The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1892-10-22

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the suffering districts, and she commits.
airy enterprise by which she expects
with her pen more money, all of which
is to go for bread to those who
lack it. Then there are the Bob
rinskis. They are of the nobility,
not only the nobility of earth but the
nobility of heaven. You know we
have in America certain names which
are synonyms for observation-disclosures
Peabody, James Lenox, William Z.
Dodge, Mr.. Slater, and SO on. What
their names mean in America, Bob
rinslzi means in Russia. The emperor
has made larger contributions toward
this relief fund than any monarch ever
made since the world stood, and the
superb kindness written all over the
faces of emperor and empress and
crown prince is demonstrated in what
they have already done and are doing
for the sufferers in their own country.
When a few days ago Tread in the
papers that the emperor and empress
hearing an explosion, stopped the royal
rail train to find out. what accident had
occurred, and the empress knelt down
by the side of wounded laborer and
held his head until pillows and blankets
could be brought, and the two wounded
men were put upon the royal train to
be carried to place where they could
be better cared for. said to my wife:
s'Just like her, When saw a few days
ago in the papers that the emperor and
empress had walked through the wards
of the most virulent cholera hospital,
talking with the patients, shaking hands
with them and cheering them up, it
was no surprise to me; for said to my
self: ''That is just like them" Anyone
who has ever seen the royal family will
believe anything in the way Of kindness
ascribed to them, and will join me
in the execration of that too preva-
lent opinion that a tyrant is on the
throne of Russia. If God spares my
life, will yet show by facts
beyond dispute that the most slandered
and Systematically lied about nation on
earth is Russia, and that no ruler ever
lived more for the elevation of his peo-
pie in education and morals and reli.
gion than Alexander III. So | put all
The three prayers together: God save
the president of the United Statesl God
save the queen of England! God save
the emperor and empress of Russia! |
will, whether in sermons or lectures
have not yet decided, show that nine
teen-twentieths of all the things writ
ten and published against Russia are
furnished by men who have been hired
by other countries to write up"
or rather write down Russia, SO
as to divert commerce from that
empire, or because of interna-
tional jealousies. Russia being larger
than all the rest of Europe put to-
gether, you can see how natural would
be the jealousies. Iknow of two promi-
nent European newspapers that keep
men on salaries to catch, up everything
unfavorable to Russia and magnify the
incident. And the stereotyped stories
of Siberian cruelty in one case out of a
hundred are true. but in ninety-nine
out of hundred cases they are fab
rication. And in the one case as
soon as it is reported the official
is discharged. They who have been
sent to write up Russia and Siberia
have done as that man would do who
semitic write up New York should write
up the slums as a specimen OF what
New York is, or sent to write up the
American Congress, should write up
some depraved politicians as aspecimen
of American craftsmanship, or sent to
write up the sanitary condition OF this
country, should send a kodak picture
of all the warts and carbuncles he could
find as specimen of American health.
l believe I can reverse the opinion of
any man antagonistic to Russia who
will give me an honest hearing, as my
own opinions have been reversed by
what recently saw and heard.
Before passing to the other field of my
summer observation, 1 give you one
little specimen of the falsehoods about
Russia. / stood in London with my
tickets for ST. Petersburg, Russia, in my
pocket It was o'clock in the after
noon, and at 8 o'clock l was to take the
train. An American physician came in
and said: ''You certainly are not going
to Russia said: ''Why not?" Then
morning paper was shown me, say
ing that in st. Petersburg there were
two thousand cases of virulent cholera;
the city had been divided into hos
pital districts, and the doctors were
at their wits end what to do with the
the number of patients; the population
was flying in terror. 1t was almost as
bad in Moscow. While rejecting on
these accounts, two messages arrived
from other friends protesting against
the foolhardiness of my rushing into
the presence of two thousand cases of
cholera in one city. Of course, / halted.
halted for four days. Meanwhile
telegram from st. Petersburg encour-
aged me to go. / went. There was
not single case in either city until
four weeks after left those cities. But
the continental falsehood had done its
commercial GRAND. Tens of thou
sands of Americans and English
men who proposed to summer in Russia
turned in other directions. At the large
hotel in st. Petersburg at which 1
stopped, though capable of holding five
hundred guests, and months before
ayary room and every hallway and