Omaha daily bee., 1890-02-22

march with the times or to conciliate their
subjects are the king of Denmark and the
emperor Of Russia. The former persists in
retaining the conservative cabinet OF Nj.
Estrup, although for fifteen years past the
nave possessed an overwhelming ma
iority in the national legislature and have re-
fused 10 give parliamentary sanction TO the
annual budget. In fragrant violation OF his
royal oath to maintain the terms of the con-
King Christian has gone on collect
ing and creating taxes aud spending the rev.
enue without the consent of the legislature.
The result has been that the republican
movement has attained a vast growth in the
little kingdom. In the new parliament n
number of socialists have Deep returned and
popular evaporation against the king has
reached such a pitch that his tenure OF tho
throne is regarded as exceedingly insecure.
His son>in-law, the car, is even still more
deaf to the voice of his people. For he has
just summoned to st. Petersburg Governor
Ostashine, the originator of the recent mas
sacre of political prisoners at Yakutsk, and
instead of censuring or furnishing him, has,
on the contrary, loaded him with honors and
decorations.
'"eSa iuOoeiouo phohioO W pO 30
cendant this spring. The Swiss government
has already organized an international con-
ference which is to meet at Berne on May 8
for the purpose of discussing the practica-
hility of adopting q universal standard work
ing-day; and now Emperor William an
nounces his intention of requesting the for
eign powers to meet about the same time at
Berlin, and for a similar purpose. While
tho nt,a 49, 49, 400 ..,; n.,-1 thn tHtritn-
tions and the feasibility of state regulation
of labor, efforts are being made by the
workingmen themselves in all parts of the
civilized world to organize combined move
ments in favor of an eight hours labor day.
There is to be q mass meeting and mon
ster procession at Paris ut May /, the
American Federation of Labor have fixed
upon the same day for imposing demonstra-
tions in this country, and In Great Britain
the trades unions are being called upon to
make the May-day labor meetings both UNI
versal and successful. In Belgium, Italy,
Holland and Austria the workingmen's asso-
Citations have similar projects in view, and
are actively engaged in arranging the pre-
liminaries. Indeed, according to the pres
ent outlook, 1t would appear as If the whole
of the labcring classes throughout the civil
lied world had determined to take a holiday
on Mayday with the object of proving there
by the sincerity of their desire for shorter
working hours. While it is doubtful if
the proposed demonstration will be as
general and as widespread as its pro-
moters might wish. yet it is far more
likely to achieve practical results than the
projected conferences at Berne and at Ber-
lin. The standard length of q working day
is a question that can only be satisfactorily
discussed and settled by the masters and the
men among themselves, without extraneous
intervention. Any interference on the part
OF the state in the matter can not but consti-
tute a great danger to the best interests of
the working classes. For If the government
is to be entrusted with the right of reducing
the legal hours of labor, it necessarily fol
lows that it will have the power to increase
them at will. This, however, would be an
encroachment by the state on the independ-
ence and freedom of its individual citizens
to which no workingman in his senses could
subscribe.
In considering the condition of the Russian
people at present, there Is one fact to be
kept constantly in mind: tho car has openly
declared that he holds the nobility to be the
chief supporters of the crown, and that as
such they are to be favored and strengthened
as a class by the crown as much as possible.
Now, the large landed proprietors of Russia
are to q great extent manufacturers also.
To this course they ware forced by sheer
necessity. Most of the Russian railroads
have been built from strategic consideration
alone, and the enormous majority of large
estates lie far away from railroad stations
Inc transportation of grain by horses over
tracts Of land of ten,- twenty or thirty miles
does not pay; therefore rich landed pro
prietors nave long ago built distil
leries, re1neries and factories on theil
estates, on which they consume most Of then
grain, beef and potatoes in making alcohol
sugar and starch, which are easily trans
ported. Thus the interests of the more pow
erful and independent part of the nobility
must to a great degree coincide with those
of the merchants and mill owners who o
late years are also increasing their estaD'
lishment, and getting ready to double theil
successful competition in Central Asia
against more expensive English goods. i
may be said even that the great bulK of thu
Russian natlon-the peasants-are satisfied
A certain percentage Of the peasants-sav
ing, hard working and rather inscription
grow richer with every year. and promis
in time to develop into a class of farmer
who will lave crowded out the small nobl
landed proprietors, as well as the less ener
getic peasants. The latter. however, are b
ignorant and underfed that they do not evel
realize the extent Of the abuses heaped OF
them, and decidedly lack the grit that goe
to form active dissatisfaction.
-
Mr.. Zachrissen, who is to lead the Swed
ish expedition to Central Africa. expects t
make the first experiment in the way @
planting white colony In the far interior G
the dark continent. He is said to have con
tracts with 100 Swedish artisans who hav
agreed to start with him In May next 70
Victoria Nyapza. A few years ago such q
expedition would certainly have involve
tragical consequences, and its prospect
today are by no means brilliant. The pr
ject, however, is not quite SO foolhardy as
would nave been before white men knew a
much AS they do now about the best mean
of keeping their health. 1t would have bee
regarded AS impossible a few years ago TO
Stanley to safely lead five white men clea
across Africa, as he has just done, or fo
missionaries to be thriving, like Mackay, o