The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1888-01-15

the policy OF the present Ministry has been as
consistent frankly cynical. To suppress
every manifestation of free thought. to restrict
q much could be all access to higher or even
secondary education, opsning the doors of the
schools, AS far as possible, only TO the rich and
privileged, such has been the reprehsnsiole
course pursued by these representatives OF the
Czar.
Il would make a very long story if l were to
try aud recapituate all that has been done in
this way during the last few years. Suffice it TO
say that the press has been crushed. The most
important and popular papers have been sup
pressed while for those that remained the CEN
sorshiu was virtually re established: Ii jour
nal incurred one single time the dlspleasure or
the Ministry, it was put IN the category or pa
pers under "preliminary censorship" just as in
the days of Nicolas.
The unscrupulous resort to secret orders,
sent out to all papers, prohibiting them TO SPEAK
such such subject or enJolnlnc them TO 90
80 in such or such tone has driven from the
journalistic field almost every self-respectiug
press man. A few second and third rate papers
the only ones in which professional honesty
is tolerated. The large dailies are infested with
scribbling spectators ready to pay for the
leave of making money by siavlshly complying
with all ministerial requests.
The University regulations OF September,
1884, deprived the faculties of the small amount
of freedom which the professors formerly
possessed. The election by ministerial order OF
scores of the best and most popular professors,
and the substitution for them OF fawnlng
dependents of 1.-The powers that be-" the raising
of the fees and the peremptory refusal TO
permit any exemption from payment, even II
is his personal remuneration--au this admits or
but one Interpretation.
The scandalous restrictions put upon secon-
Diary education-tne favorite hobby of Count
Tolstoi-have been surpassed by the ukase of
October, 1887, which breathes spirit un6nown
before even in Russia The head masters OF
gymasiums and pro-gymasums are requested, IN
view of the great number of pupils converted
to nihilism. not to admit the sons OF small shop
keepers, mechanics, or working people They are
enjoined, moreover, to reject all children whose
relatives cannot guarantee that the applicants
will not become Nihilsts when grown up Ihls
means that the head masters must obtain nfor-
nation in regard to the political views OF the
parents and relatives of all children who arrive
at the school age.
In order to make sure of the application of
this law, the ukase concludes by reminding the
head masters that they will be held responsible
for the subsequent conduct Of all the pupils of
their respective colleges, not ''only before their
own superiors but before their conscience, too
1t is needless to say that it Is the hrst part OF
the sentence which counts. Conscience is
thing to which Count Tolstoi is not wont to pay
Now I ask, is there any geam of hope, is
there any ray of light in the future under such
a government thisa And to those who dare
TO feel for their countrys wrongs and express
their dsapprobation is reserved exile by dozens,
by scores, by hundreds; banishnent TO the far
north or to Siberia; or if not exile arbitrary
arrests, which, as a high Russian official said to
q correspondent of the Daily News, are DOW so
frequent that nobody any longer pays atten-
ton to them.
This, by the way ia tho government to which
the Republic of the United States propose to
render up political refugees. that is, II Secretary
Bayard's extradition treaty is ever signed.
Now let to these refugees-to the
"conspirators' form, let 1t be remarked,
but small fraction of those who actually
arrested Imprisoned and exiled to Siberia with
out Judgment and without offense.
The growing discontent which must. OF ne
cessity have gradually succeeded the period of
foolish hopefulness, found its acute symptom in
the development Of consDraces. AS long az the
Gear is autocrat aud absolute master, sane
tonipg and upholding, he is morally responsible
for all the evils done in his name 1t is against
him that the hand of retributve justice is nat
uraly raised.
The first conspiracies against the life of Alex
ander Ill were discovered by the police before
they could be carried out Such was the
Anichkov Palace conspiracy in 1888, and the
Novoteherkask conspiracy in 1886 Ihe eX-
istenco OF both were denied point-Elank by the
official press when they reported abroad.
But such conspracies did exist nevertheless
The anniversary conspiracy. March IL, 1851
the anniversary of the killing of the present
Cars father-waS the first which came near
succeeding Since that date there have been an
almost uninterrupted series of announcements
of the discovery by the police of new plots.
The more significant feature of these recent
manifestations is the rapid spread of revolution
ary ideas in the army This fact made
public even before the fasco the occasion of
the anniversary of Alexander lis death, just re-
f-rrad to- In the middle of February. 1887, a
J." ge body Of about sixty conspirators, comnosed
OF naval officers, students in military schools
and officers of some of the regiments of the
Guards, were arrested in St Petersburg. Ac-
eordiug to the information furnished on that oc-
cason by Reuters agency, 'rhe consplrators
intended to overthrow the present government
and tabsh in its place federal republic.
The principal leaders were naval officers. acting
according to a scheme drawn up it IL said. by
Baron Stromberg, also a naval otlcer, who was
executed in October, 1884 The revolutionary
spirit" adds the CORE spondent, lis much more
disseminated among the officers, am told, than
is generally supposed"
The events of March l3, 1887, confirmed this
last statement. Among the three bomb bearers
arrested on this occasion one was the particular
protege OF Pobedonoszev and a son of prlvy
councillor of the Emperor. the two others were
Cossacks, l. g., born military men. In the
wholesale arrests which followed the army and
navy represented in great proportion as
students and other civilians. OF the 140 per-
sons arrested in the first two days gooo half
were officers and forty more added TO the
list three days later. Among them. 1T should be
noted, We're several officers of the body guard
When the commander heard of the arrests he
exclaimed: "Y ou are taking away the flower OF
my regiment"
Further arrests were made in the military
corps stationed in other towns. Kronstadt
Kieff. Odessa, kharkoff. Warsaw offered their
tribute of victims. In Odessa within week
after the attempts forty military officers were
arrested, including one colonel of infantry and
two majors. Towards the eEd of May, 1887,
four days after the execution of the author of
the anniversary plot, new conspiracy plot
against the Gar discovered among the Don
Cossacks to whom the Emperor expected
to pay a visit 1t led to the arrest of twenty
four individuals. civilians and military. No fur
ther information has been allowed to leak out
concerning the details and the further arrests
At the end of last October the police surprised
two meetings of NihilIsts In different parts of
St. Petersburg desperate resistance was
offered bv those present at one of them which
resulted in bloodshed Further discoveries
vealed the existence of a clandestiue manufact-
ory of bombs and dynamite and deposit of
fire arms.
It is quite evident from all these facts that we
are on tns eve of revival of nihilistic activity.
rfV.an ist- thav trxrfr ha
a wonder and a disgrace if it Were otherwise.
What will be the upshot of the new efforts2 All
will depend on the line of conduct which will be
observed by the liberal and patriotic elements
of Russian society. Conspiracies powerless
against a well-organized political body
ported by the majority of the citizens, although
quite strong enough to cope with a government
which is. so speak suspended in the air,
with nothing sure and solid to rest upon.
N-,l,i1 -