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Photograph by C. S. Stilwell 



AFTERNOON STATION SCENE ." VVATKA 



moujik, or peasant soldier, '"freedom" 

 means individual liberty in the most 

 widely accepted sense rather than politi- 

 cal liberty. It means to him that he is 

 free to do exactly what he likes, to come 

 and go as, when, and where he pleases ; 

 it means that the railroads, the street- 

 cars, and the public property are free. 

 Hence, the soldiers at once began to bask 

 in this new freedom, and for months rail- 

 roads and street-cars were black with 

 troops in all parts of Russia, riding 

 everywhere because they had, as they be- 

 lieved, the right to ride. The police van- 

 ished in a day, and citizens who were 

 designated by bands on their arms and 

 who were entirely unarmed became the 

 guardians of the peace and order of the 

 country. 



SPEECH MAKING HAS BECOME THE 

 NATIONAL PASTIME 



Now mark what happened. Practically 

 nothing. Liberty and freedom did not to 

 the Russians represent any form of dis- 

 order or lawlessness whatever, and it is 

 a safe venture to state that in European 

 Russia there has been less crime and dis- 

 order than before the war. 



The entire population has taken the 

 summer off to celebrate their new liberty 

 and to talk it over. Speech-making has 

 become the national pastime. During the 

 summer, when the nights have been short 

 and one can read a paper at midnight, the 

 discussion of public affairs has gone on 

 day and night in the main streets of Pet- 

 rograd. In a perfectly good-natured way 

 the situation is discussed from every 

 angle. The extraordinary part of the 

 speech-making and the crowds is that all 

 views are equally applauded. A pro-Ger- 

 man orator will be greeted with loud 

 cheers, while the man who mounts the 

 barrel and denounces him will get an even 

 greater ovation. One at last comes to the 

 realization that the applause is not for 

 sentiments expressed, but for the fact 

 that there now exists the opportunity for 

 free expression of opinion. 



All summer long the Germans with 

 their propaganda have been attacking this 

 extremely vague opinion of the man in 

 the street, using every method within 

 their power to force him into the making 

 of an independent peace. He is told that 

 there are to be no annexations and no 

 indemnities, and that further sacrifices 



