Las Vegas daily optic. [volume] (Las Vegas, N.M.) 1880-1908, 1904-11-21

q radical turn OF thought; the press Is
throttled-so. opposition takes the
form Of violence. The nihilists are
almost wholly the poor students; the
rich ones are satisfied. The vast ma
jority Of the former belong to the
peasant class. The students consti-
tute the educated, coming Russia. A
sociologist. with these facts In hand.
is prepared to draw some tremendous
conclusions In reference to the future
of the mighty empire upon which the
gaze of the world is at present fixed.
A Gagged Press.
When students are arrested, no
mention is made of the fact in the
press: all information concerning
such matters has to come from Eng
lish and American papers, for those
Of Russia are absolutely gagged.
Every paper and magazine that finds
it's way to the postoffices from for
i clHu COuIItllCS Is III IOuSui ecu W
! government inspectors, and every ar
| ticle which criticises Russia in the
least degree, or events de-
rogatory to its policy. Is rolled
through a printing press and blotted
out. It Is a common thing to see
whole columns a mass of black. The
Russians are thus kept in complete
ignorance of what atrocities occur In
their W country; bur when the Eng
lish and Americans living there find
the blotted out pages in their papers,
they at once write home and get their
friends to send them the prescribed
articles in a letter. In this way they
keen informed. In a pension lately In
Moscow. there was a company OF
Young men hailing from france,
Greece, Persia and some were Rus'
SLAMS. They all said to me, I'VE are
in utter ignorance concerning what is
TRANSMITTING In this country. Can you
tell us anything" Letters are in
spected as lthey pass through the
mails. and if there are any which are
found 10 be Objectionable, they are
promptly burned. This severe espion
age is Kept up all along the line
Every movement is watchedi espec
jallv those of strangers. While going
through the magnificent picture gal
leries at the Winter Palace not lone
since. stopped before a great wal
piece and was describing in my note
! hook. the scene depicted on the can
) vass. The guide who had aecompan
Y ieJ me stepped To my side and said
8 '"Nsdamc. YOU are writing 100 much
We are surrounded by guards. They
Z tell me that they object 10 your taking
notes. They fear that You are MAX
g inc sketches of forts from these war
y paintings to be sent TO the Japanese.
y Later. while looking at the roya
n e%quipages in the carriage museum.
o again took ont my notebook, and wa
7 Immediately requested by the guard
| there. through my guide, not to al
tempt to write In the building. After
o wardslmy conductor informed me tina
G If | should be seer upon the street
n writing in a notebook. that ! would
y in all probability. be instantly al
II rested. If a member of a family !
g Russia Is connected with the socialis
+ or nihilist cause. the rest are power
y less TO help him, II the member dlsal
n pears. little satisfaction is gained
T. There are no revolutionary ideas
r all among the u~neducated peasants
h no such thought has yet reached III
e actual peasant class. Their ignorane
i. Is so deep, that IL will take some tim
Is for the rays of radicalism TO pierre
p the mental darkness in which the
al dwell. The students turn to the ia
e. tory hands for the reception of the
10 propaganda. The devotion of Il
I'd young people OF Russia to the cause
n freedom is marvellous. and furnish'
the most sublimely heroic feature
NJ. the age II Is high tragedy from u
beginning and each one knows VII
t1 the result Of discovery means-ba
I'D tshmeut. Imprisonment. DEATH a.