Durango semi-weekly herald., 1901-10-21

visers of his father and substituting
younger. liberal and progressive
men. Privy Councillor " Podyedonst
self. the procurator of the holy
synod, who was his fathers tutor
and most influential adviser. still
remains in the ministry, although
his views are usually antagonistic
to those OF the young czar. But he
is practically without influence ex-
cept In his own jurisdiction, and has
been taught to confine his activity
to the affairs of the church, of which
he is the general manager in behalf
of the sovereign. According to the
common understanding Nicholas re-
tains him only out of regard for his
fathers affection for the men. and
is entirely beyond his influence.
The chief supporters of his reform
policy are General Kouropatkin, the
minister of war, great soldier and
a broad-minded statesman: Mr..
Witte, minister of finance, and Count
Lamsdorf, the oracle of the foreign
office. who was private secretary to
the late Mr. De Giers, the premier
of the cabinets of two czars. THE
willy Muravieff." minister of Justice,
| who is said to be "the smartest man
in Russia" is one of the holdoyers
| from the conservative cabinet of the
late czar. He has had the good
sense and the foresight to trim his
sails to the wind, aud has directed
with great zeal and energy the eff
| forts of Nicholas to reform the
courts and secure the impartial ad-
ministration of justice throughout
the empire. Nicholas has conf
dence in him. and has intrusted to
him the direction of the reforms in
the courts, the prisons and in the
exile system, although he is aware of
| Muravieff's former conservatism.
Mr. Witte, the minister of finance,
is also hold-over. having held his
present position since 1892. The
czar has twice Investigated him and
each time has had his confidence In
Whites honesty confirmed. short
ly after he assembled the throne Mich
| olas was informed by private sources
which he considered reliable, that
Chancellor Witte had been selling
large quantities OF timber to the gov
| ernment from his own estate at
prices much in ADVANCE of those de
manded by private contractors but
the charge turned out to be false.
Not long ago it was reported to him
that his minister of finance had been
engaged in speculation. The story
got into the newspapers. and his dis
missal was announced But he did
not resign, nor was he dismissed.
He still remains in charge of the fl
nances of the Russian empire. with
the full confidence of his sovereign
and authority owe T. the collection
and expenditure of Il larger amount
of money than any other man in his
tory. The responsibility of the fl
nance minister in an absolute mon
archy is beyond comparison with
those holding similar positions un-
der the other forms of government
Mr.. Witte is deeply interested in
temperance reforms, and has been
the principal adviser and instrument
of the czar in the reorganization of
| the liquor traffic in Russia. Until
the last few years it has been prac-
tically free. Those who have paid
their excise taxes promptly have
been allowed to manufacture and sell
the vilest kind of alcoholic drinks to
| the peasants. who like all other
| semi-civilized people. are possessed
of strong passions and strong appe-
titles The principal drink in Rus
STA is vodka. an alcohol made from
| potatoes. with a slight favor. The
lftNft In, IL tu .,,,t IL,
intoxicates and the more injurious
are its effects upon the human sys-
TEN.
The consumption of vodka In Rus
sia is amazing. The expenditure of
money for liquors is small compared
with that OF other nations. and the
statistics are significant only to
| those who know that a few cents
worth of vodka will cause more
| drunkenness and misery and crime
| than dollars worth of any other
kind of drink. Its degenerating eff
fects were recognized by all socio-
logists and students of criminology,
| and when the attention of the czar
was brought to the subject he in
vited advice from the best authori-
i ties in Europe.
The result was decree making
the sale of liquor government mo-
nopoly, on a plan similar to the
Gothenburg system, with some fea-
lures ike those of the South Car
olina dispensary Nothing is sold
except by the bottle and at govern
ment agencies exclusively. These
are placed In convenient locations and
in charge OF trustworthy persons,
who are prohibited from selling more
than one bottle to the same person
on the same day. and that for cash.
They cannot sell to children under
Is years of age, nor to intoxicated
persons, nor to women, nor to persons
whose friends have filed objections
with the police authorities. The liq-
uors sold are absolutely pure; prices
have been advanced accordingly, and
all adulterations have been forbid