Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1892-11-24


! In preference to the shut in life of the
average American prisoner, give me ST.
/ beria Besides that, when offenders come
out of prison in America, what chance
! have they? Ask the poorly supported so-
ceties formed to get these people places
/ for work. Ask me- to whom the newly
liberated come from all the prisons inn
ploring what they shall do No one will
commend them. The pallor of incarcera-
! ton is on their cheek Who wants to en-
ploy in factory or store man or woman
who, in answer to the question, Where
did you live last?" should make for reply,
States prison at Auburn or Moyamen-
sing?" Now in Siberia they have better
chance They are never spoken of as Grim
inals, but as unfortunates, and they are al
lowed every opportunity of retrieving their
lost reputation and lost fortunes.
/ talked with the president of the Ma
tional Society of Russia for the Education
and Moralization of the Children of Sibe-
rian Convicts The president of that soci-
ETY., appointed by the emperor, is lady of
great accomplishments and much sym
pathy, which illumines her face and makes
fearful her eyes and tremulous her voice.
The evening | passed at her house in st.
| Petersburg was one of the memorable
events of my lifetime will not attempt
to pronounce the name of that noble wom
an appointed by the emperor as the presi
dent of the National Society of Russia for
the Education and liberalization of the Chill
dren of Convicts. Please to name any such
national society in our country, supported
by government, for taking care of the chill
dren of convicts
You know. if you know anything, that
IL -. H.. . 4. L.
man who has been imprisoned, or for his
children. God pity them and hasten the
time when we shall, by some national in
stitution established by the congress of the
United States, initiate the mercy of the
Russian government toward the innocent
children of imprisoned offenders. He who
charges cruelty on the imperial family and
the nobility of Russia bellies men and wom-
en- as gracious and benignant as ever
breathed oxygen.
THE CARS cLEMENoY.
The merciful character of the present EN-
peror was well illustrated in the following
occurrence The man who supervised the
assassination of the father OF the present
emperor, standing in the snow that awful
day when the dynamite shattered to pieces
the legs of Alexander the Second-I say
the man who supervised all this fled from
st. Petersburg and quit Russia. But after
awhile the man repented of his crime, and
wrote TO the emperor asking for forgive
ness for the murder of his father, and
promising TO be a good citizen and asking
if he might come back to Russia The EN-
peror pardoned the murderer of his father,
and the forgiven assassin is now living in
Russia unless recently deceased
When | talked to the empress concerning
the sympathy felt in America for the suf-
ferings of the drought struck regions of
Russia, she evinced an absorbing interest
and Il compassion and an emotion of man
ner and speech such as we men can hardly
realize, because it seems that God has re-
served for woman as her great adornment
the coronet, the tear jeweled coronet of ten
derness and commiseration. II you say
that it was a man, divine man that came
to save the world, say yes; but it was a
woman that gave the man. Witness all the
Madonnas-Italian, German, English and
Russian-that bloom in the picture gal
leries of Christendom. son of Mary, have
mercy on u.s.
But how about the knout. the cruel
Russian knout, that comes down on the
bare back of agonized criminals Why,
Russia abolished the knout before ii was
abolished fro.n our American navy. But
how about the political prisoners hustled
off 10 Siberias According TO the testimony
Of the most celebrated literary enemy OF
Russia, only four hundred and fOrty-three
political prisoners were sent TO Siberia ia
twenty years. How many political prison
ers did we put in prison pens during our
four years OF civil war; Well, will guess
at least one hundred thousand. Americas
one hundred thousand political prisoners
versus Russia four hundred and forty
three political prisoners. Nearly all these
tour hundred and forty-three of twenty
years were noblemen or people desperately
opposed to the emancipation of the serfs.
And none of the political prisoners is sent
to the famous Kara mines.
For the most part you are dependent for
information upon the testimony of pris-
oners who are sent TO Siberia. They all
say they were innocent Prisoners always
are innocent. Ask all the prisoners of
America today, Guilty or not guiltyf"
and nineteen out of twenty will plead
Not guilty" Ask them how they like
their prison, and how they like sheriffs,
and how they like the government OF the
United States and you will find these pris-
oners admire the authority that arrested
them and punished them just about as
much as the political prisoners OF Russia
like Siberia
sToP DEFAMATION.
But you ask how will this Russophobia,
with which 50 many have been bitten and
poisoned, be cureds By the God of Justice
blessing such books and pamphlets as are
now coming out from Professor de Arnaud,
of Washington Mr.. Horace Cutter, of San
Francisco; Mr. Morrill,, of England, and by
the opening of our American gates to the
writings of some twenty-four of the Rus
sian authors and authoresses, in some re-
spects as brilliant as the three or four
Russian authors already known-the trans
lation of those twenty-four authors, which
am authorized from Russia to offer free
of charge to any responsible American pub
fishing house that will do them justice.
Let these Russians tell their own story,
for they are the only ones fully competent
TO do the work, as none but Americans can
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