Sacramento daily record-union., 1890-03-06
THE PLEA FOR ASSASSINATION.

Recently we commented freely upon the
attitude of Rev. Hugh O. Pentecost at the
meeting held in New York to protest
against the Siberian system of the Rus
sian Government. He there advocated
the assassination of the Gar, preaching
the gospel of dynamite, and valnly imag-
lining that the killing of ruler destroys
a system of government creative of Cars.
A correspondent, who is SO situated as to
know whereof he speaks and is himself
churchman, writes to the REcoRD-UNIoS /:
have read with pleasure your structures on
Hugh .. Pentecost Lest his name be con-
founded with that of his eminent brother DR.
George Z. Fentecost, let me say that the cham
plon OF assassination is a preacher who, a
couple OF years ago, became too large for the
pulpit OF a conservative church, and after
working good deal of harm in the body which
mac trusted MIN with their confidence he was
compelled TO take to the religious rostrlm as a
free lance. He is a champion of the extreme
wing OF the labor agitators and if I remember
correctly, opposed violently the execution OF the
Chicago Anarchists. 1t Is another instance of
the drift tendency" towards extremes of such
religionists as he. Il is quite natural that the
apoioglsts OF assassins should speedily become
the advocates of assassination.
This is about as we anticipated. The
man who under any circumstances can
preach assassination as a remedy for Gov
ernmental abuses is himself to be looked
upon as capable of becoming the instru-
ment of assassination. In plain English,
In free land, we call such people murder
ers, and look upon them with horror and
loathing. While we have no apologies to
make for the Car, no excuses to offer for
the tyrranous system of the Russian ma
tion, we cannot lose sight of the fact to
which the New York Tribune calls special
attention, that all the recent stories of
atrocities in Siberia come from London.
and through the Office of the London
Times. Stepniak is a semi-attache of that
office. He is brilliant and radical Nihi-
list, a refugee, and relentless advocate of
violence. He is preparing to come to this
country to occupy the lecture platform,
for which his remarkable book, 'Under-
ground Russia" " paved the way few years
ago. Now it is significant that the reports
of Russian cruelty should so suddenly and
in such rapid succession come as apparent
forerunners of Stepniak. So it may be
that this shrewd man is preparing the way
and making his paths straight, by working
up every particle of information that he
can obtain into the most thrilling sensa-
tionalism.
But it is enough to know that what Mr..
Kennan tells US of mis- observations is true.
There is sufficient in his recital to rouse
the whole civilized world in protest against
the Russian system. But we must not. as we
have before said, be led astray by the idea
that the Gar alone is to blame, or that he
alone can bring about reform. As an
Eastern contemporary not long ago well
said, "The Russian is an Asiatic," and
enough of the barbarian has been left in
the Muscovite despite civilization to make
the treatment of the Siberian prisoners
easily to be accounted for. The Russian
Government is what its people make it.
and consent that it shall be. If, therefore,
Mr.. Pentecost's assassination doctrine is to
be applied, it should be carried to the full
extent Of butchering two-thirds of the Rus
sian people, if all those who are response
bic are to be treated by this Anarchist
snaoi6c