Ashtabula telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1874-1880, 1879-06-20
how THE NIHILIsF NOREs.

statements, relative to the great assOeia-
ton to which be belongs, 70 local re-
porter:
At present the principles Of the Nj
hilistS are destructive as well as con-
structive. So far as the present Gov
ernment of Russia is concerned, they
are destructive; but Nihilist principles
are not limited to destructiYeness.
They have in view the restoration Of
the peoples Government, which az
listed three centuries ago throughout
the whole of Russia. Three centuries
ago there WIS regular LegislatiYs
Body, composed of representatives from
all parts Of Russia, and known as the
ZemstvO, and this Legislature, or Par
lament, made rules which were then
approved by the Car. The members
of the Russian Parliament were elected
BY the people, and the powers Of the
Czar in regard to laW-making were
confined to the approval or disapproVal
of the acts Of the Parliament. The
Gar himself held his Office by the viii
of his subjects, and was an elective
ruler; and there are instances in Rus
sian history Of the deposition Of CzarS.
The Nihilists propose that parliament
airy rule shall be restored, and auto
cratic government done away with.
Nihilists do not propose to subvert
the family, or to enforce novel ideas
in regard to the social relations. The
charges of immortality and Of neglect
Of the marriage tie made against the
Nihilists are wholly false. It is true
that Nihilists ignore the forms which
the autOcratic Government Of Russia
prescribes as constituting legal mar
rage, but Nihilist husbands and wives
are as firmly attached to each other and
as faithful to their mutual pledges as
husbands and wives in any land, and
many Nihilist wives have given exem-
plarY proof of their devotion and fidel-
ity By following their exiled husbands
into the miserias and privstions Of life
in Siberia. Nor are the Hihilists CON-
munists, in the sense of the latter term
as accepted in France and in America.
They aim at reformation of the ten
ure of land, which would In effect be 3
restoration of the old Russian custom
when the land was possessed by COM
munities. The peasants held land in
common, worked together and divided
the crop, not according to the number
of workers but according to the num-
Der Of mouths in family. The auto
cratic Government has tried 70 abolish
the old custom, but traces Of it yet re-
main. The Nihilists also propose to
establish schools everywhere, and give
all the people ap opportunity TO be
freely educated at the expense at the
State. Their demand is for . demo-
cratic republic, in which each Province
of Russia viii exercise autonomy, the
whole being joined in one chain Of fed
Grafton.
The number of Nihilists is not large,
if you take into account the millions Of
people of the various Nations in the
Russian Empire, but it includes very
large proportion of the intellectual, and
what are commonly known as the high
er classes. The Nihilist movement is
pervasive throughout Russia, but its
strongholds are the universities, where
the youth of the best families Of the
land are oongregated. We have seven
universities in seven different cities. st.
Petersburg, Kiev, Charkov, Odessa,
Kasan, Warsaw and Dorpat. To these
youth and to other members, male and
female, of the educated classes, Nihil-
ism is chiefly confined. But 8 small
proportion of the peasants are sufficient
" educated to be able to comprehend
the principles of Nihilism. Neverthe-
less, while the peasantry, are, Is rule,
incapable of clearly understanding the
aims and objects Of the Nihilists, yet
many Of them, especially dissenters
from the Orthodox or State Church,
sympathize with our movement, and
entertain purposes corresponding in q
general way to the object of Nihilism.
For instance, there is . sect in Russia
which is conscientiOuslY opposed to the
payment Of taxes, and whose members
only remain a few days in one place.
The Nihilists find the members Of this
sect very useful in disseminating Nihil-
ist views and principles, and many Of
the sect have become converts to Mill
ism, and travel about infusing Nihilistic
doctrines wherever they go. The fund
amental principles of Nihilism predom-
mate to q great extent throughout
Russia, but in an underlined and IN
classified form.
1ONO uO IOdL has DdSo6cu IA
which some university has not been
closed on account of the prevalence of
this movement. All the universities
are closed at present on account of the
demonstrations by the students at
CharBov and KieV. The students in
the University Of St Petersburg dis
played sympathy for their fellows in
Charkov and Kiev, and petitioRed for
the liberation Of those who had been
put under arrest. The result was the
closing of the colleges of the univerity.
The Governments object is to get rid
of the students, who are considered
dangerous, and to reopen the universi-
ties when Nihilism shall have been suf-
ficiently crushed out. Even all the
medical schools are closed.
Our methods Of propogating Mill
ism are personal address, either to in
dividuals or to groups, ,SSof course In se-
cret, and the distribution Of pamphlets
and of songs expressing Nihilistic
ideas, but adapted to National and
popular airs. The pamphlets are
printed in secret printing offices in
Russia, and contain usually from ten to
twenty pages. In these pamphlets the
condition and circumstances Of the
Russian people are set forth in q form
clear and Ineligible even 70 the peas
ant. Sometimes the pamphlets contain
stories inculcating Nihilistic principles,
or historical sketches Of Russian revo-
lutions in 1870, 1910 and 1870-that
year 40 is dreaded by the Imperial
Government. The proportion Of peas
ants who can read is probably less than
one in twenty, but those who read ex-
plain to those who cannot. Frequently
the pamphlets are disguised by hav-
ing on the outside the title and appear
snce of an Orthodox religious work.
Tho personal method of propagsting
Nihilism is as effective Is it is peculiar. |
Nihilist men and women, many of them !
of gentle blood and luxurious home |
associations, dress themselves as work |
ingmen and peasants, assume fictitious |
names, and go forth to labor in the fac
tory and the field. Some of them pre-
tend to be mechanics, 60 to work as
mechanics and earn wages, while all |
the time propagsting Nihilistic doc
trines. Workingmen in Russia CON-
monty live in messes or parties of ten
or twenty members, so that q Nihilist |
in the guise of 3 workingman has
plentV of OpportunitV to exnlain the /