THE DOUKHOBORS

Greymouth Evening Star, 29 May 1937, Page 14

THE DOUKHOBORS

A CANADIAN PROBLEM.

VANCOUVER, May 1

The militant section, of the fanatical Doughobo'r community is on a rampage again, burning schools and other Government buildings, as a protest against having to send their children to- Canadian schools or to pay taxes.. In their recent outburst, damage to the extent of £75,000 was done in South-eastern British Columbia, where the community lives. The latest outburst is> not accompanied, as heretofore, by nude parades. The Svobodniks, or Freemen, first, came to public notice in Canada in 1902, when the Dominion Government gave them the option of taking the oath of allegiance to the Sovereign or forfeiting the homesteads they had taken up three years before, on their arrival from Russia. They refused to become British subjects, and letting their cattle and horses loose on the prairie, left their homes, and 2500 men, women and children marched to the nearest town, Yorkton, Saskatchewan, to protest to Government officials.

In the last stage of their jou'rney, they shed their clothing, pocket money, watches, and other personal possessions. Some of the less scrupulous members of the sect picked l them up and disposed of them. With difficulty, the police persuaded the demonstrators to return to their homes. Some months later,, the Chief, Peter Verigin, sen., most respected of all Doughobors, pleaded with his. follow ers to give up their nudist practices. Some obeyed, him; others burned down his palace at Verigin, Saskatchewan. At the time of his death, in 1924, only about ten families) were practising nudism. His son, who succeeded him, was unable to control them, and eventually condoned their practices. A branch of the sect moved into British Columbia, where a prosperous community grew ulp. They engaged in mixed farming and, fruit growing, but did not believe in slaughtering animals and were vegetarians. An epidemic of burning of schools and of nude parades was l severely dealt with by the provincial authorities, after a plentiful use of switches and spraying of “itch powder” had been found unsuccessful. With the cooperation of the Dominion authorities, the nudists, numbering about 2000, were placed in confinement on an island in the Gulf of Georgia, for three years, and their children billeted with Canadian families. For the past four years, since they were released, there have been only sporadic outbursts.

The Doukhobors declare they will not become British subjects, as they fear they may have to serve in war, and their creed forbids them to, kill their fellowmen. Their nudist practices they justify by their belief that they are true sons and daughters of Adam and Eve. Their aversion to paying taxes is due to the fact that “all land belongs to God. and we are his sons.” They do not send their children to school, because “all educated children do not respect their parents, and do not live with them.”