Page:The Gillette Blade, 1918-02.pdf/29

Rh day passed without the slightest accident of any kind. There was no crowding and no apparent confusion; everyone seemed to do his part towards preserving order and making the day a great success. There was not a drunken man to be seen anywhere; in fact, no drink is obtainable in Russia.

At night political rallies were held on every street corner. People were permitted to speak freely on any subject and say anything they pleased in defense of or in condemnation of the Government; in fact, free speech is allowed in Russia to a greater extent than it is in this country. I was on the street in the evening and it was but a repetition of the day with respect to order being preserved.

Food in Petrograd is not plentiful and some kinds of food are unobtainable. People stand in line to obtain bread, denatured alcohol, meat, shoes, and in fact every article which they consume or wear; yet all of this is done without any central authority. The people are very patient under these severe privations, much more patient than our American people would be and far more orderly. The food problem is not so much a lack of food in the entire country as it is the proper transportation of food to the large centers.

In some instances workmen have demanded the discharge of superintendents and foremen in factories and in a few instances they have practically taken possession of property, but in no case have they damaged private property or attempted to deprive the owners of their financial rights. Even where they have taken possession of the factory the workmen have continued the operation of the business under their own leaders. The physical damage done to property during the Revolution in Petrograd was not very great. Many of the police stations were burned, that is, the wood work was burned, but the walls and roof were intact. The same is true of the halls of the Palace of Justice and the jails. Hotel Astoria had the windows in the lower floor destroyed. The Palaces of the Dowager Empress received bullets from machine guns which were imbedded in the brick and some windows destroyed. The number of people killed in Petrograd during the Revolution was less than one thousand.

I left Petrograd on May 4th. Certain formalities must be gone through with all travelers, in the way of visaing of passports by the Russians and the English and French, etc. These are mere formalities, as is the examination of your baggage and papers. I had no difficulty whatever in leaving or in passing over the border at Tornea into Sweden, although some of my fellow passengers with German names were less fortunate.

At Tornea you cross the large river on the ice to the Island of Tornea, where you pass the civil and military examinations; then across the small river on the ice to Haparanda, Sweden. The ice crossing is rather dangerous; in fact, the ice in the river broke the next day. I was extremely fortunate in escaping a mishap.

From Haparanda I proceeded to Stockholm and thence to Christiania where I looked into the question of a shipment of steel. I spent some days