The daily morning journal and courier., 1904-10-13
CRAFT IN RUSSIA.
The Emperor's Uncles Are Accused oi
 Gross Dishonesty.

The Emperor's Uncles Are Accused of
 Gross Dishonesty.
 Intelligent Russia is learning, for Itunately, to analyze the evil influences of which the emperor is the victim. Honest reactionaries are becoming thoroughly alarmed by the crimes and corruption of the small group who have brought the empire to the verge Iof ruin. These plunderers of Russia are all members of the imperial fam lily, near relatives of the czar. They lare:
 Grand Duke Alexander Michael lovitch, who married the emperor s lfavorite sister, Grand Duchess Xenie,
 Grand Dukes Vladimir, Alexis and Serge, the brothers of Alexander III.
 These are the men whom the auto- lcrat of allstlle Russias permits to weild his sceptre.
 The domination of their will over the lemperor is no new thing. All his life Nicholas has been accustomed to sub ordinate himself to his uncles, and his accession to the throne made no diff ference. For the past year or two the influence of the brother-in-law has il- ereased above that of the uncles, but there has been no rivalry in policy among them.
 Tall, dark, with aquiline features land strikingly handsome is Alexander Michaelovitch. He is A. eight years the senior of the emperor. He Is the fourth son of the Grand Duke Michael land grandson of Nicholas I. His mother was a Princess of Baden, who was probably not wholly royal by blood, as the Russians put it.
 Alexander's upbringing was neither Ivery happy nor very luxurious His lfather was q strict diciplinarian, who had large family but a very moder- late fortune. He married, when quite lyounE, the emperor's sister
 They have six children and enjoy the distinction of being almost the Ionly grand ducal couple who live or terms of loyalty to each other. Their home is at Peterhof, near the palace Iof the czar, and they are in his com Ipany every day.
 Alexander's first appointment was lthat of vice-admiral-in-ch under his uncle, Grand Duke Alexis. He re lsigned this post after a short time lbut he has now resumed 1t in addition Ito his cabinet place,
 The resignation followed on a quar- lrel arising from the foundering of a Russian battleship in the Baltic about lten years ago. Certain naval officers declared that the vessel was unsea- Iworthy and that her watertight bulk heads were shams, and they induced IAlexander to procure the emperor's Iconsent to general inspection oi lother ships.
 The result was complete proof thai Alexis and his friends had been divert. ling shipbuilding money to their owr pockets and that the whole fleet suf. tfered from inferior equipment. The highly placed thieves whom he ha6 helped to expose soon made Alexander iplace too hot to hold him, and he Jeff 1.-the navy for a few years. Tn his retire. lment he made up his mind to leave hornets nests alone in future. and to. lday "help yourself is the recognized system in both the departments witt (which he is connected.
 I During recent years nancy has be. Icome more and more important toAlex. lander. He has no private fortune; he Ihas large family, and he is on tho Iwrong side of the throne. Under sucf circumstances the adventurer Bezo. \ Ebrazoff found him an easily enlisted co, Iconspirator when he wanted an i'm. iperial charter for the Yalu Timber company, and the Grand Duke wa, Isoon in the thick of the whole Man. Ichurian gamble.
 I Voronzoff Daschkoff, the head of tn, ICzar's household, and Avelan, acting minister of marine, joined in the pc 1tition for the charter. They ocean, Ithe nucleus of the war party. Tha ipart of the story has been fully tolc Iby the St. Petersburg correspondent O. The Sun and it need not be repeated .Ihere.
 I A year ago Alexander induced tn, lemperor to create for him the depart iment of commercial navigation, whicl twas undoubtedly intended to assist hi Especulations in the Far East Witte' =lOPPOoAIAOAAE oo Alebo OCCll EAp1dIIl6O brought about the latter's downfall.
 Tn character, Alexander is narrow lppinionated, arrogant and unsorup Ilous. He was solely responsible for tn lraid upon neutral shipping by the vol
 unteer fleet, and It is an open ques ltion whether his real object was no
 to embroil the powers.
 Fortunately, Lamsdorff was able t make the consequences so clear to tn
 Czar's mind that he drew back Ther is no sign, however, that Alexander Irecklessness has lessoned his infiu
 ence with the emperor.
 Vladimr is man of.wholly differen Istanp. It is difficult to understand b
 what means he maintains his in1uenc
 over the emperor, unless it be that h ECka,t,, 8in D,,lIs N