The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-12-09
THE RUSSIAN CENSOR
SUBJECT WHICH 1T is WELL TO
AVOID WHEN IN RUSSIA.
His Acts i'm Suppression of the Press
Not Always Undeserved-A Good
Deal of Free Talk.


having afternoon tea together.
With the newcomers eagerness to inves-
tigate all things Russian. turned to gen.
tleman who had lived many years in the
country, and said: do explain to me this
mysterious parsonage. the Russian censor,
and do tell me about Russian newspapers"
Instantly his eyes warned me not TO pro-
coed, and his reply was: Tomorrow you
are coming to see US, and we will then talk
about Russia as much as you please"
Later he took me aside and whispered:
THAT Russian gentleman is a delightful
fellow but he is in the service of the gov
eminent. and one must guard ones
tongue
few days afterwards an absurd article
in an American paper reached my hands
IL announced in fiaring headlines that the
Car intended to divorce the Czarina, a
statement as preposterous as 1t was non
senscal. for his devotion TO her is the talk
of the whole court. So that afternoon, as
sat in the drawing room of an English
woman, began discussing this article with
much merriment. do be quiet, you fool
ish person." she interrupted me, then went
softly to the door and opened it suddenly
to discover IL a servant was within hear
ing. ''Of course, here you are among your
friends, but let me entreat you not TO taiB
about such things promiscuousiy; you IL
probably be sorry If you do And she
spoke so seriously that visions of the CEN
sor came before my eyes, with Siberia
looming up distinctly in the distance.
BEST NOT TO TALK.
If you are foreigner In Russia the first
thing your country people there tell you is
Don't talk; think what you like, but
don't talk" If you dabble in literature or
journalism conceal the fact as long as you
legitimately can. you are very interest
ing and agreeable, and L have enjoyed
meeting you, but you must not mind II L
ask you not to mention that we have been
together" a governess in the family of
Cabinet minister said to me. 81 have lived
twenty years in Russia and never had any
trouble" she went on, but one never
knows what may happen"
If private individuals live in constant
uneasiness. IL the native and foreigner dis
trust everybody but intimate friends, II
they are always afraid something may
happen in case they make injudicious re-
marks, one can imagine the atmosphere
in which newspaper editor lives and
works.
Every day or two he receives from the
censor list of subjects which he may not
discuss, and his safety can never be abb
solutely assured. In the news and editorial
columns he is supervised, and he dare not
accept an advertisement without the Off
cial sanction of the government. But 1
would. nevertheless, not agree that the in
fuence OF the Russian censor is in reality
all that 1t is generally supposed abroad to
be, and L would not agree that the Rus
sian press is characteriess, colorless and
merely the obsequious mouthpiece of the
powers that be.
The traveller in Russia soon becomes per-
sonally aware of the existence of the CEN
sor. His letters will probably not be op-
ened, but his newspapers will often have
a column of ''caviare"-as the Russians
playfully call it-something being blackened
out. fastening to borrow a paper from a
friend in the diplomatic or consular serv-
tee who is exempt from censorship, he dis
covers often that he has missed only
about the imperial family. Serious articles.
unless relating to Russian internal affairs,
will probably be intact
TWO SUPPRESSED PAPERS.
The censor seems to adopt much the same
attitude toward the national press. He Is
in a way omnipotent and omniscient, and
the editor has to keep him always in mind.
But when you examine his work as publicly
exposed and privately discussed by people
who understand il you find a great gun
heavily loaded, which sometimes creates
havoc but which does not often bring down
big game.
The two papers most recently suppressed
will serve TO illustrate this. The minister
of the interior who assassinated last
spring punished the editor of the Rossia by
suspending the paper and sending the editor
himself to the province of Irkutsk, in east
ern Siberia, and the publisher to Pskoff, on
the Baltic. What had they done? They
had published a vile and senseless libel on
the imperial family entitled The Obman-
OILS, which would hardly have passed I'M
noticed even in a republic had IL been di-
rected against the head of the state The
sentences of both editor and publisher We're
light, although the publisher Is said to have
lost 100000 roubles (f520o0) The avowed
purpose of the Rossia was to conduct a dig
nified, sane consideration of human rights.
When the article on THE Obmanoffs' was
shown to the Car he is reported to have
said, ..Ah. drunk again." 1t is the best ex-
PLANTATION, for no editor could have expected
any good to come from II. But II is a good
illustration of the recklessness of the Rus
sian editor.
The Severny Kourier. which was sup
pressed in the winter of 1901, was edited by
Prince Bariatinsky. who got into trouble
when the anti-Jewish play, THE Children
of Israel" was presented in st. Petersburg.
The scenes al the theater were disgusting,
and were becoming worse each night. under
the instigation of the Severny Kourier,
when the paper was suppressed Every
thizers had a right to protest against the
play, but the part Prince Bariatinsky took
was an Indictment to violence which no
strong government would have tolerated.
AN ATTACK ON DIPLOMACY.
ldhc the pdpcIo WHICH nave ldCeO the
frowns of the censor for many years, and
you find they have status dignified and
independent, always speaking with regard
to Russian law. After paying deposit of
e5O0 as security for good conduct, some
of those in the two capitals are not SUBJ
ject to preliminary" censorship, and
usually can publish what they please, so
long as they keep within the limits laid
down by the censor. Both the state and
the church have their official organs, and
other papers are obliged to take all they
publish many subjects from the official
organs. There are also questions they may
not discuss. like the trouble in Finland
But one goes to Russia with the notion
that they may not discuss internal affairs
with any degree of vigor, and that they
are not allowed to criticise the government.
However. within the last few weeks the
Novoe Vremya, which has the reputa-
tlon-and justly so-among foreigners Of
being particularly servile. has made an in
dignant attack upon Russian diplomacy in
the near East, declaring that Germany's
position to-day in Turkey might have been
won easily by Russia. Within the last
month also 1t has treated the orthodox
church somewhat unceremoniously, saying
to interfere in foreign politics in China it
had better stay out"
Although there is little doubt that the
Novoe Vremya carefully safeguards its
position, IL has gone contrary TO the gov
eminent in a number of questions 1t advo-
Gates public schools in a straightforward
manner, and several years ago ii strenu-
ously assailed the government for the bad
state of affairs in the agricultural districts
rho bat