you go for miles past towns built among smoke stacks. There are Iron .works, machipe I works and mljls of all kinds. This Is the chief sea gate for the rest of Europe, and a vast commerce floats through it. The town already has about 1,500,000 people, and new buildings are going up In all parts of it. The buildings are large and modern. Some of them are of five stories. Others are lower, covering a vast space. Tho Nevskl Prospect has perhaps the best bouses and the largest and fin est stores, but thtre arc other streets" almost as good, and I find enormous mar kets in out of the way parts of the city. The Basaars of St. retcrnbnrs'. So far I have not found a department store here. I understand there Is one In Moscow, and It would seem to me that a good one w?uld pay In St. Petersburg. The business- here Is done somewhat like that of a department store. I mean you can buy almost everything under one roof, but every department has its indi vidual owner and there are a thousand merchants, each working for himself In the store. In other words the business is done in bazaars. The biggest bazaar Is that of tho Gos tinyi Dvor, which is right In the heart of the Nevskl Prospect, the widest and btst street of St. Petersburg. This ba zaar covers as much as three of our city squares. It is a long, low. two-story building, composed of one solid mass of booths or stores opening out upon a cor ridor, which is separated from the street by a line of pillars like the cloisters of a monastery The corridor !s about ten feet wide. It is painted white, and Is well lighted. As you stand in it you can see a moving mass of promenaders, and shoppers which so fills it that you cannot see to the end of It. The stores are each about 15 feet square with plate glass at the front reaching from floor to roof. The most of the goods are In the windows, and the ware are of the most gaudy de scription. There are many Jewelry stores MClNICKPAL- MISGOVEKNMENT EFORE any Intelligent effort can be adopted In any city In the country to carry on the work of municipal re generation where it is needed, the cause of the municipal disorders must be well understood. In our opinion that cause consists simply in this The domination of municipal affairs by partisan or boss government, for the" two are names for one and the same thing. The cause, the principal, the remote, the ultimate cause is the circumstance that tho people choose to surrender the domination and the gov ernment of their municipal affairs to one or the other (It makes no matter which) of the great National political parties of the day. Now, in saying that we have come to a conclusion that that is the cause have we made any new discovery? No. Any thoughtful man who at any time will look into its essential nature, must see that such a surrender by the people of the control of their municipal affairs must necessarily' be followed by the mischiev ous effects to which I have alluded, and yet but few, comparatively, are really persuaded of this. Many people have thought that the trouble was In repub lican government- They say: "Republic an government is Inadequate to the prop er government of our cities, and we are powerless, therefore, to relieve It unless we abandon republican government and adopt some other." Others have said that It was the enormous influx of Ignorant foreigners into the country Ignorant of our institutions, not understanding our language, nor our customs, naturally the tools and instrumentalities of the politi cians; as soon as that immigration is di minished, or as soon as that element be came amalgamated with the general pop ulation of the country, we should have a better state of things. Others, again, have said that It was in consequence of imperfect municipal charters that our laws "Were Insufficient; that we must have better laws laws to punish offenses in reference to the transaction of municipal affairs and that our remedy was to go to the legislature and have a. lot of new laws enacted. Now, there is more or less truth in all these views. That is td say, there Is this much truth in them: Our municipal dis orders are aggravated; the ability 6f ma chine politicians to control municipal af fairs Is Increased in consequence of the great number of foreigners Ignorant for eignerswho have come Into the country; in consequence of the ignorance among those of our own community of the prop er administration of municipal affairs; in consequence of -the1 indifference of those j bISO' . LmCJ-iKB llBisi&sB,i3s0 BnlKH9HB9Hlli2i-V .Jciifift-'?'''' i9flL-4sfls!BflflMssR and brass and gold and silver wares meet your eyes at every few steps. A part of the bazaar Is given up to icons, and religious merchandise. These Russians are the most pious people on who are more Intelligent, but who wish to "take no part. There Is spme truth in all this, but we think that the main cause, which must be removed before any con siderable Improvement can be reached. Is the surrender by the citizens of the sev eral cities of the control of their affairs to the dominance of a partisan or boss machine. I want to say a. few words In explana tion of this, and to show how lt-ls brought about. Just look, for "Instance, at what he condition is. The cities xt the coun try at the present time control an enor mous amount of money. There is annual ly collected by taxation in the City of New York for municipal purposes $100, 000.000; $30,000,000 In Philadelphia. I do not know how'maay in tho City of Boston, but all over the country some $300,000,000 or $700,000,000 arc annually collected by taxation for municipal purposes, and the control and management of that vast sum constitute means by which those who may be able to gain control of it may enrich themselves, enrich their associates, ad vance themselves on the road to political