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About The commoner. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-1923 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 1, 1914)
Qh The Commoner Vol, ii; no. 12 22 Bv & l f t I 3i P' - i Story of How Strong Drink Was Barred to Russia's Millions Following Is a report carried by (ho Associated Press: Petrograd, Russia, Nov. 18 There is prohibition in Russia today, pro hibition which means that not a drop of vodka, whisky, brandy, gin or any other strong liquor is obtainable On that day when the mobilization of tho Russian army began, special policemen visited every public place where vodka is sold, locked up the supply of the liquor, and placed on the shop the imperial seal. Since the manufacture and sale of vodka Is. a from ono ond to tho other of a terrl- government monopoly in Russia, it tory populated by 150,000,000 peo- - Is not a dimcuit tning 10 eniorue iru plo and covering one-sixth of the . hibitlon. habitable globe. Frpm the day this step was taken, The story of how strong drink has drunkenness vanished in Russia: The been utterly banished from tho Rus- results are seen. at once in the peas sian empire was related to tho Asso elated Press by Michael Demitrovitch Tchelisheff, the man directly respon sible for putting an end to. Russia's great vice, tho vodka habit. It should be said i. the beginning that the word prohibition in Russia must be taken literally. Its use does not imply a partially successful at tempt to curtail the consumption of liquor, resulting in drinking in secret places, the abuse pf medical licenses, and general evasion and subterfuge. It does mean that a vast population who consumed $1,000,000,000 worth of vodka" a yar; whose ordinary condition has been described by Rus sians themselves as ranging from a slight degree of stimulation upward, has been lifted almost in one day from a drunken inertia to sobriety. Tho nation has been compelled, vir tually overnight, to abandon its enor mous day consumption of vodka, a liquor that is almost pure alcohol, and become abstemious to the extent, of letting no liquor pass its lips. The University of Chicago HOME STUDY in addition to resident work, offers alio ini true tion by correspondence. For detailed In. formation addreta H antry; already they are beginning to look like a dffferent race. The marks of suffering, the pinched looks of ill-r ness and improper nourishment have gone from, their faces. There has been also a remarkable change in the appearance . of their clothing. Their clothes are cleaner, and, both, tho men and women appear more neatly and better dressed. The. des titute character of the homes., of the poor has been replaced with some thing like order and thrift. In-Petr'o-grad and Moscow the effect of these improved conditions is fairly startl ing. On holidays in these two-cities inebriates always filled the police stations and often lay about on the sidewalks and even in the streets. Things are so different today that un attended women may now pass at night through portions of these cities where It was formerly dangerous even for men. Minor crimes and misdemeanors have almost vanished. WORK OF ONE MAN Sid Ye.r U. ef C.(D!r. C)CkJctx,Ill. ! t.-. Deafness Perfect hearing la now being rt Biorca m every condition of deaf ness or defective hearing from causes such as Catarrhal Deaf ness. Relaxed or Sunken Drums. Thickened Drums, Roaring and issing aounus, jferxorated, vynoiiy or fartially Destroyed . Drum3,Di3charge from Ears, etc Wilson Common-Sense Ear Drums "Little Wireless Phones for the Ears' require no medicine but effectively replace what is lacking or def ectivo In the natural ear drums. They are simple devices, which the wearer easily fits into the ears where they arc invisible Soft, safe and comfortable. Write today for our 168 page FREE book on DEAF NESS, giving you full particulars and testimonials. . WILSON EAR DRUM CO., Incorpor.tea 354 Inter-Southera Bldg, LOUISVU-LE, KY. l-P-arHr aVNa -s villagers who were abstemious, had sufficient provisions in their own homes. Thus it was that I observed the industrial effects of vodka drink-" ing. "At Samara I decided to do more than passively disapprove of vodka. At this time I -was an alderman, and many of tho