[57]The numbers of the two columns under this heading do not correspond, since land is besides rented individually in those communities where tenure by themiror by partnerships is practiced.[58]Cf.Forms of Agricultural Production in Russia, p. 43et passim, by Mr. Euzhakoff, an admirer of Mr. Henry George. The paper was published in the magazineOtetchestvenniya Zapiski, 1882.[59]In the district of Ryazañ, where communal tenure is by far more extended than in the districts under review, we find a few cases of communal tenure among the former State peasants; yet the extent of land so held is so small as to cut no figure at all:Communal tenure.Classes of tenants.Dessiatines.Per cent.Former serfs992496Former State peasants4564Total10380100(Cf.Statistical Reports for the Gubernia of Ryazañ, Vol. I., sec. II., table 3, f.; p. 57.)[60]Rented land is taken into account only in those communities in which the area cut off at the time of the emancipation could be ascertained by the statisticians. It may be further stated that only such land is here taken into account as is yearly cultivated.[61]AVERAGE HOLDING (IN DESSIATINES).Communal.Individual.Ranenburg883Dankoff973[62]Average rent paid for 1 dessiatine.Arable.Meadow.Ranenburg.Dankoff.Ranenburg.Dankoff.By the communityrubles13.119.7610.867.74By individuals in the same communities19.8213.47....By individuals throughout the district16.6212.7615.917.59[63]Districts and classes.Quantity of stock to one household.“Horseless,” per cent.Working horses.All kinds of large cattle (horses inclusive).Ranenburg.In the communities in question1.63.227Among former serfs at large1.22.637Among former State peasants with agrarian communism1.32.933Dankoff.In the communities in question1.52.933Among former serfs at large1.32.535Among former State peasants with agrarian communism1.32.633[64]Altogether or partly, but without cultivating the rest personally.[65]Indeed, we find themirin some instances playing the part of land broker. The community of former serfs of Prince Shtchetinin, in the village of Sergievskee Borovok, Ranenburg, rented a field of 434 dessiatines (1172 acres), at 16 rubles the dessiatine, and re-rented one-third of the tract at a commission of from 3 to 4 rubles per dessiatine (i. e., from 20 to 25 per cent.), and even more. (Reports, part I., p. 316, No. 10.Cf.also p. 289, No. 15, etc.)No doubt this business could be as successfully performed by any East Side New York real estate and land improvement agency, as by the Ryazañ peasant communists.[66]Ibid., Vol. II., part I., p. 264.[67]This is shown by the comparative data concerning tenure at will among the two main divisions of the peasantry:Classes and Districts.Tenants.Land leased.Tenants to population, per cent.Land leased to land owned, per cent.Households.Per cent.Dessiatines.Per cent.Ranenburg.Former serfs43928315337843420Former State peasants89317301016113Dankoff.Former serfs32058311078813217Former State peasants67617276520134[68]The table includes 62 per cent. of the total area of rented land, the data for the classification being furnished by the statements in theAppendicesto theReportsfor the districts in question.[69]We find this tendency very pronounced in theguberniaof Voronezh:Districts.Area rented.For money rented, per cent.For share in crops, per cent.For labor and money, per cent.Total, per cent.Zadonsk8677100Korotoyak8812..100Nizhnedevitsk9442100(Cf.Statistical Reports, Vol. IV., part I., Vol. V., part I.; Vol. VI., part I., Table of Rented Land.)[70]Here are some instances:1. Village Solntzevo, district of Ranenburg.—“Some five years ago, after one failure of the crops, 100 householders were 6000 rubles in arrears with their rent. Up to this date they have paid practically nothing, and live with the threat of being sold out hanging perpetually over their heads.” (Loc. cit.App., p. 308.) The result can be shown in figures:Rent (in rubles) paid:Number of tenants.By all tenants.By each one.In 1877100600060In 188275351447(Cf.p. 123.)2. Village Bahmetyevo, Ranenburg.—“Excessive rent, often not returned by the yields, has caused the heavy indebtedness of many a householder” (p. 331).3. Village Blagueeya.—“The terms of tenure are very burdensome—above 20 rubles the dessiatine. One part of the rent must be discharged in labor, the rest is payable in advance. Leasing land is often direct loss. A good many are in debt, and not infrequently get ruined.” (Ibid.)[71]Cf.Table IV. in the Appendix.[72]Principles of Political Economy, eighth edition, Vol. I., p. 453.[73]Classes.Percentage to the total of the peasantry.Korotoyak.Nizhnedevitzk.Households taking to wage-labor6269Of these are:Regular farmers5063Laborers proper126[74]Detailed tables containing the rates of wages paid in different occupations are found in the Appendix.[75]Optimism is inborn in the Russian; to whatever creed or party he may belong, things ever appear to him as he would like them to be. The Russian peasantist must not therefore be censured for his misconception of this most typical figure of the modern Russian village. The peasant who agrees to do the full work of cultivating and harvesting a tract of the landlord’s field appears to Mr. Euzhakoff as a tenant, with the only peculiarity that “the tenant takes his share in money, while leaving the landlord to take the crops” (loc. cit., pp. 26-27). This confusion reminds one to some extent of the attempts of certain economists to represent the workingman as capitalist, and the capitalist as workingman. There is, however, one extenuating circumstance that may be urged on behalf of the well-meaning author, in the hopelessness of the task he has undertaken with the best intentions,viz., to demonstrate that the debilitated Russian Capitalism, condemned before its birth by history, is unable to hold its ground in the contest with the triumphant small peasant culture.