Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-01-16
THE K|SH|NEFF HORROR
Trial of the Anti Jewish
Rioters.
TESTIMONY ADDUCED
SHOWED THAT HIGHER OFF
GALS WERE RESPONSIBLE
Effort to Summon the Ex-Governor and
Chief of Police Frustrated-Mis-
carriage of Justice.
TESTIMONY ADDUCED

lie VI Till ~ ItuSSieah pSo@SeAAANS
accused Of completely in the anti-Jewish
riots at Kishineff began in that city on the
Goth of November last. The court consisted
of three regular judges of the Odessa cir
cult and three representatives Of the people,
viz: the marshal of nobility in the district
of Bender. the mayor Of Alderman and
peasant elder. Judge Davidof presided, and
by order Of the minister Of justice the trial
was held with closed doors. The prose-
cutting officer Of the crown was the pro-
cureur. Goremykin. Only two of the thirty
nine prisoners were charged with murder,
the rest being accused merely of assault,
robbery. &c.
The facts of the case, as set forth in the
'act of accusation were briefly as fol-
lows: On the 10th Of April, 1903, thousand
or more of the inhabitants OF Kishineff,
reused to feeling of indignation against
the Jews by false information and inflam-
matory editorials in the local newspaper,
Bessarabets, made violent and murderous
attack upon the whole Hebrew population
of the city. This attack, the procureur
says. was wholly unprovoked, and was due
mainly to a feeling Of class and religious
hatred on the part of the orthodox Rus
SLAMS which was intensified, If not largely
created. by Mr.. Pavlokia Krushevan and his
newspaper, the Bessarabets. In the course
of the disorder, which lasted two days. the
rioters killed fifty Jews and wounded more
than 400 looted about 500 Jewish shops and
factories: wrecked, more or less completely,
1,5OS Jewish houses, and destroyed property
that had an estimated value of from $780,
600 to $1,O00,00O. The number of persons
arrested for participation in the rioting was
SIG; the number brought to trial and named
in the indictment is thirty-nine.
The Testimony.
After the reading of the indictment wit
nesses were called and sworn, and testified
as follows: K. A. Schmidt, former mayor
Of Kishineff, testified to acts Of violence
and pillage that he witnessed and said that
army and police officers who were present
In the streets during the rioting invariably
refused to interfere for the protection of
the Jews. upon the alleged ground that they
had received no orders to do So Witness
attributed the anti-Jewish outbreak largely
to state of feeling created by the local
newspaper, Bessarab BETS The vice governor
OF the province. Ostrogof who was the local
press censor, allowed this paper to print all
sorts of falsehoods about the Jews in
Guiding a story that they had killed a
CHRISTIAN boy and drunk his blood In a rit-
qal service at Dubossar. The attack on the
Jews. in the opinion of the witness had
been previously planned, inasmuch as the
rioters were provided with memorandum
books containing the street numbers of
Jewish houses.
General Bekman, commandant of the
k1shinef garrison, testified that at the
time of the outbreak he had an availahie
force OF not less than 5000 soldiers. with
thls force he could have stopped the riot
ing at once If he had been Instructed To do
orders. ~ N
Mr.. Feigin, correspondent in Kishtneff of
the Odessa News presented evidences to
show that the actual rioters were only in
struments in the hands of men of much
more culture and of higher social position.
He was proceeding to name some of these
men/when he was stopped by the presiding
judge and directed to confne his testimony
strictly TO the actions of the prisoners unI
DER trial Facts relating to the conduct or
mitted.
Counsel for the Jews protested against
this ruling. and cited a decision Of the
governing senate the highest Russian court
OF appeals), to the effect that IT, In the
course of criminal trial, it shall become
apparent that persons other than those I'M
der indictment have been connected with
the crime, they may be brought into the
case. even although they were not accused
In the preliminary Investigation. Four of
the counsel for the rioters joined in the
protest of the counsel for the Jews on the
ground that the guilt of the prisoners would
were merely instruments in the hands Of
more important instgators and conspira-
tors. The court, however, adhered to it's
ruling. and the witness Feigin, was not al
lowed to state any facts that would show
where the responsibility for the riot rested
or that would reflect upon the character,
actions or intentions Of any person not
named In the indictment.
DIR. Sitsinski, chief surgeon Of the Kish-
ineH hospital at the time Of the outbreak
and now mayor of the city, testified to the
general good conduct of the Jews; said that
they were diigent and Industrious; that
they were showing more and more a dispo-
sition to earn their daily bread by hard
physical labor; and that If Christians were
forced out of business by Jewish COMPETE
ton 1t was because the former were idle
inattentive or addicted to drink. He
thought there were quite as many Greeks,
Armenians and Bulgarians who had ac-
uuired wealth in Bessarabia at the ex-
pense of the orthodox Russians as there
were Jews.
DIR. Miller a regimental surgeon, testified
that when he went out into the streets on
the first day of the rioting, robbery, pillage
and murder were going on everywhere, I'M
der the very eyes Of the soldiers and police,
and that the latter made no attempt what
ever to restrain the rioters and murderers
He himself went personally to the governor
Won Raaben), told the latter what he had
seen; said that a whole class of citizens
seemed to be without any protection of law;
and begged him (the governor) ito do some
barities." The governor made a few eva
tive. replies, but did nothing.
A Secret Circular.
Vitkofski police sergeant, testified that
two weeks before the outbreak the proprie-
tor of the Moscow restaurant gave him
a secret circular letter; in which he (the
.f,tS.