tenants living in my houses were working men. One night a drunken father in one of my houses killed his wife.; This, -incident niadg such, a terrible impression on me that I decidod to fight Vodka- with all my strength. REFUSED BY GOVERNMENT : "On tho Supposition that the gov ermerit was selling vodka for reven ue, I calculated the revenue received ''Disappointed at not having heen able to get thrbugh a government bill regulating this evil, I had abandoned my seat 'in the Duma. It was evident that the bureaucracy had been able to obstruct the measure. Minister of Finance Kokovsoff regarded it as a dangerous innovation, depriving the government of 1,000,.000,000 rubles ($600,000,000) yearly, without anv method of replacing this revenue. "While I lobbied in Petrograd the emperor' visited th0 country around Moscow and saw the. havoc of vodka He then dismissed Kokovsoff and ap pointed the. present minister of finance,-M. Bark. "Mobilization-precipitated the anti-vodka-measure. - TJlft Grnnil FinU '-. ... , u.. , t - i. ' i,.. jj.,.1... r 7. ." xiuiu na uuu&uuijjLiuu uir ouuuuu. .a. i itjLuuu.iuui.mg uie-'uisorganizatioii due then introduced i bill in the- cit-y to drunkenness during-the mobiliza council pr iding that the city glvteion of 1904, ordered- the -prohibition this sum of money to the imperial j of all alcoholic drinks except in clubs treasury, requesting at the samo time, and first-class Testaurants-This order that the sale of vodka be prohibited. ! enforced for one month-, showed thp The bill was passed, -and the money", Russian- authorities the value of ah- , i i araafv;iv9B h------- I uiraHK'MWVM l III kV?&j9MVHH L- mmi Bar . - Wk- D wllK-orTISHH '! at-faflHaf rericciKJiiHHH ltd BYBfV-jn..uHaaH ,HB LnoUKiiMuaBHI ct n d i PUJODJ i Hi cut and full ot (1? rv M- HI aiH Sncn. 1 inner, ara uaed. No. , I i HI l dq k. U. I Erics ISO. credit term 110 VI ill ,. .T ajnr ' I down, balauca 66 a month.Ml'HP Up, HaH I lad all othflr In nnntil-rtlvU r4fcrL - aM 1 lHtvfUt ! I laiiiiTvu n jaka lM tl I i m 'cn.m E 'llv"--" aww. 'cr or? over a.uw nugqaa. lH f wy "M ttofwfur lfta-baiitl(ul llluatrationa H B of IKamoBua. Watch, artlitlc Jew. YiB t. jB alrv. SaHvorwara and Novelties ll at laH . aftS mKm fK' M votxm. miii daar. (iJL MlVQur Y,BBfc.4BMr UIK oBBLwviVor nil. 'inn larsa Uluitratlon ri varr detail of thin azaul dnlati. Only thallneit quality urawBii LHainonua.pariaQt y brtu I it lit DIAMOND NmSHE wants hr a ChrlibHM tlft Tha famiMja TtftU ,Pfw f acUoa' 1 4K aulld cold mount nr inn lara-a uiuitralion n IXQUll cut and full of firry lancy, are uaed. No, 669. itlca SCO. credit term tl town, b&lknc fifi k monu lAftdil all othnra In nnmilAritv. (ImAixl In valvAt Wnir Fmiy. read for nrcaantntlan. Wn nnuff ill dtllrery charge. Our larira lllu? tntad Cauloir ahaura uil LoftM 'lr?cUon" Diamond Jn at crleea to auit any nuna. Band your I order ioday for No. G&9. or aen Kraa ChrUtmu tatalov and election. BatiafactlonGiiarant Yu should Have Our US-PAGE CATALOG batreUcttyottrChrUtmaaPra. ' incro uro rwara and Navaltica all at A iirleaa. You can Oil your entlra ' nrlatmaa nreicnta from our Cat. i hava everything chantod In ono account. tltruX for JrllKU Uatalov today. LOFTIM BROS. A GO.' TM MtrMMl CTWHt 0WMrS fMt. U ! . MS H. SMt Stnel; CMcm. M. htm aW w I'itUbutgbi lit, Loulr. Omkha This miracle has been virtually ac complished by one man. He is Mi chael D. Tchelisheff, a peasant by birth, originally a house painter by profession, then mayor of Samara, and now millionaire. Physically he is a giant, standing over six feet four inches and of powerful build. Al though he Is 55 years old, he looks much younger. His movements dis play the energy of youth, his eyes are animated, and his black hair is not tinged by gray. In Petrograd Mr. Tchelisheff is generally found in a luxurious suite of rooms in one of the best hotels. He goes about clad in a blue blouse with a tiasseled girdle and baggy black breeches tucked into heavy boots. He offers his visitors tea from a samovar and fruit from the Crimea. VODKA A POISON Speaking of what ho had accom plished for the cause of sobriety in Russia, Mr. Tchelisheff said: "I was reared In a small Russian village. TheYe were no schools or hospitals, or any of the improvements we are accustomed to . in