[76]There are in all two statements to the effect that work is done for straw, flour, etc. (Loc. cit., part II., p. 198, No. 4; p. 206, No. 3.) Cases in which work is done for rented land, or for a share in the crop, have been counted as tenure.[77]Loc. cit., part I., p. 264. Figures on the indebtedness of the peasantry with regard to farm labor for wages are found in theStatistical Reports for the Gubernia of Voronezh(Vol. V., part 1.; Vol. VI., part I., Table G.). In the table that follows the figures are reduced to percentage rates:Districts and classes.Rate to population, per cent.Rate to farm laborers, per cent.Rate to indebted, per cent.Average due by 1 householder, rubles.District of Korotoyak.Indebted: 1. All told50..10034.802. Farm laborers..523923.99District of Nizhnedevitsk.Indebted: 1. All told50..10044.382. Farm laborers..564623.46[78]The mythical first Russian prince, to whom theéliteof the aristocracy trace their ancestry.[79]Carpenters, shoemakers, tailors, blacksmiths, and others who supply by their work the local wants.[80]Cf.Appendix, Table V.[81]ENGAGED IN SKILLED LABOR IN EVERY 1000.Households.Adult workers.Ranenburg7253Dankoff6749[82]BOARD FURNISHED BY THE EMPLOYER.Paid toFor the summer season.Per year.Farm helpFrom 25.00 to 35.00From 35.00 to 60.00Carpenters”55.00 to 70.00100.00[83]Workingmen.Concerns.Total.Average to concern.Ranenburg50619853.9Dankoff24013555.6Total74633404.5Virtually, however, the average is less than this, since there are included only those industrial concerns belonging to peasants, and situated in the precincts of the villages, while peasant labor is also employed in those enterprises owned by the landlords and situated on their estates.[84]This is the industry which is protected, through prohibitive tariffs and export premiums, from foreign competition.[85]Twelve communities were found by the statisticians in which a considerable part of the membership consisted of regular beggars. As an example may be quoted the village Bratovka, bailiwick Naryshkinskaya, Ranenburg: “A good many go a-begging even when crops are good; in years of failure over half the village takes to begging.” (Loc. cit., p. 283.) Professional beggary has been of late very comprehensively described by some of the observers of peasant life. Late in the fall the huts are nailed up, and caravans of peasants—man, wife and child—start on a journey “for crumbs.” We read in theStatistical Reports for the Gubernia of Tamboff:“Everywhere the peasants report a great number of beggars; generally they are peasants from a strange district. It is only in a case of extreme necessity that a man able to work would force himself to ask alms in his own village. Usually, the needy families are supported through loans of bread from their neighbors, who divide with them their last provisions. The peasants of the district of Morshansk report, moreover, that they are haunted by a good many beggars from the district of Shatzk, as well as from theguberniasof Vladimir and Ryazañ.” (Vol. III., p. 277.)Does it not exactly remind one of the historical picture drawn by Vauban, who reported that “one-tenth of the French peasants are beggars, and the remaining nine-tenths have nothing to give them?”[86]The question of the degree to which they are successful in starting as farmers, is one that does not come within the scope of this essay. I have discussed this question in my previous publication,Peasant Emigration to Siberia, Moscow, 1888.[87]The wandering population of the district of Voronezh was divided as follows, between the several branches of employment:Workers.Per cent.Agriculture128362Handicraft46923}38Personal service894City and railroad labourers21911Total2060100[88]The general statements made to this effect by the peasants, and reproduced in theReports for the Gubernia of Ryazañ, could obviously not be presented in figures, for this would require at least two censuses.[89]The co-relation existing between outside work and the decay of farming may be inferred from the following table for the districts Ranenburg and Dankoff:Kind of employment.Communities.Households.Horseless,per cent.Local only, no outside workers90112427Throughout the region6533612635[90]Cf. loc. cit., part II., p. 233, No. 14.[91]Statistical Reports for the Gubernia of Smolensk, Vol. IV., pp. 296, 304, 350, 352: Vol. V., pp. 218, 226, 272, 274.[92]It can be seen by contrasting the figures of families whose houses have been sold with those of other destitute peasant groups:Percentage of families.Houseless.Landless or leasing their total lots.Owning neither horse nor cow.Ranenburg81525Dankoff101525[93]This is confirmed by a great many statements in theReports for the Gubernia of Ryazañ, as well as by the following table taken from theStatistical Reports for the Gubernia of Smolensk:Absent.Youkhnoff,per cent.Dorogobouzh,per cent.Houseless.Youkhnoff,per cent.Dorogobouzh,per cent.Rate to the population75Rate to the population96Of these:Of these:Owning houses1927Living in the village3641Houseless8173Absent from the village6459Total100100Total100100[94]“The Pillars” is the title of a very popular novel by Mr. Zlatovratsky, one of the leading peasantist writers.