Evening star., 1901-11-09
Z RUSSIAN POLICE
KEEP CLOSE sUPERvIsIoN OVER
ALL STRANGERS AND MEETINGS.
No Printing once. for Anarchi.tic
Matter Nor Privileges of the Mail,
Yet Their Doctrines Spread.

| revolutionary propaganda as well. The ef-
| forts of the police have been much facili-
| tated by the general condition of the coun-
| try. There are few large cities in Russia,
about six-sevenths of the population living
1 in small rural settlements, where every
stranger Immediately attracts public notice.
The great majority of the people are illit-
| crate even up to this day, and therefore
| immune against the influence of revolu-
| tionary literature. The industrial develop
ment of Russia is hardly a quarter of a
| century old, and was at it's beginning dur
| ing the acute period Of revolutionary ter
| rorism which eliminated in the assassina-
| ton Of Emperor Alexander II. There Is
| little advertising done. so little printing il
| required; few travelling statesmen or agents
| are employed; canvassing is little known
Railway trains run at an average speed Of
| twenty miles per hour. Most Of the streets
| in large cities look deserted and sleepy
Even st. Petersburg is no exception; the
| capital of the country, with population of
| more than 1,200, 900. has as yet no electric
cars and very few horse cars.
| Under such conditions police supervision
over suspicious characters is comparatively
easy; yet, in order that none might escape
| a general system of supervision is carried
| out with unwavering consistency, covering
| the doings of every citizen and denizen Of
| the empire.
No meetings of private citizens for any
| purpose are permitted; the privilege of
| holding meetings is granted only to char
| tered corporations or associations. All
| crowds. except In places of amusement or
| worship, are dispersed by the police No
premises can be hired for the purpose of
| holding a meeting without a permit from
| the police. In St. Petersburg and some of
| the larger cities one desiring to entertain
company of friends at his house must
! first procure a permit from the police; a
most searching examination Is made in
every case, and permission is refused to
persons of a suspicious character
OF course no public ball, entertainment,
theatrical performance, etc, is allowed
without a permit, and the police have at
all times free access. to the hall. In all
theaters free seats are provided for police
officers
No society, club or association for any
purpose may be organized without char
ter: the most rigid scrutiny is exercised
before one is granted; as a result, very few
clubs or associations of any kind have
been authorized. Trades unions are pro-
hibited. It goes without saying that the
police have free access to all meetings of
organized bodies
No church or other place of worship may
be founded without permission from the
police: church meetings are subject to the
| same supervision as all other meetings.
No one is permitted to open a school for
children or adults without permission from
the minister Of public Instruction.; the ap-
plicant must present a certificate of good
moral character from the local police. and
Thus all meetings for any purpose are
under the strict control of the police. AS
there Is naturally, under the circumstances,
scant demand for meeting places, there are
very few halls even in large cities, and
none at all in cities Of the second class,
which makes the enforcement Of the law
very easy.
Next comes the printing press All peri
odical publications are subject to press
censorship. No publication may be started
without a license from the general board
of press censorship; such is granted only
after careful inquiry by the police into the
be refused in the discretion of the board.
There is a government inspector in every
printing shop where a periodical publica-
tion is printed; as soon as any issue Is
ready it is locked up by the inspector in
separate room and is only released upon
presentation Of a special permit from the
censor for that particular issue. With all
that. the censor is fallible and may in
haste overlook some obnoxious passage.
For such cases penalties are provided
against the publication-viz., prohibition of
the sale of single copies, prohibition of in
sertion Of advertising matter and suspen-
sion Of the publication, temporary final.
All these penalties are imposed in the dis
cret1on of the board or by cabinet order.
Against such orders there Is no appeal
AS no censors are stationed in smaller
cities and towns, publications are very
sparingly licensed in such places; where
newspaper Is censored at distance of
Ie" uuHufeu miles from lCS place OF publ
cation none but a weekly paper is possible.
Of course, and those are little patronzed,
since they. cannot compete with the daily
papers published in the larger centers. AS
| a result there Is practically no local press
| in the country districts.
Similar regulations are provided for the
| printing Of books and pamphlets Even
circulars, programs, advertisements and
posters of any nature must be censored.
the duties of censorship in such cases de-
| volying upon the chief of police.
To insure compliance with the law no one
| Is allowed to open a printing shop without
| license, which is issued only to persons
| whose character is approved by the police.
No licenses, however, are granted in
smaller cities or towns where the police
| force is inadequate for effective suoervi-
| sion; there are many cities with 10000 pop
| ulatiOn and over without a single printing
office Rigid supervision is exercised over
| all persons employed in the printing trade;
no person notoriously of a suspicious char
acter Is permitted to work in a printing
| Office.
To prevent the establishment of secret
| printing shops all type foundrfes. printing
| press factories, etc, are likewise subject
! to a system of supervision. No type can
| be sold to any person without special
| permit. At every foundry and in every
printing shop special books are kept
| wherein must be entered the name and ad-
| dress of the purchaser or vender (as the
| case may he), the quantity and description
| of the type. ETC.: the foundries and shops
I
| entries must agree and tally with their act
! ual contents.
| Monographs, photographs. even typewrit-
| ing machines are subject to the same rigid
| supervision. 1t goes without saying that all
publications, as well as all type and ma
| chinery of the printing trade, are covered
| by similar regulations.
AS there might be leakage somewhere,
| even with all these precautions, further
| check to the spread of revolutionary publi-
| cations Is found in the fact that they are
| practically denied the Of the mails.
| Secrecy of private correspondence is not
| recognized by the postal authorities in Rus
/ sia; letters Of unnsuaii weight may be
| opened, and should they contain prohibited
! publications the person to whom they are
addressed is liable to arrest and imprison-
/ ment. tr.''
| All these regulations are directed against
/ mere revolutionary propaganda. Equally
stringent measures are adopted, of course,
4 to prevent acts of terrorism. The sale of
explosives is subject to strict supervision.
1t was even attempted to regulate the sale
1 OF firearms, but was not found feasible, and
! the effort was abandoned
All these regulations imply an effective
| method of Identification OF all citizens This
is provided by the passport system. Every
one must have passport. Landlords and
| hotel keepers are made to enforce this regu-