New-York tribune., 1903-05-26
4 RrSsIAN ON RrSSI4.

Russia's most scatn1ng ard most truthful
critic is one Of the most representative Of Rus
SLAMS. We printed the other day Maxine Gorky' s
comments upon the crime Of Kishinef, which
| the censor would not permit TO be published in
Russia. The gifted young scuIlery boy and nov
eIist Of Mini Novgorod who is to an eZcep-
tionaI degree in touch with and Informed con
cerning the inner life Of Russia, draws an ap-
paIling picture Of the crime:
People who regard themselves as Christians,
who claim to believe n Gods mercy and sym
D. thy, these people on the day consecrated TO
tie resurrection Of their God from the dead oc-
cuIy the time in numbering children and aged
people, ravishing the women erd n1artyrlng the
men Of the race which gave them Christ
Then. with something like the remorseless Of
Nemesis. he fixes the responsibility for it. not
upon the mob, the mujiks the former serfs
but upon cultivated society, upon men Of light
and leading" upon the rulers Of the land
That as we have contended from the first, Is
the deadlest indictment of Russia, and it sug-
gests the chief need of that country, if ever it
is TO be redeemed from the reproach Of bar
barisn.
It is not sufficient to take half measures,
such as the dismissal of the Governor and
Chief of Police OF Kishineff, though these are
good IN their way. We assume. Of course, that
these dismissals have been made II good
faith for the punishment Of the delinquent ON
cials, and not merely for effect upon the world
at large In thus acting, the CZar-fOr the dis
nissals are credited TO him PERSONAL lly-shows
his appreciation Of the enornity Of the crime
that has BEEN committed and OF the culpability
of the officials. His conduct is in grateful con-
trast 10 that Of those who are protesting that
there is no occasion to make such fuss over
the incident, and that Russia's traditional
,.;1 to oc--a in nc
from making unpleasant comments upon the
tricks and manners of her Jew-baiters. We
have never been unnindful Of. and trust we
have never even appeared ungrateful for. the
friendship which Russia has at times shown
toward this country. But all the gratitude III
the world can never palliate such crime as
that at kishinef nor check condemnation Of it
Love me- love my dog" is an old saying We
are not yet prepared to accept it in the form
of Love me, love my sins
It would be still more gratifying to hear
something from the Russian Government about
the order which is reported. on apparently good
authority, to have been sent By the Russian
Minister of the Interior to the Governor OF Bes-
sarabia practically forbidding interference with
the naassacres. If the report Of il is true that
order was one Of the wickedest ever issued by
any government in the world, and it must
frankly be said that what the world has learned
Of NJ de PIehve in other matters does not make
his sending Of such an order seem altogether
impossible. If he did send it. he, rather than
the Governor or Chief Of Police Of Kishineff is
responsible for the massacres. and he well
as they. and even more than they, should be
punished. If he did not send If, and if no such
order was issued, that fact should be made
known, in justice 10 him and TO the Russian
Government 10 free them from a hideous i'm
putation Either authoritative denial Of the re-
port or punishment OF the author of the order
certainly seems to be required
What is needed In Russia is something more
than a local palliative or remedy. 1t is rather
q general reformation Of the Russian attitude
toward the Jews We might almost say that
such reform should begin with the Car him
self. Nicholas II Is an enlightened and humane
monarch, and II is not for a moment TO be sup
posed that he approves any persecution OF
the Jews In his empire. Yet ii is significant
that when his recent decree Of religious free
dom and other reforms was made, which was
hailed at the time as opening a new era for
Russia, it was all but universally taken for
granted that il would not apply TO the Jews
but that they would still remain under the ban