[95]I must again plead for extenuating circumstances in the event of being mistaken as to the exact date.[96]The “major”i. e.the head of the family, composed of married brothers and sisters, is not always the eldest brother. In case the eldest male member of the family shows himself not qualified for the management of the household, one of the younger brothers is occasionally entrusted with the office.[97]To use the term adopted by Mr. Michaïlovsky, the renowned Russian writer on sociology.[98]The number of workers included in the tenth census is not given in the reports, but the distribution of the population according to age is not likely to have changed very much in 25 years, the rates being determined to a great extent by biological influences, which are modified very slowly. The percentage of the total male population that by the census of the zemstvo had reached the age at which they are usually set to work is as follows:Per cent.Ranenburg (1882)47Dankoff (1882)47Korotoyak (1887)47Nizhnedevitzk (1887)46Taking these figures as co-efficients, we obtain the number of male workers to a family in 1858.[99]The figures above given are rather too little expressive for the actual degree of the dissolution of the patriarchal family abroad. The following are the figures for the whole region covered by the statistical investigation of the zemstvo toward January 1, 1890 (cf.Introduction):Communities50,429Households3,309,020Males and females19,693,191Average membership to 1 family5.95To the do. of Ranenburg6.4””Dankoff6.4””Korotoyak7.3””Nizhnedevitzk7.8[100]The correlation between the number of workers and the size of the farm can be summed up as follows:Number of Workers to 1 Family.Classes of Farms (per cent.).Korotoyak.Nizhnedevitsk.Below the average size.Average size.Above the average size.Below the average size.Average size.Above the average size.None6133649447One255916295615Two3564176033Three1227732572Total165034185131[101]Districts.Stopped working on their farms.Stopped tilling one part of their farms.Horseless, per cent.In the district at large, per cent.With 1 horse.In the district at large, per cent.All “stopped”etc.= 100.All with 1 horse = 100.Zadonsk952573137Korotoyak951562168Nizhnedevitsk9613652713As shown by these figures, the percentage of householders who are unable to till the full size of their farms is twice as large among those with one horse as in the region at large; moreover, this transitional class of weak householders consists chiefly of those with one horse.[102]Districts.“Horseless,” per cent.With 1 horse, per cent.In all, per cent.Gubernia of Voronezh—Zadonsk254065Korotoyak133245Nizhnedevitsk133245Gubernia of Ryazañ—Ranenburg362763Dankoff342559[103]The following tables are fully conclusive as regards the rise and growth of this class:I. CLASSIFICATION ACCORDING TO THE NUMBER OF ADULT MALE WORKERS TO ONE HOUSEHOLD (TOTAL IN EVERY CLASS = 100.)Households.Korotoyak.Nizhnedevitsk.Total lot tilled with the owner’s live stock, per cent.Stopped working on their farms, per cent.Total lot tilled with the owner’s live stock, per cent.Stopped working on their farms, per cent.With 3 or more workers892882With 2 workers866825With 1 worker73196520Without workers24723060In all78157413In the Gubernia of Ryazañ57365934Ranenburg.Dankoff.II. CLASSIFICATION THE SAME (ALL “STOPPED WORKING,” ETC. = 100.)Households.Stopped working on their farms.Korotoyak,per cent.Nizhnedevitsk,per cent.With 3 or more workers22With 2 workers1214With 1 worker6267Without workers2417In all100100[104]Districts.Families numberingAll told.No adult male workers.One adult male worker.Two adult male workers.Three or more adult male workers.Full workers.Half-workers.Total workers.Korotoyak:The farmer’s family01231.80.42.2Hired laborers1.21.21.21.51.00.21.2Total workers1.22.23.24.52.80.63.4Nizhnedevitsk:The farmer’s family01232.00.52.5Hired laborers1.01.21.21.40.80.41.2Total workers1.02.23.24.42.80.93.7[105]Districts.Villages in the district.Employing farmers.Total households.To every 100 households.To 1 village.Korotoyak12882946.5Nizhnedevitsk147106757.3[106]The farms of the average size (from 5 to 15 dessiatines), or those below the average size, are not available for the purposes of comparison, since the figures are influenced by yet another agent,viz., by the lack of land, leaving a narrow field for even the labor of the farmer himself.[107]Districts.Households separated withinThe decennial periodsThe quinquennial periods1868-77, per cent.1878-87, per cent.1878-82, per cent.1883-87, per cent.Zadonsk30361719Korotoyak22351718Nizhnedevitzk27391821[108]Districts.Households of yearly or season laborers.Tilling their plots with their own stock and implements.Households.Per cent.Korotoyak1891131570Nizhnedevitzk2313191283Zadonsk2733155857
[57]The numbers of the two columns under this heading do not correspond, since land is besides rented individually in those communities where tenure by themiror by partnerships is practiced.
