The Helena independent., 1891-11-04


methods had been pnt into their hands In
November Of 1879. The axplo sion. which
killed and lnainied 30 many Ut the Finnish
guard and the aervarta. and which only
/ missed destroying the whole imperial fam
lily BY tho accident OF dinner being kept
| Of 1880.
The discovery that the very men who
we're ruling Russia with oriental f0roeity in
the nans Of law and ORDER were capable
OF this mysterious negligence, or criminal
connivance-one hardly knows TO this day
which to call itin,pelled the czar to ener-
getic action. He abolished the Office OF
povsrnor-gsnerAl OF st. Potersburg, which
0Ourko had held, and installed Gen. LoriS
MelikoG NJ kind of military dictator.
Drenteln, the Chief Of police, Count Toll
atoi, the minister OF education. md other
| representatives OF the venal and stupid dos
potism which had grown up since tho war,
were thrown out Of office and men OF diff
ferent type, or Mt least governed by n diff
ferent spirit took their places.
The Jews themselves were never under
any illusions as to ths motives OF their tor
mentors. The first grsnt antiSemits riot
at Ellznbethgrad, in April, 1881, only pre-
cedad by day or two Ignateff's accession
| to office, and very shortly after came the
terrible fires and lootinR Mt Kief. whore
1000 Jews had tho roofs burned over their
heads. II waa clear enough that definite
spired the attaclV in the Novos Veemyn.
There could be but one explanation of Ig-
natieff's attitude.
Ii there had been any doubt, his circular
! rosoript to the provincial governors in Sep
tember, 1881, must have cleared it away. In
it he disclosed his whole limo of campaign.
"Whilo energeticnlIy protecting tho Jews
from violence," hs said, 'the government
recognized sths need of equally vigorous
measures for removing the existing alb
normal relations between the Jews and the
native population. and for protect
actiyity OF the Jews which was the real
cause of tho agitation" In these, and
other not less menacinR phrases with which
Ignat;eH prefaced his directions for the for
nation OF local commissions to inquire into
the subject, the Hebrews discernsu tho
foundations for colossal superstructure of
blacklnaii.
While the enquiry" went on, the riots
increased in frequency and violence. The
minor officials had caught their e.eand
circulated the most shameless lies about the
nihilists being entirely composed of Jews,
and about fresh Israelitish plots for tho
murder of the new czar. They even winked
at the distribution and plaoarding of a bo-
gus ukase which purported to give imperial
sanction of the spoliation of the Jews. Syn
aRoQues were burned and jewish quarters
sacked in dozens 0f southern towns; Sarah
Bernhardt was publicly mobbed as a Jswess
in Odessa; the Christmas-tide horror in
Warsaw, where 900 houses and shops we're
broken into and pillaged and 10000 people
were driven into the wintry streets, ran its
cruel course without interference from the
garrison of 2O,OOO troops, whose command
ant, like Drenteln at Kiev, would not
trouble his soldiers for a pack of dogs of
Jews"
All this had been done. bear in mind,
without the issuance of any new adverse
law or regulation. The legal status of the
jew remained precisely what it had been
under Alexander Ii. The difference lay in
the spirit which now, from Ignatieff down
to the humblest Tchinovik, animated the
bureaucracy. Tens of thousands of Jews
had fled across the frontier before the cul-
minating tragedies of Warsaw and Balta.
The flight then became an exodus.
Meanwhile rumor was busy with an ex-
pulsion edict which Ignatietf had ready 70
pronlulgation. An abstract of this edict4
was surreptitiously conhded to the leading
Jews of St. Petersburg, accompanied by
the intimation that Ignatief was still open
to reasonable arguments upon the subject.
Details of what followed have been given
to me by men of weight and position,
who took part in the conferences held.
took tangible form in this propo-
sition: For the sum of 100000
rubles he would guarantee to except st.
Petersburg from the provision of the COM
ing ukase. The principal Jews of st.
Petersburg gave anxious consideration of
the offer. They finally decided to decline
this order: First, tho immense difficulty of
raising such sum of money; second, the
danger of being found out; third, tho i'm
possibility of believing that Ignatietf
would keep his word.
1t is said that some few made private
khntr t.,li ...Al.
Ignatieff. The community, as a whole, re-
fused to pay the bribe he demanded.
His answer was the MAY laws.'' These
temporary ORDERS as they were officially
called, were confined in Jheir operation to
the Pale. They comprised only three
clauses, one compelling all Jews within the
fifteen provinces henceforth to live in
towns; one suspending all their mortgages
and leases on landed estates, and OF their
powers of attorney for managing estates:
and one forbid ding them to carry on busi-
ness on Sundays and tho principal Christian
holidays. The famous edicts bear the date
of May Is. 1882.
The first emotion is one of surprise that
these laws, which so profoundly stirred all
Christendom, should contain only suoh
limited and relatively inoffensive pro-
visions. They involved hardships. no
doubt, and measurably complicated the
problem Of existence which, as We have
tlement within the crowded and poverty
stricken Pale. But, compared with the
evil reputation they bear in the worlds
memory, they do not seem SO dreadful after
all.
Tho point is that these laws, which were
all that IRnatistf dared venture to ask the
czar's signature for and whioh he issued
as temporary orders" because he feared
their rejection if submitted to the council
of the empire, bore only the smallest rsla--
tion to the ferooious outburst Of persecu-
ton associated with their name. They
merely cast the shadow of imperial author
ity over the ministerial Judenheize
The savage orgy of official violence which
ensued was independent of all laws. No
pretense was made of conGning it to the
Pale. The creation of Melikoff's dictator
ship, and, later, tho reign of martial force
following the assassination, had disorgan-
lied completely such traces Of system and
responsibility as had previously restrained
the local officials. Every man in uniform
had become law to himsolf. The mere
rumor of the MAY laws" served to precip.,
tate hsadlong rush upon the unhappy
Jews. We need not dwell upon the results;
sufficient are the horrors of our own 1mne-
diate day. 1t is enough to note that tho
excesses sent wave of indignation surging
all over the civilized world, which found
vent in ringing protests and the prompt or
ganization of committees of sucoor and re-
lief. The emazing statement il made now
that between April of 1881 and June of 1882
not less than 225 600 Jewish famlies--com-
prising over million souls-hed from Rus
sia!
The May laws had been issued but