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. THE SUNDAY OREGONIAX, PORTLAND, 3IARCIT 28, 1920
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JUSTICE OF SOVIET
FAIR THQUGH STERN
Judges Free to Create Law
Under Russian System.
CRIME DECLARED LESS
est a rush to ariena mi otner tlnncs. has nnderpoiie a strik-
..ib "ucidiiun uiiuer tne soviet regime.
At the start turnkeys, and in some
institutions prisoners themselves, de
cided to form Soviets and run things
to suit themselves. In May, 1918, the
central authority put a stop to this
sort of chaos. The soviet govern
ment proclaimed its intention of
treating- convicts "not like men cast
out of society but as involuntary vic
tims of a former social organization
and as mental invalids who must be
cured quickly and as wisely as pos
sible." Special commissions composed of
medical men and penal authorities
were created to classify inmates
along these new lines. More than 100
prisons considered insufficiently sani
tary were closed and additions mado
to medical staffs in the remainder.
Corrcspomlnil 'oinparr Old ami
Sfw HcRimos and Conclusions
Favorable to I.atlcr.
PT LINCOLN" KYRK.
(Copyright by th- N-w York World. Puh-li.-hcd
by Arrangement.)
PARIS. M.ir;h 27. In Moscow
toward the middle of January I at
tended a session of a revolutionary
tribunal trying Count Paniarin, former
head of the Mjo nobility, and ten
priests of the Russian church for
treason against the soviet republic.
The trial took place in a spacious
chamber that had been the grand hall
of the nobles' assembly building, now
become the headquarters of the mu
nicipal trades unions.
It was a curious by-product of rev
olution that Sa.n-irin should be placed
on trial for his life In the very room
In which as president of the most
uristocratic organization in ttie Rus
sian empire he must have been the
central figure it many magnificent
assemblages.
I watched him where he sat. muf
fled in a heavy fur coat, among his
fellow prisoners, and saw his tired
eyes roaming Incessantly about the
familiar apartment. What a shock it
must have been for him to behold In
these stately surroundings, where
once there had foregathered only the
riost exalted personages of the im
perial court in gorgeous gowns and
full dress uniforms glittering with
decorations, the motley crowd of un
couth, unkempt proletarians that
made up the tribunal and audience!
It was a well-behaved and orderly
throng, however, for all its rough
clothing and rlebelan odor.
Srrnr an Ordinary One.
There was little to distinguish the
rrene frcm an ordinary American
" courtroom. Ked militiamen guarded
tht doors, admitting only those armea
with passes.
s:iCatioral a trial should prove over
whpli.iii Others served as ushers.
guijin-r one q.iiUl.v to one's seat
At the far end of the long room
facing the spectators the three judges
who comprised the tribunal sal De
hind a broad table covered with red
baize and set on a dais raised about
a foot above the floor level. On
their left was the public prosecutor,
who chanced to be Krylenko. first
commander in chief of the red guards.
On the right, 11 prisoners were seated
'In two rows and lookin gmuch lige a
jury. Three lawyers acting as coun
sel for the defense occupied a email
table immediately in front of the ac
' cused. all of whom, except Samarin,
were popes, wearing the round black
hats and long black cassocks of their
calling.
Aged Monk AVrp.
They were charged with conspiring
to overthrow the soviet government
by the means of a so-called church
soviet, an institution by which it
was alleged they hoped to wean peas
ants away from the republic and back
Into the religious fold.
While I was present witnesses were
testifying us to the dissolute habits
of the priests. Photographs and lit
erature eahl to have b rn found in
their rooms were produced, tine old
monk from Troitsa monastery wept
into his long white beard at the sight
of these degenerate documents.
The judges were three young work-
Ingmen attired in the clothes they
doubtless wore in their factory. They
had hard but intelligent faces. Now
and again the one in the middle, who
was president of the court, asked
question of u witness. Subsequently
witnesses for the defense were called
They were permitted as much freedom
of statement as those for the prosecu
tion. Absolute silence attended, the
proceedings, the only untoward sound
being an occasional sob from an aged
monk. The whole thing reminded
me of a courtmartial at which I
had been present in Paris. As far
as I could see, the only difference
lay in there being three judges of
the working class instead of seven
ludsres of the officer class. The ac-
'cused had as full a measure of pro
tection in one case as in the other.
Hrprirvm Arc Granted.
Later I learned that Samarin and
one of the priests had been sentenced
to be shot, but were reprieved by the
timelv abolition of the death penalty
Thereupon they were sent with the
icst to an internment camp for an
indeterminate period. This is a favor
He sentence with the revolutionary
tribunals.
The revolutionary tribunals are not
permanent courts, but are specially
summoned to try particular cases.