[57]The numbers of the two columns under this heading do not correspond, since land is besides rented individually in those communities where tenure by themiror by partnerships is practiced.
[58]Cf.Forms of Agricultural Production in Russia, p. 43et passim, by Mr. Euzhakoff, an admirer of Mr. Henry George. The paper was published in the magazineOtetchestvenniya Zapiski, 1882.
[58]Cf.Forms of Agricultural Production in Russia, p. 43et passim, by Mr. Euzhakoff, an admirer of Mr. Henry George. The paper was published in the magazineOtetchestvenniya Zapiski, 1882.
[59]In the district of Ryazañ, where communal tenure is by far more extended than in the districts under review, we find a few cases of communal tenure among the former State peasants; yet the extent of land so held is so small as to cut no figure at all:Communal tenure.Classes of tenants.Dessiatines.Per cent.Former serfs992496Former State peasants4564Total10380100(Cf.Statistical Reports for the Gubernia of Ryazañ, Vol. I., sec. II., table 3, f.; p. 57.)
[59]In the district of Ryazañ, where communal tenure is by far more extended than in the districts under review, we find a few cases of communal tenure among the former State peasants; yet the extent of land so held is so small as to cut no figure at all:
(Cf.Statistical Reports for the Gubernia of Ryazañ, Vol. I., sec. II., table 3, f.; p. 57.)
[60]Rented land is taken into account only in those communities in which the area cut off at the time of the emancipation could be ascertained by the statisticians. It may be further stated that only such land is here taken into account as is yearly cultivated.
[60]Rented land is taken into account only in those communities in which the area cut off at the time of the emancipation could be ascertained by the statisticians. It may be further stated that only such land is here taken into account as is yearly cultivated.
[61]AVERAGE HOLDING (IN DESSIATINES).Communal.Individual.Ranenburg883Dankoff973
[61]
AVERAGE HOLDING (IN DESSIATINES).
[62]Average rent paid for 1 dessiatine.Arable.Meadow.Ranenburg.Dankoff.Ranenburg.Dankoff.By the communityrubles13.119.7610.867.74By individuals in the same communities19.8213.47....By individuals throughout the district16.6212.7615.917.59
[62]
[63]Districts and classes.Quantity of stock to one household.“Horseless,” per cent.Working horses.All kinds of large cattle (horses inclusive).Ranenburg.In the communities in question1.63.227Among former serfs at large1.22.637Among former State peasants with agrarian communism1.32.933Dankoff.In the communities in question1.52.933Among former serfs at large1.32.535Among former State peasants with agrarian communism1.32.633
[63]
[64]Altogether or partly, but without cultivating the rest personally.
[64]Altogether or partly, but without cultivating the rest personally.
[65]Indeed, we find themirin some instances playing the part of land broker. The community of former serfs of Prince Shtchetinin, in the village of Sergievskee Borovok, Ranenburg, rented a field of 434 dessiatines (1172 acres), at 16 rubles the dessiatine, and re-rented one-third of the tract at a commission of from 3 to 4 rubles per dessiatine (i. e., from 20 to 25 per cent.), and even more. (Reports, part I., p. 316, No. 10.Cf.also p. 289, No. 15, etc.)No doubt this business could be as successfully performed by any East Side New York real estate and land improvement agency, as by the Ryazañ peasant communists.
[65]Indeed, we find themirin some instances playing the part of land broker. The community of former serfs of Prince Shtchetinin, in the village of Sergievskee Borovok, Ranenburg, rented a field of 434 dessiatines (1172 acres), at 16 rubles the dessiatine, and re-rented one-third of the tract at a commission of from 3 to 4 rubles per dessiatine (i. e., from 20 to 25 per cent.), and even more. (Reports, part I., p. 316, No. 10.Cf.also p. 289, No. 15, etc.)
No doubt this business could be as successfully performed by any East Side New York real estate and land improvement agency, as by the Ryazañ peasant communists.
[66]Ibid., Vol. II., part I., p. 264.
[66]Ibid., Vol. II., part I., p. 264.
[67]This is shown by the comparative data concerning tenure at will among the two main divisions of the peasantry:Classes and Districts.Tenants.Land leased.Tenants to population, per cent.Land leased to land owned, per cent.Households.Per cent.Dessiatines.Per cent.Ranenburg.Former serfs43928315337843420Former State peasants89317301016113Dankoff.Former serfs32058311078813217Former State peasants67617276520134
[67]This is shown by the comparative data concerning tenure at will among the two main divisions of the peasantry:
[68]The table includes 62 per cent. of the total area of rented land, the data for the classification being furnished by the statements in theAppendicesto theReportsfor the districts in question.