fortune, and. In a multitude of ways, mostly corrupt and improper, pervert those funds from their true and proper purpose. Now. that Is the great prize constantly -offered at every election, to the people of this country a prize which, of course, has approached its present magnitude only " within recent years, which in the early history of the country did not exist at all or not exist to such an extent as to tempt persons seriously. Now, however, the temptation Is enor mous; it is prodigious, the force of it we can hardly measure; and this Is the price which Is dangled before the politician at every municipal election. On the other hand, what are the in ducements to honest men to-take office? They moist abandon their business; they mu6t give up their regular pursuit, .and they must devote themselves disinterest; edly to the public good for little or no compensation. I need not say, that con stituted as human nature is, here is a very great danger always present. Knpw ing, as we do. the weakness of human nature. Is it a wonder that in the struggle for municipal office the men who want the possession, of these guttering pecun iary prizes, and who know they can bo obtained by the practice of unscrupulous means, will get the better of men who dp not care to have the possesslok of them. and who under no circumstances will re-, sort to unscrupulous means? The Republican and Democratic parties, the two great National parties, have ho concern with municipal politics. They never deal with them. You never see In their platforms anything" about" them.1 They know nothing1 about them; they care nothing about them; and, in-Teallty, tney have no proper concern with them. And yet they assume a concern. "What do they OUR RUSSIAN CUSTODIERS. TROUSERS ARE SOLD OX THE STREET. earth. They are always praying, and the priests have made them believe they have to pay as well as pray. They buy brass and gold-plated Images of the Savior to hang up in the houses and churches. Ev want? They want the votes, all they can get, the one side or the othef, and, there fore, they want some agency operating In these great cities which will act on their 6lde and secure to them by' one means or. another (and they do not care what at all 'events they do not exhibit much care about it) the greatest number of votes. "What can they offer in return? This: Thay have the control of the general party organization of the country. They can recognize whichever local organization they please, and the one they choose to recognize as the only one that can exist. All the others must go out of existence. Now the leaders of the great political parties practically gay to the politicians of the cities: "'You bring us all the votes you can. and the man who Is able to bring us the greatest number of votes (which Is evidenced, of course, by the extent to which he carries municipal elec tions for tho party) the man who brings us the greatest number of votes, the or ganization that brings It, that man and that organization shall be pronounced reg ular"; and that declaration of course en ables this municipal organization in the cities where it can carry an election to obtain entire control of the business of the municipality and of all Its proceed ings. I remember a story of a gentleman who had been a member of Congress, and after 30 .years was elected again. TVhen he went back he had occasion to go Into one of the department offices, and he found there a gentleman, an official, who had been there when he was in Con gress 20 years before, and he congratu lated hlta on it He said: "How Is It that you have remained here through no many changes of administration?" There had beeu a half dozen. Republicans had come and gone and Democrats had come and gone. "Well," says he, "if they can change their administrations quicker than I can change my politics, they are pretty smart," Now, these corrupt politicians of the municipal stripe do not care un der what banner they fightr-one le Just as good as the other; and if you did attempt to put them out and did, succeed in the 8ttempt in one party they would -go over Into the other and make that party suc cessful by the same means. The only remedy is to conauer the evil in its cause this alliance, 'this control of municipal affairs by the political parties to attack the control of the political par- tJes'over municipal affairs, to say to the political parties; "You have no business or concern withthem. You must not nominate candidates; if you 'do- they are to be beaten-' Now you ask, "What does this mean? Does it mean that we are to organize, to have an organization in the various wards and districts of the city, a municipal party formed for the purpose of securing ery living room has such an Image and as a rule a candle Is kept burning below It. The face of the Madonna or saint Is paint ed and the brass or- gold so cut out that it forms the clothing and frame of the BY JAMES C. CARTER, EX-PRESIDENT OF THE NATIONAL MUNICIPAL LEAGUE better government, and to put up candi dates for Mayor; fdr Aldermen and other municipal officers and to endeavor to elect them? Yes, It means just that. "Well, they say, you cannot do it. Perhaps you can't, but if you don't do if you will suffer. You will suffer and In the end you will be" obliged to do It; and-when It be comes necessary to do it, as it' will, why then you will do It, because whatever Is necessary to be done "frill be done as a matter of course, and the time will come when it will be necessary. "Well, Is It not possible? "Why, yes. It Is possible If you will think so. If all the individuals or half of the well disposed members of the community who have no pecuniary Interest In politics would say: "We will adopt this policy." the thing would be done. A party would at once.be formed, which, put in the field, would