Most of the offenders brought before
them nowadays are individuals
charged with illicit speculation on a
scale deemed a menace to the safety
of the revolution. Particular severity
Is shown toward government func
tionaries who have used their official
riosition for their own profit and to
ward other varieties of the genus
prafter. Appeal from a revolutionary
tribunal's decision may be carried be
fore a supreme tribunal, which, sit
ting, as a judicial branch of the cen
tral executive committee, is the high
est court in the land. Only important
affairs regarded as being of concern
to the state, are placed on the calen
dar of these extraordinary tribunals.
Minor cases of graft and crime, as
well as civil suits between individuals,
are tried by people's courts.
People- I'oarls lXablinnf d.
The latter organization is a regular
permanent establishment for the ad
ministration of justice. Under the
Soviets it came into being by decree
of the central executive committee on
November 30, 1!1S, which provided for
the division of municipalities into
districts, in each of which . there
should sit one permanent and from
two to six temporary judges, all des
ignated by the local soviet. It was
ordained, moreover, that the uniform
public law court, as it is officially
termed, should try both civil and
criminal cases, and that the proceed
ings should remain the same what
ever the cost or character of any par
ticular case might be. In trying civil
cases other than divorce, one perma
nent Judge (permanent judges are
supposed to be elected from among
persons having some juridical knowl
edge) and two assessors, to give the
temporary judges their formal title,
form the court. One judge and six
assessors are required for criminal
cases. In each instance the verdict
Is subject to review by a court of
cassation, which is composed of all
the permanent judges in the region
in which it sits. Questions of do
mestic strife and misdemeanor are
considered by one judge alone. He
may also sit as an examining magis
trate, the rqle of a grand jury being
played by an inquiry commission
wlilch sifts the evidence laid before
U by him or by the militia and de
termines whether an indictment is
permissible.
People's courts are bound to be
guided by the soviet government's
laws and decrees. But as the code Is
-'' i vipuipieie. juuises sic w " i '
not only to apply but to create the
law in which, according to the peo
ple's commissaries' ruling, they are
to be governed "by a sense of so
cialist conception of right." This Is
usually translated to mean that a
manual laborer should be treated with
greater leniency than anybody else.
Great reduction in the scope of pri
vate ownership brought about by the
revolution has radically diminished
the number of civil actions concern- '
ing property. Where in Moscow in I
1914 civil cases, exclusive of divorce
suits, totaled 53 per cent of the ;
docket, they formed only 30 per cent
In 1D19. Since the first anniversary of
the revolution indeed they have de
creased by 12 per cent.
At the same time there has been a
sharp diminution in the total of crim
inal cases tried. During the soviet
fiscal year 1918-13, November to No
vember, there were only 47,120 per
sons tried for crime in Petrograd as
against lfiO.UUO in 1914. The popula
tion for the former capital in the
same period decreased more than 50
per cent, but still the reduction in
crime is very considerable. In Mos- j
cow this reduction has attained about j
23 per cent. During 1914, 1,500.000 j
criminal cases, were brought before
imperial tribunals in 34 governments !
and towns, whereas in 1918-19 scarce- I
ly more than 1.000,000 came before j
the people's courts in the same area. I
Murders and other crimes of physical j
violence have been particularly rare;
burglary and highway robbery almost
equally so. Indeed, the only form of
larceny that increased considerably is
theft of foodstuffs.
Peace In Kept.
Certainly the dictatorship of the
proletariat understands how to com
pel its subjects to keep the peace.
There is an Informal ruthlessness in
the soviet militia's treatment of crim
inals that in itself acts as a deterrent
to iawbreaking. A burglar caught in
the act probably would be forthwith
shot by the nearest militiamen and no
questions asked. One of the few
agreeable features of life in Moscow
or Petrograd is the complete sense of.
security one feels there as far as ;
crime is concerned. I have walked I
alone and unarmed through unlighted
streets in both cities late at night:
without the faintest sensation of that j
uneasiness I should certainly have
felt in traversing certain New York i
thoroughfares at the same huor.
Moreover, it never occurred to me to
lock up any of my belongings when I'
went out. although most of them were
worth, large sums of money.
The percentage of convictions in
cases tried by the people's courts
59 is about the same as in the czar's
tribunals. The same kind of -punishment
is inflicted, too.
i-rison lire in llussa. lik most
Silver
Diamonds!
and Jewelry
in Lavish Array
Complete Services in Sterling1 in the
Lansdowne Pattern
Sterling Flatware in Late Patterns
Kheims, Livingston, Chatham,
Hammered and Victorian
Exclusive Designs in Hand-Wrought Silver
Pieces Baskets, Candy Jars, Epergnes, Etc.