[68]The table includes 62 per cent. of the total area of rented land, the data for the classification being furnished by the statements in theAppendicesto theReportsfor the districts in question.
[69]We find this tendency very pronounced in theguberniaof Voronezh:Districts.Area rented.For money rented, per cent.For share in crops, per cent.For labor and money, per cent.Total, per cent.Zadonsk8677100Korotoyak8812..100Nizhnedevitsk9442100(Cf.Statistical Reports, Vol. IV., part I., Vol. V., part I.; Vol. VI., part I., Table of Rented Land.)
[69]We find this tendency very pronounced in theguberniaof Voronezh:
(Cf.Statistical Reports, Vol. IV., part I., Vol. V., part I.; Vol. VI., part I., Table of Rented Land.)
[70]Here are some instances:1. Village Solntzevo, district of Ranenburg.—“Some five years ago, after one failure of the crops, 100 householders were 6000 rubles in arrears with their rent. Up to this date they have paid practically nothing, and live with the threat of being sold out hanging perpetually over their heads.” (Loc. cit.App., p. 308.) The result can be shown in figures:Rent (in rubles) paid:Number of tenants.By all tenants.By each one.In 1877100600060In 188275351447(Cf.p. 123.)2. Village Bahmetyevo, Ranenburg.—“Excessive rent, often not returned by the yields, has caused the heavy indebtedness of many a householder” (p. 331).3. Village Blagueeya.—“The terms of tenure are very burdensome—above 20 rubles the dessiatine. One part of the rent must be discharged in labor, the rest is payable in advance. Leasing land is often direct loss. A good many are in debt, and not infrequently get ruined.” (Ibid.)
[70]Here are some instances:
1. Village Solntzevo, district of Ranenburg.—“Some five years ago, after one failure of the crops, 100 householders were 6000 rubles in arrears with their rent. Up to this date they have paid practically nothing, and live with the threat of being sold out hanging perpetually over their heads.” (Loc. cit.App., p. 308.) The result can be shown in figures:
(Cf.p. 123.)
2. Village Bahmetyevo, Ranenburg.—“Excessive rent, often not returned by the yields, has caused the heavy indebtedness of many a householder” (p. 331).
3. Village Blagueeya.—“The terms of tenure are very burdensome—above 20 rubles the dessiatine. One part of the rent must be discharged in labor, the rest is payable in advance. Leasing land is often direct loss. A good many are in debt, and not infrequently get ruined.” (Ibid.)
[71]Cf.Table IV. in the Appendix.
[71]Cf.Table IV. in the Appendix.
[72]Principles of Political Economy, eighth edition, Vol. I., p. 453.
[72]Principles of Political Economy, eighth edition, Vol. I., p. 453.
[73]Classes.Percentage to the total of the peasantry.Korotoyak.Nizhnedevitzk.Households taking to wage-labor6269Of these are:Regular farmers5063Laborers proper126
[73]
[74]Detailed tables containing the rates of wages paid in different occupations are found in the Appendix.
[74]Detailed tables containing the rates of wages paid in different occupations are found in the Appendix.
[75]Optimism is inborn in the Russian; to whatever creed or party he may belong, things ever appear to him as he would like them to be. The Russian peasantist must not therefore be censured for his misconception of this most typical figure of the modern Russian village. The peasant who agrees to do the full work of cultivating and harvesting a tract of the landlord’s field appears to Mr. Euzhakoff as a tenant, with the only peculiarity that “the tenant takes his share in money, while leaving the landlord to take the crops” (loc. cit., pp. 26-27). This confusion reminds one to some extent of the attempts of certain economists to represent the workingman as capitalist, and the capitalist as workingman. There is, however, one extenuating circumstance that may be urged on behalf of the well-meaning author, in the hopelessness of the task he has undertaken with the best intentions,viz., to demonstrate that the debilitated Russian Capitalism, condemned before its birth by history, is unable to hold its ground in the contest with the triumphant small peasant culture.
[75]Optimism is inborn in the Russian; to whatever creed or party he may belong, things ever appear to him as he would like them to be. The Russian peasantist must not therefore be censured for his misconception of this most typical figure of the modern Russian village. The peasant who agrees to do the full work of cultivating and harvesting a tract of the landlord’s field appears to Mr. Euzhakoff as a tenant, with the only peculiarity that “the tenant takes his share in money, while leaving the landlord to take the crops” (loc. cit., pp. 26-27). This confusion reminds one to some extent of the attempts of certain economists to represent the workingman as capitalist, and the capitalist as workingman. There is, however, one extenuating circumstance that may be urged on behalf of the well-meaning author, in the hopelessness of the task he has undertaken with the best intentions,viz., to demonstrate that the debilitated Russian Capitalism, condemned before its birth by history, is unable to hold its ground in the contest with the triumphant small peasant culture.
[76]There are in all two statements to the effect that work is done for straw, flour, etc. (Loc. cit., part II., p. 198, No. 4; p. 206, No. 3.) Cases in which work is done for rented land, or for a share in the crop, have been counted as tenure.
