Grand Rapids herald. [volume] (Grand Rapids, Mich.) 1892-1959, 1892-11-21

- iasir ovn coaxroyersy. But for those
osels and tfssir pres~nos IA american
waters, there eaA be no doubt that two
Of the mishtest natioEs OF Europe
would have mingled IN our tight Bet
for those two facts the American gov
eminent woaic nave been today only q
name IN history. l declare before God
and the nation that / believe Russia
saved the United States Of America
Last July stood before . great throns
Of huasians IN tho embarrassing position
Of speaking 10 an audience tEres-fouFths
OF which could not understand my Lam
guage any more than Icoald understand
theirs. Bas there were two names thas
they thoroughly uadsrstood as well as
You understand them. aud the utterance
of those rwo names brought forth an &C
elamation that made thu city hall Of st.
Petersburg quake from foundation stone
70 tower. and those two Mares were
s4Gsorye Washington and abraham
Lincoln
Now h Il not important that We should
feel right toward that mighty. that God
given friend Of moro than one hundred
years, Yea. bccasss Il - = nation Of
more possibilities than any other ezceps
sur own should We cultivate It's friend.
ship There Is . vast realm Of Russia ~
yet unoccupied- II tho population Of tho
rest Of Europe were poured into Russia.
il would DO only partially occupied.
After awhile America will DO 80 well
populated that tho tides Of emigration
viii go the other way and by railroads;
from Russia at Dehring straits-where
Asia comes within thirty-six miles Of
joining America-millions OF people will
pour down through Russia and Siberia.
and on down through all the regions
waiting for the civilization Of the next
century to come and culture great har-
vests and build mighty cities What the
United States now are on the western
hemisphere Russia viii be on the east.
ern hemisphere. Not only because Of
what Russia has been to our republic,
but because Of what she will be, let us
cease the defamation Of all that pertains
to that great empire. If Russia can at
ford to be the friend Of America. Amer
lea can afford TO be the friend of Russia
And now proceed to do what told the
emperor and the empress, and all the i'm
perial family at the palace Of the Peter
Lof 1 would do il / ever got back to
america, and that Is to answer some Of
the calumuies which have been an
nounced and reiterated and stereotyped
against Russia.
Calun1ny the Fist--The emperor and
all the imperial family are in perpetual
dread of assassination. They are prac-
tically prisoners In the winter palace,
and trenches with dynamite have been
found dug around the winter palace.
They dare not venture forth, except pre-
coded and followed and surrounded by .
most elaborate military guard.
My answer to this Is that never saw
face more free from worriment than
the emperor's face. Tho winter palace.
around which the trenches are said ..
have been charged with dynamite, and
in which the imperial family are said 20
be prisoners, has never been the resi-
dence of the imperial family one moment
since the present emperor has been on
the throne. That winter palace has been
changed into q museum and q picture
gallery and place Of great levees. He
spends his summer in the palace at Peter
hof, fifteen or twenty miles from st.
Petersburg, his autumns at the palace at
Gratschna and his winters In palace
at St. Petersburg, but in quite different
part of the city to that occupied by the
winter palace. He rides through the
streets unattended, except by the en-
press at his side and the driver on the
box. There is not person in this audi
ence more free from fear of harm than
he is. His subjects not only admire him,
but almost worship him.
There are cranks in Russia. but have
we not had our Charles Guiteau and
John Wilkes Booths But" says some
one, Ibid not the Russians kill the ia
Their Of the present emperor" Yes, but
in the time that Russia has had one as.
sassination Of emperor America has
had two presidents assassinated. "But
Is not the emperor an autocratF By
which you mean, has he not power
without restriction? Yx, but it oil de-
Ponds upon what use q man makes of
his power. Are you an autocrat in your
factory, or an autocrat in your store, or
an autocrat in your style of business:
It all depends ON what use you make Of
your power, whether to bless or to op-
press. and from the time of Peter the
Great-that Russian who was the won
der of all time, the emperor who became
incognito ship carpenter that he might
help ship carpenters, and q mechanic
that he might help mechanics, and put
on poor mems garb that he might sym
pathize with poor men, and who in his
last words said: MY Lord. am dying.
Oh, help my unbeliefr'-I say, from that
time the throne Of Russia has, for the
most part, been occupied by rulers as
beneficent and kind and sympathetic as
they were powerful.
To go no further back than Nicholas,
the grandfather of the present emperor.
Nicholas had for the dominant idea OF
his administration the emancipation OF
the serfs. When il was found that he
premeditated the freedom OF the serfs
he received the following letter of threat
from deputstion Of noblemen: "Your
Imperial Majesty-We learn that the
council and senate CT the empire have
before them for elaboration, with your
sanction, the plan 20 abolish serfdor,
throughout the Russian empire. We are
perfectly willing 70 abide by your
majesty's decision in this matter and TO