Lawrence democrat. (Lawrenceburg, Tenn.) 1884-1925, 1894-11-23
CENSOR Hip IN RUSSIA.
Very Irksome TO the Cars Subjects and
to Foreigners AS Well.


The Russian censorship is thing OF
many departments. One of them is the
censorship of the Holy Synod, which
watches over religious matters and
tries TO prevent the publication or in.
PRODUCTION into the country of books or
printed matter likely to injure the in
terests of the Orthodox Greek Church.
This censorship is the most stupid of
all, 1t hasa list of condemned books
something analogous to the index of
the Pope of Rome, and such authors MS
John Stuart Mill and Herbert Spencer
and, of course, Darwin, are included
in it,
Some years ago a French scientist
published Il Monogram on mushrooms
in which he maintained that all mush-
rooms were poisonous. This book was
prohibited by the censor of the Holy
Synod on the ground that, as mush-
rooms were the staple food of the Rus
sian peasantry during the numerous
fasts of the church, it would be detri-
mental to the best interests of religion
to publish anything that might bring
this article of food into discredit.
There is also censorship of books
and of the press, foreign censorship
and a censorship of the foreign press,
The police also exercise censorship
over placards, theaters, handbills, etc.
All these different censorships have to
keep up large and expensive staff SO
that the attempt to muzzle and shut
down public opinion costs the Russian
government pretty penny.
The press censorship is arbitrary and
peculiar. Most papers are allowed to
print what they like without control,
but if they print anything that dis
pleases the government they are noti-
fed of the fact and receive what is
called first warning. This warning
may be accompanied with suspension
for a definite period--a week, month,
or year. That, of course, means a
heavy fine, for a paper that is unable
to earn any money on the capital it
has invested for given time loses
heavily. 1t has to keep up its staff, al
though it can not do any business. It's
expenses go on, but it's receipts are
stopped. Then advertisers lose conf
dence in a paper that is warned. After
a paper has been warned three times it
may no longer appear. Thus the Golos
has ceased to be. Yet such is the ire
pressibility of the newspaper man in
Russia that it is safe to say that there
is not big Russian paper published at
the present day which has not had its
second warning.
Some papers may not be printed
without previously submitting all their
proofs for the approval of the censor.
This causes delay and is of course very
irksome. There is a daily paper in
Tiflis which appears only twice year,
owing to the dis,x.hce of Tiflis from the
central censorship at st. Petersburg
to which every numpe of the paper
must be submitted before it can be
published.
Under the book and theatrical cen.
sorship the Russian literary man, be
he journalist or author, has been com
PEELED to invent style of his own-a
style in which more is meant thar
meets the eye, which his reader under
stands perfectly, but which the censor
is too stupid to perceive. Dramatic
and art criticism, book reviews, anC
articles on travel and social customs
are the disguises under which the Rus.
sian publicist presents his political
| opinions.
The foreign book censorship is the
most absurd and ridiculous. While OBJ
jectional books are ruthlessly confis
Gated, the public which wants to reac
them-and it is of necessity limited
can always get them, because in the
interests of science and knowledg,
certain people are exempted from the
operations of the censor's edict. Thus
all professors are excluded, all gov
errors of provinces, all senators, {
number of officials and numerous 9th
ers. Consequently a very large nun
Der of people who are not among thes,
privileged mortals are sure to know
somebody who is and can get theil
books through him.
The foreign censor has a PARTICULAR,
pleasant Office. He is generally MAJ
of taste and refinement, and can fl
his library with the best of the forbid
den books, if he will, and hang hi,
walls with the most charming prohib
tied prints. Very often, when he take
a fancy to an etching or book, hi
promptly confiscates and keeps it.
Very different is the fate of the for
eign newspaper censor. His is dull
and dreary life of routine and Indi;
ink. The foreign press censorship is {
department of the post office, an,
thereby hangs tale.
theoretically no foreign newspaper
are admitted into Russia. The onl,
person who is entitled by law to re
ceive foreign periodicals is his majest,
the emperor. He has what is called hi
list. BY great graciousness his majes
ty has made present of this list to tn
country. People may subscrib
through the post Office and obtain tn
papers on the imperial list, but no 9th
ers, and foreign paper that presume
too much on the federation of his maj
esty is likely to be struck from the list
The London Daily Telegraph, for in
stance, met this fate years ago, an
since then copies of that paper can no
be obtained in Russia, nor is the pape
allowed to have correspondent there
1t has one, all the same, but his pos
ton is secret and risky.
AS soon as foreign paper crosse
the Russian frontier its troubles begin
All the foreign papers that are sent t
Russia must enter that country throug
st. Petersburg, the window, as Pete
the Great called it, for Russia to loo
out of at Europe When the paper
get on the Russian train they ar
sorted and arranged by staff O,