The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1904-06-13
FROM INSIDE
Little Popular Unrest Visible
to the Foreigner.
SURPRISE OF THE CHANCE yIsTTok

Difference Between Conditions az
They Are Found In st. Petersburg
and Moscow and as He HAD Elk
pected Them to Be-FranlSness of
Russians In Discussing the Govern-
ment-EHect Of spy system.
Russia is as civilized, prosperous
and free as any nation need wish to
be" That is the verdict Of many
foreigner who visits ST. Petersburg or
Moscow for the first time with letters
Of introduction to some Of the well to
do natives, says the London Standard
lie is agreeably surprised at their hos
pitailty, which. in truth, IS generous
and spontaneous; with their knowledge
of foreign tongues, which IS Otter mar
velously thorough; with their prodigal
| ity in spending money and with their
frankness in erlticising their govern
ment so lie smiles at the absurd
legend Of d vampire bureaucracy, al
downtrodden people, a reign of terror
and an atmosphere Of suspicion. IL IS
"a tissue Of inventions. thinks the visitor
as he enjoys the good fare set before
him and drinks to the perpetuation Of
things as they are. But the simple
minded foreigner resembles Belgium
whom a Russian once conducted over
the Neva in winter and who fancied
| he was walking over snow covered
fields. Looking at the improvised
streets, divided from each other by
lines Of spruce trees, at the lamps, the
watchmen's booths. the workingmen
i with picl1axes and sledge hammers, and
the electric tramway cars plying TO and
fro every few minutes. he could not
I realize that beneath the white, hard
crust which bore the weight Of all
these persons and things the broad
river was swiftly flowing TO the Fin
nish gulf And It is even more difficult
FOR the foreigner who cannot speak the
language to discern at first any signs
Of unrest among the people and still
more any reasonable causes for 1t IN
the government, But none the less
both exist and are as real and tangible
as the rush Of the cold current beneath
the Neya's fey crust
Nowadays It is much easier than it
/ used to be to discern signs Of the times
and the shadows Of coming events,
for people are more outspoken than
they were. although, OF course, even
now they dare not carry their hearts
on their sleeves for davis TO peck at.
But those who fear to censure damn
with faint praise. What do you
Russians want with more liberty than
you haveg' inquired an American SEN
ator who travelled through the empire
two years ago and then published 0
volume on the people and the country
1--WE want breathing space and elbow
room, was the reply he received from
nobeman. "aDd we have neither
Although n0 longer babies, we are
kept In swaddling clothes, and, pinins
for meat and bread, we are sustained
on milk from an infants feeding bottle
| / went yesterday to a meeting Of Of
ficials who almost all think as | do
And what do you suppose was the
theme Of our conversation? Anecdotes
I Oh NtEHRlAA l. FEANAE AAtA AAAAAA tA-@
Crlmean war. We dared not speak or
comment on current topics. I took up
Russian newspaper this morning. It
had been read and censored By our
rulers before It reached me, and had
1t contained a line Of which any min
lister seriously disapproyed It would
have been sent back TO be altered My
books, foreign and Russian, are read.
revised and bowdlerized in like man
ner. The Journals and reviews which
we receive from abroad have whole
pages cut out, whole columns black
ened, before we are allowed to get
them. | 90 to church TO hear a ser,
mon, and l know that every word the
priest utters Inns been submitted to the
censor before be was allowed to preach
It. / read advertisements about fats
and cooks and coaehmen. They, too.
have been pernsed by the Catos Of the
police retire TO my study In disgust
and take up the letters which the post
j man has brought me from Germany
Spain and the United States, and am
aware that they too, have been read,
perhaps copied as well, by the cabinet
nolr. Aud those are but a few exam
pies Of what we have to put UP with"
Thus Russians who know exactly
where the shoe pinehes have a most
dismal tale to tell Of spies who cross
their path ia protean shapes, OF caves
dropping ia private houses, Of private
letter reading by the detective depart
ment, Of secret denuneiations and Of
sudden Imprisonment and exile One
OF them lately said.
"As our national satirist constantly
used TO remark there Is but one way
Of escaping from the meshes Of this
irksome act Acquire taste for dissi-
patton and rakishness, for gambling
or for drinking, and you are promoted
like convicted felon for good conduct
in prison. At the present moment the
system Of espionage has become so
perfect and extended that II you read
aloud In your own room a play Of
Shakespeare's in which passages occur
lacking In respect toward the govern
ment Of his time it IS known in the