50 THE ZEMSTVOS DURING THE WAR
4,890 versts of former state highways, 11,448 versts of macadamized
or paved roads, 90,378 versts of improved, and 83.166 versts
of unimproved earth roads. To maintain these roads in proper condition,
the zemstvos employed large staffs of engineers, craftsmen,
and laborers.
Postal and Telephone Service.
Russia did not possess a very dense network of railways until a
comparatively recent time. Consequently, the conveyance of mails
by road was an extremely important business. In most parts of Russia,
it was in the hands of private firms acting as contractors for the
Government. But a considerable number of district zemstvos operated
their own postal service. The postmasters of these zemstvo
offices were required to carry the mails within their respective districts,
besides furnishing horses for the conveyance of the local
agents of the Government and the zemstvo employees.
The organization of telephone communication by the zemstvos
proceeded mostly during the few years immediately before the War.
In 1914, the zemstvos had already been granted permits to open 219
new telephone systems, and 163 of these were already in operation,
covering a distance of 65,344 versts, with a total cable length of
150,998 versts.
Conclusions.
With this we conclude our survey of the more outstanding activities
of the zemstvos previous to the War. This survey is, naturally,
far from complete. We have confined ourselves in the main to those
features of their work which were typical, and have ignored others
which were characteristic only of isolated zemstvos (such as maintenance
of secondary schools, participation in the establishment of
higher scientific institutions, organization of museums of natural
history, and soil investigation).
If we add to this the fact that a large number of provincial zemstvos
had printing plants and published periodicals, in which their
work was discussed and which helped to diffuse useful knowledge
through the rural districts, we can see clearly how powerful they
were and what an immensely important part they played in the life
of the Russian State. It is natural, therefore, that these bodies, controlling
practically the entire medical service of the nation, carrying