civilized communities. I picked un an educa tion from old newspapers and 'stray books. One day I chanced upon a book in the hands of a moujlk, which" treated of the harmfulness ot alco hol. It stated among other things that vodka was a "poison. I was so impressed with this, knowing that everybody drank vodka, that I asked the first physician I met If the state ment were true. He said yes. Men drank it, he explained, because mo mentarily it gave them a sensation of pleaBant dizziness. From that time I decided to take every oppor tunity to discover more about the use of vodka. "At the end of the eighties there came famine in Russia followed by agrarian troubles. I -saw a crowd of peasants uemaua- rroni a local land lord all the grain. and foodstuffs in his granary. This puzzled, me; I could not understand how honest men were, Indulging in what seemed to be highwny "robiiery. But I noted at the time that every man who was taking part in this incident was a drinking ''mart, wliile their fellow was appropriated. It was offered to the government', but the government promptly refused it. v "It then dawned upori- me that Russian "bureaucracy did'' not want the Russian people "to biecomej sober,, for the reason that it was- easier- to rule autocratically a drunken mob than a'sober people. i ; "This was seven years ago. Later I was elected mayor of' Samara cap ital of the Volga district, a district with over a quarter of a million in habitants. Subsequent to holding this office I was elected to the Duma on an anti-vodka platform. In the Duma I proposed a bill permitting the inhabitants of any town to close the local vodka shops and providing also that every bottle of vodka should bear a label with the word poison. At my request the wording of this label, in which the evils Of vodka were set forth, was done by the late Count Leo Tolstbi.-, vThis bjlf passed the Duma and went to the im perial council, where it was amended and finally tabled. "I then begged an audience of Em peror Nicholas. He received me with greajt kindness in his castle- in the Crimea, not far from the scene of the recent Turkish bombardment. He listened to me patiently. He was im pressed with my recitals that most of the revolutionary and socialist ex cesses were committed by drunkards and that the Svaborg. Kronstadt and Sebastopol navy revolts and the Pet. rogratt and other mutinous military movements were all caused by inebri ates. Having heard me out; his ma jesty promised at once to speak to the minister of finance concerning the prohibition of vodka. stlnence. In spite of the general de pression caused by the war; the pa ralysis, of business, the closing -of fac tories, and the interruption of rail road traffic .the people felt no priva tion. Savings banks- showed an in crease in deposits over the preceding month and' over the corresponding kmonth of the preceding year. At the Dame mac lutjie -was u uuum in cue sale of meats.'groceries, clothing, dry goods and house furnishings. CONDITIONS IMPROVED "The 30,a0.d;000 rubles a day that had been paid for vodka were now beinff spent for e:necesslties of life. Tho average tv fking "weejc increased from three and Xo'ur days to six, the numerous holidays of the drinker having been eliminated. The working day also became longer, and tile effi ciency "of the worker was perhai3 doubled. t Women and .children, who seldom w'er.eiy'Jhpu (&jn aylcssh 6 w in g the physical violence' .6 ttlTe Husband and father, suddenly found" them selves fn an undreamed-of paradise. There were -no blows, no insults and no rough treatment. There was bread on the table,. 'milk for the-ba'bies and a fire in the kitchen. "I decided to seize this occasion for a press campaign, so far as this is a possible, thing .in Russia. I or ganized delegations to prevent petitions to the . proper author ities . for the prolonging of this new sobriety for the' dur ation of the war. This step found favor with His Imperial Majesty, and an order -was issued to that effect. Another similar campaign to remove the licenses from privileged restau rants and. clubs was successful, and I Let a Columbia Sing the Christmas Carols in Your Home Them are twenty d.UYerent models at as many different prices. 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