Largest Selection of Sterling Tea Sets
in the City
miiimranii
Exclusive Gorhan Hand Bags, Both Beaded
and Silk, With Heavy Dutch Silver Mounts
Dainty Enamels in Links, Bar Pins,
Vanities and Cigarette Cases
Complete Stocks of Chelsea Clocks From the
Dainty Boudoir to the Office
Agents for Herschede's- Hall Clocks
niiimniiitu
Lavish Displays of Fine Diamonds and
Hand-Wrought Platinum Mountings
310-312 Washington Street
Bet. Fifth and Sixth
STORY IS WIFE'S CLEW
Fireman's Complaint Cansos in.
vrsligulion and Divorce.
ALUANY. Or., March 27. (i Special.)
When Mrs. Gertrude Christensen of
Brownsville read in a Portland uaner
a few weeks ago that some man had
been fined in the municipal court in
Portland upon complaint of Carl
Christensen for giving liquor to the
latter's "wife" she began an inves
tigation which was concluded in the
state circuit court here yesterday
when she got a divorce.
She testified that she found her
husband and another woman living
together in a house on Clay street,
Portland. She said she then went to
the fire house of engine company No.
1. where her husband was then em
ployed, and confronted him with the
situation. She testified he admitted
that state of affairs and told her he
had more respect for the other wom
an than her.
IS
GRAND JCRY STILL BUSY OX
ALLEGED SHIP FRAUDS.
Goats to Go to Alaska.
COTTAGE GROVE. Or., March 27.
(Special.) Cottage Grove goats soon
will be furnishing milk to the deni
zens of the frozen north. Mr. and
Mrs. Clarence Spencer, who are here
from Alaska spending the winter,
have shipped a nannie and two kids
to their northern home and will them
selves leave for there as soon as they
can get steamer reservations. Mr.
Spencer is in the laundry business at
Craig.
Phone your want ads to The Orego
nian. Main 7070. A 11095.
Federal Government Names Seattle
District Attorney to Assist in
Conducting Prosecution.
SEATTLE, Wash., March 27. Ben
L. Moore, assistant United States dis
trict attorney here, has been appointed
by Attorney-General Palmer to assist
Bert Schlesslnger, San Francisco, in
prosecuting cases involving frauds in
the Pacific coast shipbuilding pro
gramme, it was announced today. Mr.
Moore had previously resigned from
the district attorney's staff, effective
next Thursday.
Additional indictments against Cap
tain John F. Blain. former north Pa
cific district manager for the Unied
States shipping board, and Phillips
Morrison, president of the Seaborn
Shipyards company, Taconia, Wash.,
and W. -A. Magee. Seattle, who suc
ceeded Captain Blain as manager,
were returned by a federal grand
jury here last night and made public
today. Both indictments involve al
leged shipyard frauds.
The indictment against Captain
Blain is the fifth to be returned since
January 1, all based on the same
charge of having accepted secret com
missions from the Steward Davit &
Equipment company. New York, while
acting as shipping board manager.
Three were dismissed.
Morrison and Captain Magee were
reindicted on charges of having con
spired to defraud the government
through the presentation of false
claims for changes in hulls undei
construction for the government dur
ing the war.
Captain Blain posted $5000 on eacb
of the two charges against him. Mr.
Morrison and Magee today each
posted $2000 bail.
TENDER DEBRIS DRIFTS IN
Wreckage of Concrete Vessels
Washed Up at Xorth Beach.
ASTORIA, Or.. March 27. (Special.)
Persons arriving from North Beach,
Wash., today reported that the entire
beach was strewn with the wrecked
houses of the concrete wator tenders.
Captain French, Captain Hammond
and Captain Colquhoun. which were
lost off the coast last January, while
being towed to San Francisco by the
tug Slocuni.
The wreckage which is being
brought ashore by the northwest wind
includes a large quantity of ceiling,
as well as a number of doors and
several life preservers.
Veterans to Hold Smoker.
The Over-thc-Top post. Veterans of
Foreign Wars, will entertain its mem
bers and friends at a smoker in room
F75 of the courthouse tomorrow eve
ning. A snappy programme has been
arranged, to be followed with re
freshments. All overseas men are in
vited to attend. ,
n
SALESMEN
A
CONDITION THAT
CALLS FOR A TONIC
When the health is run down from
overwork, overstudy. lack of exercise
or from whatever cause, a good tonic
is needed.