[76]There are in all two statements to the effect that work is done for straw, flour, etc. (Loc. cit., part II., p. 198, No. 4; p. 206, No. 3.) Cases in which work is done for rented land, or for a share in the crop, have been counted as tenure.
[77]Loc. cit., part I., p. 264. Figures on the indebtedness of the peasantry with regard to farm labor for wages are found in theStatistical Reports for the Gubernia of Voronezh(Vol. V., part 1.; Vol. VI., part I., Table G.). In the table that follows the figures are reduced to percentage rates:Districts and classes.Rate to population, per cent.Rate to farm laborers, per cent.Rate to indebted, per cent.Average due by 1 householder, rubles.District of Korotoyak.Indebted: 1. All told50..10034.802. Farm laborers..523923.99District of Nizhnedevitsk.Indebted: 1. All told50..10044.382. Farm laborers..564623.46
[77]Loc. cit., part I., p. 264. Figures on the indebtedness of the peasantry with regard to farm labor for wages are found in theStatistical Reports for the Gubernia of Voronezh(Vol. V., part 1.; Vol. VI., part I., Table G.). In the table that follows the figures are reduced to percentage rates:
[78]The mythical first Russian prince, to whom theéliteof the aristocracy trace their ancestry.
[78]The mythical first Russian prince, to whom theéliteof the aristocracy trace their ancestry.
[79]Carpenters, shoemakers, tailors, blacksmiths, and others who supply by their work the local wants.
[79]Carpenters, shoemakers, tailors, blacksmiths, and others who supply by their work the local wants.
[80]Cf.Appendix, Table V.
[80]Cf.Appendix, Table V.
[81]ENGAGED IN SKILLED LABOR IN EVERY 1000.Households.Adult workers.Ranenburg7253Dankoff6749
[81]
ENGAGED IN SKILLED LABOR IN EVERY 1000.
[82]BOARD FURNISHED BY THE EMPLOYER.Paid toFor the summer season.Per year.Farm helpFrom 25.00 to 35.00From 35.00 to 60.00Carpenters”55.00 to 70.00100.00
[82]
BOARD FURNISHED BY THE EMPLOYER.
[83]Workingmen.Concerns.Total.Average to concern.Ranenburg50619853.9Dankoff24013555.6Total74633404.5Virtually, however, the average is less than this, since there are included only those industrial concerns belonging to peasants, and situated in the precincts of the villages, while peasant labor is also employed in those enterprises owned by the landlords and situated on their estates.
[83]
Virtually, however, the average is less than this, since there are included only those industrial concerns belonging to peasants, and situated in the precincts of the villages, while peasant labor is also employed in those enterprises owned by the landlords and situated on their estates.
[84]This is the industry which is protected, through prohibitive tariffs and export premiums, from foreign competition.
[84]This is the industry which is protected, through prohibitive tariffs and export premiums, from foreign competition.
[85]Twelve communities were found by the statisticians in which a considerable part of the membership consisted of regular beggars. As an example may be quoted the village Bratovka, bailiwick Naryshkinskaya, Ranenburg: “A good many go a-begging even when crops are good; in years of failure over half the village takes to begging.” (Loc. cit., p. 283.) Professional beggary has been of late very comprehensively described by some of the observers of peasant life. Late in the fall the huts are nailed up, and caravans of peasants—man, wife and child—start on a journey “for crumbs.” We read in theStatistical Reports for the Gubernia of Tamboff:“Everywhere the peasants report a great number of beggars; generally they are peasants from a strange district. It is only in a case of extreme necessity that a man able to work would force himself to ask alms in his own village. Usually, the needy families are supported through loans of bread from their neighbors, who divide with them their last provisions. The peasants of the district of Morshansk report, moreover, that they are haunted by a good many beggars from the district of Shatzk, as well as from theguberniasof Vladimir and Ryazañ.” (Vol. III., p. 277.)Does it not exactly remind one of the historical picture drawn by Vauban, who reported that “one-tenth of the French peasants are beggars, and the remaining nine-tenths have nothing to give them?”
[85]Twelve communities were found by the statisticians in which a considerable part of the membership consisted of regular beggars. As an example may be quoted the village Bratovka, bailiwick Naryshkinskaya, Ranenburg: “A good many go a-begging even when crops are good; in years of failure over half the village takes to begging.” (Loc. cit., p. 283.) Professional beggary has been of late very comprehensively described by some of the observers of peasant life. Late in the fall the huts are nailed up, and caravans of peasants—man, wife and child—start on a journey “for crumbs.” We read in theStatistical Reports for the Gubernia of Tamboff:
“Everywhere the peasants report a great number of beggars; generally they are peasants from a strange district. It is only in a case of extreme necessity that a man able to work would force himself to ask alms in his own village. Usually, the needy families are supported through loans of bread from their neighbors, who divide with them their last provisions. The peasants of the district of Morshansk report, moreover, that they are haunted by a good many beggars from the district of Shatzk, as well as from theguberniasof Vladimir and Ryazañ.” (Vol. III., p. 277.)
