The age-herald., 1901-11-18
Japanese Colony at VIadVOs- tOCk Will Erect First Cre-
 natOTy in the Empire
MEASURES ID RELIEVE WANT
Many Russian Provinces Complain Against the Governments Liquor
 Monopoly-Efforts to Close St. Petersburg Shops.

i St. Petersburg, November 17.-Rumors
 that special Chinese mission, headed by | an imperial prince, will arrive here about
 March 1, appear to be well founded. Closer commercial relations are stated to
 be the principal object
 The Japanese colony at Vladivostock
 has received permission to erect crema-
 tory, the first in the empire. Japanese merchants have been coming to Russia in consequently increasing | numbers recently with a view to closer | commercial relations. Two or three par l ties who have been well received by Rus sian authorities and business men are now in Moscow. All point to more cor
 dial relations between the two empires
 for the present at least. | As counter offer to MT. Murray Yer
 ner, the St. Petersburg Horse Car Com
 pany offers not only to build the palace
 bridge, but to construct an underground
 electric line under the Nevsky prospect. The city is at law with this company.
 It is believed that if MT. Werner does
 not receive the franchise the city will
 electrify the tramways itself. The West inghouse Electric Company is figuring on
 this assumption, and it is also studying the situation at Moscow. Government Changes Front. The press is beginning to realize that the government has made radical front
 about in respect to famines and this year
 displays no signs of pursuing an ostrich 5al {z oIe fest in relief measures, though reports from portions of Siberia show that
 prices in some places stand 200 to 300 per
 cent above normal The railway minis try announces reduced tariffs for relief food stuffs.
 criminal process which has just end
 ed at Nijni- -Novgorod proves that Rus
 sia has not yet attained the ideal of all governments, an incorruptible public ser vice. Several engineers, led by one Alex
 androff, were convicted of wholesale
 frauds. in connection with river improve
 ments during a period of years.
 They executed whatever work they did in the most shameless manner and
 charged for material never purchased
 and laborers never hired, and sold ma
 terial sent them almost as fast as it was
 delivered.
 Railway Records Disappear. It is interesting in this connection that
 Assistant Minister of Finance Momanoff's visit to Manchuria was mainly to in- quire into the peculiar disappearance of railway records from places where the Chinese found nothing else worth car | rying off.
 From many provinces there have been
 coming in during several months loud
 complaints against the government liquor
 monopoly Nearly all zemstva of the
 famine districts have petitioned vainly, | it seems, against the continued sale of l spirits during the famine, and the city of St. Petersburg and house owners in portion of the city with a population of 10000 worlSingmen, are petitioning the government to close the liquor booths in | this district, In other parts the Zemstva demand higher liquor prices. the increas- | ed profits to be devoted to education. | These petitions have likewise been dis
 regarded so far.
 | The minister of finance proposed to
 allow the temperance committee four
 million roubles next year, or 900, 900 more
 than this year.
 The finance minister. who has control l of all factories, proposes to introduce
 evening and Sunday classes for work
 men, instruction to be both elementary l and technical.
 1 Annual student Movement. l The annual student movement appears
 to have begun this year at Kief. A meeting has been held at which resolu-
 tions were adopted asking for the re-
 admission of students who were expell- ed from the university last winter and
 who have hitherto vainly sought to re- | turn,
 The St. Petersburg University students
 also held a meeting or two to protest against an article in the weekly journal,
 Grajdanin. CThe Citizen) which gl,atui- titiously called in question the mctality of the women students and constructed in his imagination a St. Petersburg quar- tier latin. There seems to have been no
 tendency in this direction so far. On the advice of the minister of education the students confined themselves to a declar- ation of contempt Enaless speeches
 were. however, delivered. The budget for the ministry of educa-
 tion for the coming year probably will
 be increased by 100000 to 37,0000 900 rou- bles. Elementary schools will receive 100000, the universities 500,,yJ, the build ing fund 100000 more and other depart ments smaller increases.