Omaha daily bee., 1883-05-01

" nv NS NV ~
priateness Of daggers and dynamite as
instruments for obtaining national
liberty can not be expected to recog-
nize the contrivers Of murderous plots
as angelic persons. But II may be
borne In mind that they urge In their
defense that II Is the only way to &C
complish their aims In Russia. W.
may recall that their organ at the time
Of the assassination Of President Gar
field, uttered this just sentiment:
"Where the free will Of the people
not only prescribes the laws, but
chooses the administrators, there muir
der, as q weapon In political conflict,
Is as bad as the despotlsm whose over
throw Is TIE aim Of the Russian revo-
lutionary party"
As an example Of the style Of the
writer's personal sketches, this Of
Jacob S~tefanovic Is given:
"S.efsnovic remained for q whole
month In st. Petersburg. We saw
each other very often. l afterwards
had many opportunities Of seeing him
and of becoming acquainted with him,
which Is the same as saying Of loving
him. He Is q man of q very original
and very complex disposition. He has
great force of mind and character;
one of those who, under favorable
circumstances, become prophetical.
He has the extremely rare faculty of
understanding how 10 direct the
masses, az he showed at the Cighirino.
But his force Is not that which goes
straight to Its object, "a . ball from o
cannon, smashing and o~verthrowiDg
everything that opposes 1t. No; it Is a
force that delIghts In oonoealment,
that bends, but only to stand firm
again sfterward. He Is said to be,
and Is believed to be, very astute.
He Is an extremely reserved
man, entirely concentrated In him.
self. He speaks little; In public meet
ings never. He always listens quite
doubled up, with his head bent as II
He never enters Into any
theoretical disscussion, which he de-.
and when he Is compelled to be
present at the reading of a 8 programme
OF memorandum he sleeps In very
truth, and snores loudly. He 10 a man
of action, like those whose hands Itch
to be at work. He knows how to wait.
He Is q man of far reaching plans; he
Is the finest type of the organizer
whom l have eve known. His clear
and eminently practical mind, his firm
and cautious character, his knowledge
of mon and the art Of dealing with
them, which he possesses is marvellous
perfection, render him particularly
adapted for this highly difficult office.
He is very skeptlcal with regard to
men, but at the same time IL capable
of q friendship which borders on ador.
alton"
Bat besides these glimpses of the
characters of prominent leaders In the
revolutionary party, the book affords
much light On several points which
have been in controversy. For exam.
pie, Stenniak gives no support to the
opinion which the Russian govern
ment pretends to hold, that the plots
of the nihilists are Matched among OK.
lies In London, Paris, and Geneva,
where they are not under the imme-
diate surveillance of the Russian
police. He gives us to understand,
on the contrary, that they are formed
In Russia, under the eyes of the police,
and In d,fance of them. The sche me
of the assassination Of the car was
not formed by %exiles, any more than 1t
was carried into execution by them,
nor did they furnish the funds or the
machinery. All those whose connec.
ton with the affair has been traced
were Russians living In their own
country. He takes pains to produce
the Impression that the active reyolu-
ttonary party, those whose exploits
have startled the world AID spread ter.
ror through The empire, are not o
numerous body. He says there we're
but fifteen persons present at the go
called congress- Of Lipetsk, where the
policy of assassination was first for
mally determined upon, and he con.
stantly conveys the Idea that the poll.
cy Is worked by small groups, who
carry into execution their own plans.
The conspiracy for destroying the
emperor's train was the most formid.
able In point of the numbers con-
oerned. The forces Of the organizs-
ton were too small for the business,
and outsiders were admitted to partic.
who, of course, did not know
the precise plans; but the general
scheme was so we'll understood that
subscriptions were raised almost pub.
licly In some places. And touching
the question of funds, he. meets the
that they must be collected
from abroad by declaring that the
amount needed for their undertakings
Ia much less than is commonly sup.
posed. He says that the affair Of the
Moscow mine and two other attempts
destroy the railways organized for
the same month cost only between
e3, 900 and $4,000, including travel.
Ing expenses. The attempt to liber.
ate Of the prisoners condemned at
The trial Of "the 1913" was organized
On . large scale, and yet, according
TO the detailed accounts sent to the
organization, It cost only about $3, 900
These revelations Of the cost of con.
give new interest to the ques.
Ion. What becomes Of all thu monav |