Does it not exactly remind one of the historical picture drawn by Vauban, who reported that “one-tenth of the French peasants are beggars, and the remaining nine-tenths have nothing to give them?”
[86]The question of the degree to which they are successful in starting as farmers, is one that does not come within the scope of this essay. I have discussed this question in my previous publication,Peasant Emigration to Siberia, Moscow, 1888.
[86]The question of the degree to which they are successful in starting as farmers, is one that does not come within the scope of this essay. I have discussed this question in my previous publication,Peasant Emigration to Siberia, Moscow, 1888.
[87]The wandering population of the district of Voronezh was divided as follows, between the several branches of employment:Workers.Per cent.Agriculture128362Handicraft46923}38Personal service894City and railroad labourers21911Total2060100
[87]The wandering population of the district of Voronezh was divided as follows, between the several branches of employment:
[88]The general statements made to this effect by the peasants, and reproduced in theReports for the Gubernia of Ryazañ, could obviously not be presented in figures, for this would require at least two censuses.
[88]The general statements made to this effect by the peasants, and reproduced in theReports for the Gubernia of Ryazañ, could obviously not be presented in figures, for this would require at least two censuses.
[89]The co-relation existing between outside work and the decay of farming may be inferred from the following table for the districts Ranenburg and Dankoff:Kind of employment.Communities.Households.Horseless,per cent.Local only, no outside workers90112427Throughout the region6533612635
[89]The co-relation existing between outside work and the decay of farming may be inferred from the following table for the districts Ranenburg and Dankoff:
[90]Cf. loc. cit., part II., p. 233, No. 14.
[90]Cf. loc. cit., part II., p. 233, No. 14.
[91]Statistical Reports for the Gubernia of Smolensk, Vol. IV., pp. 296, 304, 350, 352: Vol. V., pp. 218, 226, 272, 274.
[91]Statistical Reports for the Gubernia of Smolensk, Vol. IV., pp. 296, 304, 350, 352: Vol. V., pp. 218, 226, 272, 274.
[92]It can be seen by contrasting the figures of families whose houses have been sold with those of other destitute peasant groups:Percentage of families.Houseless.Landless or leasing their total lots.Owning neither horse nor cow.Ranenburg81525Dankoff101525
[92]It can be seen by contrasting the figures of families whose houses have been sold with those of other destitute peasant groups:
[93]This is confirmed by a great many statements in theReports for the Gubernia of Ryazañ, as well as by the following table taken from theStatistical Reports for the Gubernia of Smolensk:Absent.Youkhnoff,per cent.Dorogobouzh,per cent.Houseless.Youkhnoff,per cent.Dorogobouzh,per cent.Rate to the population75Rate to the population96Of these:Of these:Owning houses1927Living in the village3641Houseless8173Absent from the village6459Total100100Total100100
[93]This is confirmed by a great many statements in theReports for the Gubernia of Ryazañ, as well as by the following table taken from theStatistical Reports for the Gubernia of Smolensk:
[94]“The Pillars” is the title of a very popular novel by Mr. Zlatovratsky, one of the leading peasantist writers.
[94]“The Pillars” is the title of a very popular novel by Mr. Zlatovratsky, one of the leading peasantist writers.
[95]I must again plead for extenuating circumstances in the event of being mistaken as to the exact date.
[95]I must again plead for extenuating circumstances in the event of being mistaken as to the exact date.
[96]The “major”i. e.the head of the family, composed of married brothers and sisters, is not always the eldest brother. In case the eldest male member of the family shows himself not qualified for the management of the household, one of the younger brothers is occasionally entrusted with the office.
[96]The “major”i. e.the head of the family, composed of married brothers and sisters, is not always the eldest brother. In case the eldest male member of the family shows himself not qualified for the management of the household, one of the younger brothers is occasionally entrusted with the office.
[97]To use the term adopted by Mr. Michaïlovsky, the renowned Russian writer on sociology.
[97]To use the term adopted by Mr. Michaïlovsky, the renowned Russian writer on sociology.
[98]The number of workers included in the tenth census is not given in the reports, but the distribution of the population according to age is not likely to have changed very much in 25 years, the rates being determined to a great extent by biological influences, which are modified very slowly. The percentage of the total male population that by the census of the zemstvo had reached the age at which they are usually set to work is as follows:Per cent.Ranenburg (1882)47Dankoff (1882)47Korotoyak (1887)47Nizhnedevitzk (1887)46Taking these figures as co-efficients, we obtain the number of male workers to a family in 1858.
[98]The number of workers included in the tenth census is not given in the reports, but the distribution of the population according to age is not likely to have changed very much in 25 years, the rates being determined to a great extent by biological influences, which are modified very slowly. The percentage of the total male population that by the census of the zemstvo had reached the age at which they are usually set to work is as follows:
Taking these figures as co-efficients, we obtain the number of male workers to a family in 1858.