have the majority or would so endanger the election of candidates of either of the other two that it would quickly become superior and control the destinies of the city. "Why, it is done repeatedly, is it not? "We have done It two or three times in New York. It has. been done. In, Chi cago. It has been done In 5Q pf the cities of the country occasionally, sporadically Indeed, but what has been done once or twice or three times, can It not be done always? "Why, of course It can. If you can dq It once, you can always do It. I am a party man myself, and I. like to see the great National policies which are represented by the two opposing, parties presented to the people of the country, and their aseent to this or that measure sought by discussion, by -argument,' by every fair influence upon the mind. The National political campaigns, - with all their accompaniments "or most of them there" are some of them I would leave out are Interesting and valuable experiences. instructive to the citizen, necessary to freedom, xand they are not to be given up by any manner of means. It is only when National politics undertake to n croach upon a domain with which they have, no concern that the mischief - arises, and it is at that point that , our efforts ought to be directed. If I should compare, however, the im portance of National politics with munici pal politics, if I may so call them, tna : importance of a proper control of Na tional affairs with that of municipal af . fairs, I should say that the former were less Important, almost liKe dust in the balance, compared with the latter. In National affairs "the moment degeneracy begins It Is felt in" every corner of. your civil and political life. The moment un scrupulous men get possession of your municipal offices and turn them to-- their own purposes, your schoolS-begin to suf fer aegredatlon. the pavesaent -of- your streets is. affected, the cleanness, of your city is gone, your police comes into alli ance with crime, and you are threatened with every sort of danger, and thereNls ho A RUSSIAN MERCHANT AT HOME. Image. Some of thee; things cost enrom ous sums. The jewelry stores are especially fine, and the fur stores are magnificent, for Russia is the chief fur market of the world. The skins of tigers, wolves. Jack als and foxes are beautifully mounted with heads of the animals Intact, so that they- grin out at you as you walk along the corridor. Go within and you find shelves piled high with furs, and upstairs are bales and bags of them, some of the skins being worth almost their weight In gold Then there are drygoods stores and no tion stores and toy stores all In this same bazaar. The toy bazaars sell babies In swaddling clothes and little ladles In the costume of the country They sell all sorts of toys, domestic and Imported, and there would "be a- goodmarket here for the machine toys of the United States. In other parts of the bazaar are basket stores, hadware stores and stores selling gents' furnishing goods, including dick eys, or imitation shirts. Some of the stores have even dickey vests, which reach only to the height of the chest, be ing merely a white belt when the coat Is off, but when on like a full white dress vest. RuHslan Merchant. Our commercial travelers will have to sell to the Russian merchants, and In or der to deal well, they ought to speak Rus sian, or at least German. They ought to know something of the merchant class and how they do business. They must be careful not to offend them, and it will pay them to study their customs before they begin to trade. The merchants as a rule are proud of their business. They are essentially Rus sian, and they do not put on foreign airs. The most of them wear long coats and high-topped boots, Into which they stuff their pantaloons. They usually part their hair in the middle and cut it off around the neck, so that It forms a sortrof brush as It hangs down from the crown. They are shrewd traders, and go on the prin ciple that everything Is fair In trade. 8gme of them are very rich, and as a rule the richer a man Is the poorer he dresses and the less style he puts on out side his home. The most of the merchants are" relig ious. Every store of this big bazaar has a sacred picture over the door with a lit- form of social or political life in which you do not Instantly feel the result. It Is for this reason that I cannot help thinking tnat tne attention to municipal affairs is vastly more important in immediate re sults than any attention to National poli tics, aitnougn x would by no means dls parage the latter. I look forward to a time when these views In reference to our municipal af fairs will be better understood and will be generally accepted and acted, upon, and the methods which now seem to some visionary will be fully employed and be come thoroughly effective, and our cities, great and small, be made to be what they ought to be the magnificent temples of our modern civilization. New York City. Love at Sea. Algernon Charles Swinburne. TVe are ia love's land today; - "Where shall we go? Love, shall we start or stay. Or fail or row? There's many a wind and way. And never a Mar but Mar: "We are in love's hand today; Where shall we eo? Our land-wind Is the breath Of sorrows kissed to death And Joys that were; Our ballast Is a rose; Our way lies where God knows, And love knows where. We are In love's land today Our seamen are fledged Loves, Ovr masts are Mils of doves. Our decks fine gold; Our ropes are dead maids' hair. Our -stores are love-shafts fair And manifold. ' "We are In love's land today "Where snail we land you, sweet? On fields of strange men's feet, : Or fields near home? Or where the fire-flowers blow. Or where the flowers of snow. Or flowers of foam? We are la love's hand today Land m?, she ays. where love Show