Democratic messenger., 1892-11-26
PRICE, $l.00 PER ANNUM


fender. II hear you have written a
most beautiful poem, and | have sent
for You that YOU may read it TO us and
we may have the pleasure of hearing II"
The man cried out. Send me 10 Siberia
or do ANYTHING with Inc. but do not
make me read this poem III Your pres
ence. He was compelled u read the
defamat0ry poem, and then the empress.
against whom II was aimed. said: Il do
not think lie viii write any more verses
about Us again. Let him 90" And So
he WAS freed. And now comes in Alex
ander the Third. doing the best things
possible for the nation which he loves
and which as ardently loves him. But
what an undertaking 10 rule one hun
dred and twelve million people, made
up OF one hundred tribes and races and
speaking forty different languages. But,
Notwithstanding all this, things there
move on marvelously WELL and do not
believe that out of five hundred thou
sand Russians you would find more than
one person who dislikes the emperor,
and So that calumny of dread of assas-
sination drops 50 fiat it can fall no fiatter.
Calumny the Second-lf You 20 TO Rus
sia you are under severest espionage
stopped here and questioned there and
that if man Is disturbed in Russia il is
because he ought TO be disturbed. Rus
sia is the only country i'll Europe in which
my baggage was not examined. | car
ried III my hand, tied together with
cord, so that their titles could be seen. a
pile of eight or ten boOks-all of them
from lid To lid cursing RusSia-but had
no trouble in taking with me the books.
There Is ten times more difficulty in get
ting your baggage through the Ameri-
can custom house than through the Rus
sian. ! speak not of myself. for friends
intercede for me on American wharves,
and am not detained. / was several
DAYS in Russia before | was asked if |
had any passport at all. Depend upon
it. if hereafter man believes he is I'M
comfortably watched by the police of
ST. Petersburg or Moscow, i: is because
there is something suspicious about him.
and you yourself had better. when he is
around. look after your silver spoons. l
promise yOu. an honest man or an honest
woman. that when ycu 20 there, as
many of You will. for European travel
is destined to change its course from
southern Europe 10 those northern re-
gions, You will have no more moleSta-
tion or supervisal than in Brooklyn or in
&NtA Va n vi AllE Nti4tAt-A 1@DiIS ANAttlAtA
village.
Calumny the Third-Russia and its
ruler are 50 opposed To any other religion
except the Greek religion that they will
not allow any other religion; that moth
ing but persecution aud imprisonment
and outrage intolcrable await the dis
ciples of any other religion. But what
are the facts: | had a long ride III St.
Petersburg and It's suburbs with the pre-
feet. a brilliant. efficient and lovely man.
who Is the highest official in the city of
St. Petersburg. and whose chief business
Is TO attend the emperor. | said TO him.
II suppose your religion is that of the
Greek church, No. said he. Il am
n Lutheran" What is Your religion
said 10 one Of the highest and most in
fluential officials at 81 Petersburg. He
said. Il am of the Church of England"
Myself. an American. of still another
denomination of Christians. and never
having been inside Greek church in
my life until | went to Russia. could not
have received more consideration had |
been baptized in the Greek church and
all my life worshiped at her altars. |
had it demonstrated To me very plainly
that a mans religion in Russia has moth
ing to do with his preferment for either
Office or social position. The only ques-
tions taken into such consideration are
honesty. fidelity, morality and adapta-
tion. | had not been in ST. Petersburg
an hour before | received an invitation
to preach the Gospel of Christ as / be-
lieved it, Besides all this. have you for
gotten that the Crimean war, which
shook the earth. grew out of Russia's in
reference in behalf of the prosecuted
Christians of all nations in Turkey.
But" says some one, "have there not
been prosecutions of other religions in
Russia:" Nodoubt, just rs in other times
in New England we burned witches,
and as we killed Quakers, and rs the Jews
in America have been outrageously treat
Ell ever since | can remember, and the
Chinese in our land have been pelted.
and their stores torn down and their way
from the steamer wharf To their destined
quarters tracked with their own blood
The devil OF persecution Is in every land
and in all ages. Some of us in the differ
ent denominations of Christians III Amer
lea have felt the thrust of persecution
because we thought differently or did
things differently from those who would.
II they had the power. put us i'll a furnace
eight times heated. one more degree of
caloric chan NebuchadnezZars Perse-
cutions in all lands. but the emperor Of
Russia sanctions none Of them. Ihad =
most satisfactory talk with the emperor
about the religions of the world. and he
thinks and feels rs Won and do-that re-
ligion Is something between man and
his God. and no one has a right TO inter
fere with it. You may go right up to
St. Petersburg and Moscow with Your
Episcopal liturgy, or YOUR Presbyterian
catechism. or your COngregailonaliSt'
liberalism. or Your lmmersioniSt'S l}ap-
tistry. or any other religion. and if Won
mind Your own affairs and let others
mind theirs Won will not I've molested.
Calumny the Fourth-RusSia Is so
very graspng Of territory, and She
seems To want the world But what are
the facts: During the last century and
a quarter the United States have taken
possession of cvervthn. between the
thirteen colonies and the Pacific ocean.
and England during the same length of
time has taken posseSSiSn Of nearly
three million square miles. and by the
extent Of her domain has added two
hundred and fifty million population.
while Russia has added during that time
only onc-hals the number If square miles
and about eighteen million of population
-England'S advance Of domain hv two
hundred and fifty million against Rus
sia's advance Of domain by eighteen mil
lion. What Il paltry Russian advance
of domain by eighteen million n Corn
pared with the English advance Of do
main 10y two hundred and fifty million.
The United States and England had bet
ter keep still about extravagaut and ex
tortionate enlargement of domain.
Calunnv the Fifth Siberia j, den Of
horrors. aul today people arr driven
like dumb cattle; no trial j. afforded to
the suspected oues they are put into
quicksilver mines where they are
whipped and starved and some day find
themselves going around without amy
head Some of them do not get 50 far
rs Siberia. Women. after being tied 10
stakes in the streets are di>robed and
whipped to death in the presence of
bowling mobS Offenders hear their
own fr>h Sis nnder the hot irons
lCoN1ISUEp oN FoI ETH PACE