[99]The figures above given are rather too little expressive for the actual degree of the dissolution of the patriarchal family abroad. The following are the figures for the whole region covered by the statistical investigation of the zemstvo toward January 1, 1890 (cf.Introduction):Communities50,429Households3,309,020Males and females19,693,191Average membership to 1 family5.95To the do. of Ranenburg6.4””Dankoff6.4””Korotoyak7.3””Nizhnedevitzk7.8
[99]The figures above given are rather too little expressive for the actual degree of the dissolution of the patriarchal family abroad. The following are the figures for the whole region covered by the statistical investigation of the zemstvo toward January 1, 1890 (cf.Introduction):
[100]The correlation between the number of workers and the size of the farm can be summed up as follows:Number of Workers to 1 Family.Classes of Farms (per cent.).Korotoyak.Nizhnedevitsk.Below the average size.Average size.Above the average size.Below the average size.Average size.Above the average size.None6133649447One255916295615Two3564176033Three1227732572Total165034185131
[100]The correlation between the number of workers and the size of the farm can be summed up as follows:
[101]Districts.Stopped working on their farms.Stopped tilling one part of their farms.Horseless, per cent.In the district at large, per cent.With 1 horse.In the district at large, per cent.All “stopped”etc.= 100.All with 1 horse = 100.Zadonsk952573137Korotoyak951562168Nizhnedevitsk9613652713As shown by these figures, the percentage of householders who are unable to till the full size of their farms is twice as large among those with one horse as in the region at large; moreover, this transitional class of weak householders consists chiefly of those with one horse.
[101]
As shown by these figures, the percentage of householders who are unable to till the full size of their farms is twice as large among those with one horse as in the region at large; moreover, this transitional class of weak householders consists chiefly of those with one horse.
[102]Districts.“Horseless,” per cent.With 1 horse, per cent.In all, per cent.Gubernia of Voronezh—Zadonsk254065Korotoyak133245Nizhnedevitsk133245Gubernia of Ryazañ—Ranenburg362763Dankoff342559
[102]
[103]The following tables are fully conclusive as regards the rise and growth of this class:I. CLASSIFICATION ACCORDING TO THE NUMBER OF ADULT MALE WORKERS TO ONE HOUSEHOLD (TOTAL IN EVERY CLASS = 100.)Households.Korotoyak.Nizhnedevitsk.Total lot tilled with the owner’s live stock, per cent.Stopped working on their farms, per cent.Total lot tilled with the owner’s live stock, per cent.Stopped working on their farms, per cent.With 3 or more workers892882With 2 workers866825With 1 worker73196520Without workers24723060In all78157413In the Gubernia of Ryazañ57365934Ranenburg.Dankoff.II. CLASSIFICATION THE SAME (ALL “STOPPED WORKING,” ETC. = 100.)Households.Stopped working on their farms.Korotoyak,per cent.Nizhnedevitsk,per cent.With 3 or more workers22With 2 workers1214With 1 worker6267Without workers2417In all100100
[103]The following tables are fully conclusive as regards the rise and growth of this class:
I. CLASSIFICATION ACCORDING TO THE NUMBER OF ADULT MALE WORKERS TO ONE HOUSEHOLD (TOTAL IN EVERY CLASS = 100.)
II. CLASSIFICATION THE SAME (ALL “STOPPED WORKING,” ETC. = 100.)
[104]Districts.Families numberingAll told.No adult male workers.One adult male worker.Two adult male workers.Three or more adult male workers.Full workers.Half-workers.Total workers.Korotoyak:The farmer’s family01231.80.42.2Hired laborers1.21.21.21.51.00.21.2Total workers1.22.23.24.52.80.63.4Nizhnedevitsk:The farmer’s family01232.00.52.5Hired laborers1.01.21.21.40.80.41.2Total workers1.02.23.24.42.80.93.7
[104]
[105]Districts.Villages in the district.Employing farmers.Total households.To every 100 households.To 1 village.Korotoyak12882946.5Nizhnedevitsk147106757.3
[105]
[106]The farms of the average size (from 5 to 15 dessiatines), or those below the average size, are not available for the purposes of comparison, since the figures are influenced by yet another agent,viz., by the lack of land, leaving a narrow field for even the labor of the farmer himself.
[106]The farms of the average size (from 5 to 15 dessiatines), or those below the average size, are not available for the purposes of comparison, since the figures are influenced by yet another agent,viz., by the lack of land, leaving a narrow field for even the labor of the farmer himself.
[107]Districts.Households separated withinThe decennial periodsThe quinquennial periods1868-77, per cent.1878-87, per cent.1878-82, per cent.1883-87, per cent.Zadonsk30361719Korotoyak22351718Nizhnedevitzk27391821
[107]
[108]Districts.Households of yearly or season laborers.Tilling their plots with their own stock and implements.Households.Per cent.Korotoyak1891131570Nizhnedevitzk2313191283Zadonsk2733155857
[108]