On holy mother Russia there are still many corners where it is as if serfdom existed only yesterday. Take, for example, the Urals. Landowners possess here tens of thousands of desyatinas of land. The factories (that is, the same landowners) forbid artisans from developing small-scale industry. The peasants remain to this day in dependence on the landowners, remain to this day without land allotments.

And the Urals – this is no small "corner," it is an enormous and richest region.

Between the workers of the Stroganov factories in the Urals and the factory administration of the wealthiest landowner Stroganov, a case dragged on for many years concerning the allotment of land to peasants under the law of 1862 (eighteen sixty-two!) year.

Finally, this case ended with a decision of the "supreme institution," the Senate, in the spring of 1909. The Senate prescribed to the Perm provincial assembly to allot land to the peasants, to apply the law of 1862.

So then, 47 years after the promulgation of the law, the Senate prescribed to the landowners to apply the law.

What happened?

What happened was that the landowners complained to the landowner Stolypin, who was then Minister of Internal Affairs. According to the law, the Senate stands above the Minister of Internal Affairs, but Stolypin "pressed down on the law" and sent a telegram to the Perm governor: suspend the execution of the Senate's decree!

The governor suspended it. A new correspondence began. New red tape.

Finally, the State Council agreed with the opinion of the Senate, and the decision of the State Council "was deemed worthy of supreme sanction," that is, confirmation by the supreme authority.

What happened?

What happened was that the landowners turned to the landowner N. A. Maklakov, who proved to be Minister of Internal Affairs instead of Stolypin. A deputation of Urals landowners "convinced" the minister. The minister declared that the decision of the Senate and the State Council was "unclear."

A new correspondence began. New red tape.

The Senate spoke out once more – in May 1913 – not in favor of the minister.

The Urals landowners sent a "memorandum" to the minister once more…

So the matter stands. So to this day, more than half a century after the promulgation of the law of 1862 concerning the allotment of land to Urals workers, the allotment has not taken place.

Liberal newspapers, recounting this instructive case, arrive at the conclusion that in Russia matters stand poorly with the "rule of law." This is true. But this is not the whole truth.

It is absurd to speak of "law" when landowners both enact laws and apply or repeal them in practice. This means there is such a class which itself creates "law" and itself repeals it. This means that liberal speeches about "law" and about "reforms" – are empty prattle.

The landowners too stand for "law" – only for landlord law, for their own law, for the law of their own class.

If in the face of such instructive facts liberals still wave away the "teaching" on class struggle, calling it an error and so on, then this clearly indicates an unclean liberal conscience. Do not liberals wish to share privileges with the landowners? Then it is understandable why the "teaching" on class struggle displeases them!

But what are workers to blame for if their "teaching" is confirmed by life!

"Severnaya Pravda" No. 14, August 18, 1913. Signed: I.

Printed according to the text of the newspaper "Severnaya Pravda"