Sometimes what Is thought to be
simple debility, is a symptom of a
more serious disorder. Perhaps that
tired feeling, weakness; repeated at
tacks of indigestion,, headaches and
dizzy spells are due to anemia or to
the breaking down of the nervous sys
tem. By taking a tonic that is a
specific for many disorders of the.
bldod and nerves threatened invalid
ism may be prevented. That is what
happened in the case of Mrs.- Maude
Thompson of No. 144 West Kiehth
South street. Salt Lake City, Utah.
hen seen at her home recently
Mrs. Thompson was glad to discuss
her case as she hopes that others may
be saved from unnecessary suffering.
1 became so badly run down, says
Mrs. Thompson, "that it was a great
effort for me to get about. I felt as
tnougn i was losing strength every
day. I became so nervous that I was
irritable and jumped at slight sounds.
I soon lost all desire for food, for a
meal was generally followed by indi
gestion pains which often lasted into
the night and prevented sleep.
"I had often heard of Dr. Williams'
Pink Pills and was reminded of them j
by reading an announcement in a
newspaper. I began taking the pills
and in two weeks knew that I had
found the right remedy. My appetite
improved at once and I was able to
eat without fear of indigestion. Soon
my strength returned, my complexion
improved and my nerves became
stronger. I am well today and owe
my condition entirely to Dr. Williams'
Pink Pills."
Write today to the Dr. Williams
Medicine Co., Schenectady. N. Y., for
the free booklet "Building Up the
Blood." Your own druggist sells Dr.
Williams" Pink Pills or they will be
sent by mail, postpaid, on receipt' of
price, 60 cents perbox. Adv.
The Goodyear Tire and Rubber
Company of California
A few more sales positions for dependable mer
chandise salesmen of character and proven sales ability.
Must have had tvvro years, at least, wholesale selling
experience. Prefer men now employed and seeking
future advancement. Ages 25 to 38. ,
Territories adjacent to Portland, Seattle and Spo
kane. Rubber experience not essential. Salary, with
traveling expenses.
If qualified, telephone Main 7300, Mr. E. L.
Chute, for appointment. Phone between 9 A. M.
and 5 P. M. Monday. Applications confidential.
Who has not been thrilled with stories of circus life? We have all
sat on the hard benches under the big; top and marveled at the
myriad heart-tripping acts of the performers. Little we knew
of their joys or sorrows their lives and loves.. In "Her Ele
phant Man" you will find one of the most exquisite romances
imaginable the dainty little equestrienne (Shirley Mason) and
her light of life the. elephant trainer. Intimate circus views
and thrills galore and life and love.
C0LUMBIA0RCHESTRA
V. C. Knowles, Director
Bright, lively circus music that will bring the. screen to life t
ORCHESTRA MATINEE AT 2:30 P. M.
The comedy feature will be Joe Martin, the remarkable ape, in
the "Baby Doll Bandit" an "animal act" that adds to the circus
tone of the entire programme.
UNTIL TUESDAY MIDNIGHT ONLY
25 c
and bring
your own
peanuts.
25c
without
the pink
lemonade.
WANTED
SHOEMEN
Can
Today
Room 429
Portland Hotel
RSI
Good Values
in Used Pianos
These arc in nice condition. They are priced right and may be traded
back to us at any time within .one year at full purchase price toward
purchase of any new piano. Every value is thus fully guaranteed.
Frisby, small size $ 95
J. P. Hale, rosewood 185 .
Heller & Co., oak 265
Gilbert, ebonized 265
Reed & Sons, rosewood 280
Tryber, walnut . .' 310
Bungalow Player Piano 525
Fine, modern, 88-note Player Piano. . . 650
Write for particular and term.
G. F. Johnson Pimq Ck
147-149 Slxtk Street. Pdrtland.
dickering Amplco rianoa Cheney PhonosTapha
Victrolaa aad Victor Reeorda
' " " " C 'v"""1
i t?
Pulling of
Teeth
Is a Fad
With
Some
Men
DR. B. E. WRIGHT
J And has been carried to extremes in a great number of cases.
I Wholesale extraction of teeth on slight pretext was severely con
demned at the last dental convention.
J Old stumps and badly decayed teeth should be removed, as they
are disease-breeders. Sound teeth should be treasured andpreserved.
J In all branches of dental work I will give you the best advice
and service.
Q When it is necessary to wear a plate, come here with the fa'J
assurance that the work will be the best obtainable.
In every branch of dental work the same satisfactory results.
MY FEES ARE REASONABLE
KortbwMt
Corner
RWth and
Wachlnctoa
Streets.
KaJeish Bid,
rhooe Main 2119
DR. B.E. WRIGHT--
Painless Extraction of Teeth
Twenty Years in Active
Service
Office lloara
. to r. m.
ftaaday
10 U It A. M.
Ope Krenlitea
br Apfwrintmwal.
Coa.iiltitUva
Ira.
I!
4 1
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