butone shaft, one dove. Oae heart, on band A shore like that, asr dear. Lies where no man will steer. So maiden land. EmensB's Faadn-esn for Pie. Des Moines Register. . Interesting, too. has been the reminis cence of Emerson's love for pie. Jt has been remarked that he liked his pie biked in deep, square tins, so that like the real estate speculator he could get a good corner. Rallied upon his fondness for this Piece de resstance of New England cook ery. It Is fondly recalled bow the sage re plied: "What is pie made for If not to be eaten" x delightful bit of Emersonian philosophy. tie candle burning under it. Sometimes the picture is no bigger than a playing card, and sometimes even as small as a postage stamp, but It Is always there. The proprietor and his clerks each say a prayer and cross themselves as they open the store, and they all say prayers be fore they leave. Shutting- Up Shop. I spent one night at the great bazaar watching the closing of the different stores: It was 9 o'clock, the usual clos ing hour, but in this latitude as light as 5 o'clock in .the United States. As I looked the clerks came out and began to put up the shutters. They closed the whole front of each store, leaving a crack for the clerks and proprietors td come out.. Before departing the merchant and his clerks crossed themselves. They crossed themselves and prayed when they stood outside and then watched one of the men pull the great doors together and turn the ponderous keys In the half dozen dif ferent locks. Then the merchant took a string and tied it about the Iron work so that It crossed the opening of the door. He joined the ends of the string with wax and stamped this with his private seal. so that it was impossible to open the lock without cutting the string or breaking the seal. Then there was another taking ore of hats on all sides, all crossed themselves again and muttered prayers, and all shoqfc hands and went away to tneir nomes. This ceremony was ocecrvea Deiore al most all the stores of this vast bazaar. Not a clerk left before the shutters were up and employers and clerks departed to gether. Indeea. I saw. nut one man wno did not seal his store witn wax. iie was a pious-looking fellow and apparently con tented himself with saying an extra prayer over the fastenings. As I watched him I said to my son Jack, who was with me: "There, my boy. is a man whom you would do well to imitate. He believes in prayer and he trusts the Lord to take care of his goods. "Yes." said Jack. I see he does, but I also notice that he Is mighty careful to lock his store with three separate keys before he gives the Lord a chance." Indeed. Jack is surprised at the pray ing. He says It keeps the Russians busy crossing themselves before all the shrines and churches. They do this as they go alqng the streets, no matter what their class or condition, tub military onicer and the noble, the peasant and the droschky driver never pass a church without lifting his hat and saying a pray er. "We see men kneeling on the steps before the closed doors of the churches, and within them they may be always found bowing their heads to the stone floors In their devotions. Any one who Imagines the Greek Church is dead should come to Russia, These people are not ashamed pt their religion, and they prac tice it more openly than we do ours. Peddling ia Russia. I am surprised at the backward meth ods of Russian business. Our American Invaders should come here and study tho situation. They will find many things the same as in the Middle Ages. There are open-air markets, where all sorts of things are sold and peddlers go through the streets with every kind of ware, even to caps, trousers and boots. A man will have half a dozen pairs of pants on his back and sell them as he goes. Of course, there is no trying on. The police would not permit that, but as nine-tenths of the Russians wear their trousers in their boots, the fit Is more a waist measure than anything els?. The shoe peddler carries his wares from house to house, and the itinerant shoemaker may be found in every other street half-sollng boots while the customers wait. Retaliate Agalast the Americans. At present most American goods pay an extra duty because the United States discriminates against Russian sugar. The discrimination came from the influence of our sugar trust; but it would have paid us better to haVe admitted Russian sugar free than to have our trade hampered by the present restrictions. All customs matters here are In the hands of the Fi nance Minister, and when we put our duty on sugar he at once put duties on al most all American Imports. "We still sell plenty jJf machinery because the Ameri can machinery Is better than any other, but many of our goods are kept out. r chatted with Mr. Hernando De Sota, our Vlce-Consul-General here, as to this tariff- During the talk he told me how he had been forced to pay $17.50 for bring ing an old American bicycle into Russia. "I was," said he. ''connected with the Consulate at Dresden, and was ordered to St. Petersburg. I had a letter from the Russian Ambassador at Berlin asking the frontier customs officers to treat me leniently, and also papers showing that I was connected with the United States Government. Nevertheless, when the cus toms officers saw my bicycle they said It was classed, as machinery and that I must pay a duty of 15 rubles, or $9. 'But,' said I. 'thj3 Is my personal property. You can see that It is an old machine, for I have ridden it 4000 miles. X Dougnt it in America some years ago.' " 'Ah!' was the reply. 'American. Is It? "We have a new rule as to American ma chinery, and will have tocharge you al most double the dpty. -According to that the tariff is 33 rubles.' This amounted to $17.50, and that amount I paid." FRANK G. CARPENTER. - ' (Copyright 1M.)