St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-03-16
ATROCITIES N SIBERIA.
Sergius Stepniak, the Exiled Lib
erai, DenOunces the Czar.

Sergius Stepniak, the EXiled Lib
erai, DenOunces the Gar.
LONDON, March 15.-The attention of
Sergius Stepniak, the Russian Liberal,
was called to-day to the fact that some
portion of the press had expressed doubt
as to the authenticity and trustworthi-
ness of the recently published accounts
of outrages to which political prisoners
i'm Siberia had been subjected. Mr..
Stepniak said that the main features of
these reports were fully cOrrOborated
by such portions of the official report
compiled by the Russian government
as had been given to the public. 1t was
admitted that male political prisoners
were subjected to tiogging. and no
denial was youchsafed of the
incidents reported to have taken
place in the Kara prisons
In regard to those the official re-
ports maintained dead silence. Inc
information, Mr.. Stepniak continued.
concerning the Kara atrocities which
had been given to the press, had reached
the Western world in letters from sev-
eral distinct sources. These letters
came from persons who had no interest
whatever i'm eXaggerating the brutall-
ties which they were describing. While
these letters differed in slight degree
i'm regard to certain details, they agreed
perfectly as to the main facts of the
sutIerings i,erne by the political prison.
ers at Kara. MIR. Stepnak'S whole puf-
nose i'm giving out the intelligence which
he had received was to subServe the in
terests of humanity. Speaking in ref
erence to the views OF the Russian
ADMINISTRATOR OF PRISONS,
as published in London Times OF yes
terday morning and cabed abroad, to
the effect that Mr.. Kpnnan's accounts
of Siberian prison life could not 'be de-
pended upon, rs they were drawn iroih
cnnvicts. MIR. Slepniak said: 1T is al
most impossible to eXaggerate the suf-
ferings of political prisoners in Siberia
at the hands of the prison ofilclalS. The
great merit of Mr.. Kennan's accounts is
that they are based on facts learned.
not only from the prisoners, but also
frum the prison officials themselves;
added to this was his own personal OBJ
servation of the situations he was de-
scribing. Mr. Lansdell's account, how
ever, gave only impressions obtained
under official supervision" The Rus
sian conservative view. as voiced
by the administrator IF prisons. is
that Western writers lave Ideal
lied the nhilisiS beyond all reSem-
blance to the reality. "Wretched men
and wOmen." he says, "have been EN-
duWed with qualities of refinement and
good breeding, such as university ed
ucatiOn and other Russian surround
ings never gave, while their social de-
pravity is SO great in many cases that it
would shock English people If trans
lated into proper English equivalents"
This view, MI. Stepniak says. is the
grossest caumny. The political eXiles, /
he asserts, are drawn largely from the
most cultured class OF Russians. LII
lavish self-slcritice is any proof, moral
sentiment must be looked for among
them. They possess whatever rehne-
ment exists in Russia. The
TORTURES AND DEGRADATION
which they have experienced in prison
have not been a lie to eXtlngulSh their
moral sense. He instanced Nine. KO-
valevsky, who became insane under the
sutferings of convict life, but regained
her sanity after she was set at liberty,
and then reported herself TO the govern
ment as restored to health and expressed
her Willingness to return to Siberia and
share the life of the political cOnvlctS
with the hope of allt Waiting the trials OF
her fellow sufferers. MIR. Stepniak eX-
presses the conviction that the agitation
in America on behalf of reform in the
treatment or political prisoners in Slbe-
ria cannot fail to have its influence with
the Russian officials, from the cZar
down. He feels confident that 1t will
result in mitigating the severity of
treatment VIII eli is now enforced against
political eXiIes.