East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1904-12-24

ignrlap and corruption we~e re-
sr"nsible for the collapse of the Slav
power in the Crimean war They
brought Russia to terrible disaster in
the conflict with Turkey i'm 1877.
They are today the vicious causes
which underlie the strange weakness
thus far manifested by the imperial
forces in the Far East.
Russian history clearly proves that
vices of administration pave the way
To defeat upon battlefield. The
Russian people appreciate now the
rigidity of this physical principle
Time and time again l have heard
men of the noble as we'll as of the
peasant class say; 1--WE pay our
taxes willingly; we offer our lives
without question: yet we are beaten.
beaten by a yellow race. The fault
does not lie with our men men or
our officers. They are brave. They
fight grandly; the die gallantly. 1t
lies with the system. which fails TO
educate them. which has held us so
long in tutelage that when the mo-
ment for independent action comes,
we do not know how to act. The de-
velopment of civilization all trends to
the independence of the Individual.
This is exemplified particularly i'm
the present war, where the modern
arm forces each man to direct his
own movements, under the general
control. of course. of his officers. At
Port Arthur, our men stand together
and are directed as a unit. There
they are particularly invincible. 1t is
plain. therefore. that our weakness
lies as has been said, with the sys-
tenn. which does not fit us to deal
witt. modern conditions"
F. ON the Baltic sea to the Pacific
Ocean, from the Arctic to the Black
Sea, sweeps the dead level of central
ization. The original idea underly-
ing its creation was that the state
should stand in the same relation to
the people as the father to his fam
i'y. The relation has become that
of gen"fGl ard a private soldier.
The latter still addresses the former
as Father" but he cannot move, lee
cannot act. 1t has been said, almost
he cannot die. unless he be ordered
W uO ~. ne tNtTtlStN
a control that seems excessively mi
mute to the practical western mind.
If ii be a contribution to the Red
Cross. the endowment of a bed in
hospital, the establishment of new
school, the authority of the govern
ment must first be solicited and |
given.
E Jealousy and Lack OF Unity
In the negotiations before the war,
The minister of foreign affairs was
often in ignorance of the decisions of I
A special committee appointed by the |
to deal with matters relat-
ing to Manchuria and Korea. Since /
Inc war began, the minister of the |
marine dispatched armed |
steamers to waylay neutral vessels |
contraband, without consult
ing the minister of the navy or minis |
Ter of foreign affairs; and after the /
minister of foreign affairs had pledg /
ed the word of the government to re-
call the vessels, the minister of the |
marine failed to send the (
necessary orders. The minister of the |
the application of the "administra-
tive process important projects
granting greater liberty to the peo-
pie, which were adopted by the em-
peror upon the advice of the minis
ter of justice. Thus instead of the |
unity which autocracy would seem to
insure. there has been riot of con-
fusion which the war has not calm
ed. A western statesman would set
tie this condition by the simple ex-
pedient of organizing a responsible
cabinet. and after the assassination
Of de Plevhe. who held the portfolio
Of minister of the interior, the idea
was vigorously presented by the pro-
gressive party. 1t was promptly
vetoed by the emperor. 1.-The power
Of autocracy," 1t was explained. can
not be diminished. Nothing calculat-
ed to contract 1t shall be ordered by
his majesty or should be advocated
by any of his loyal subjects"
The Ruble Is Powerful.
Ask any man not in official life /
what he thinks of the bureaucracy.
ne Will IL tOT
Its sloth. its red-tapeism, and for the |
effect he will point to the war. Ask |
him again II 1t is corrupt. 1.-The ru-
ble," he will sententiously answer,
will open any office" But extern |
sive as is this venality, 1t does not |
with what 1t was. There are
more refined ways in the bureaucracy |
to receive compensation for services
rendered than by mere gratuities.
Yet 1t must not be believed that all |
are corrupt Hundreds of officials |
are as straightforward. as honest. as
British or American officials. They |
see the abuses and wink at them be-
cause there is no correction. Few
rulers have the vigor and independ-
ence which President Roosevelt man
ifested in the postal scandal, to ex-
anime publicly the iniquitous acts
Of their own administrations. Alex
ander III. evinced these qualities, but
he could reach few men only, not
the system. Even II an official be
one of the honest Rus
sian officials said. another will take
mis- place, who will become also the
victim of the system. Do not blame
he men in office. They are no bet
Ter. no worse than the system, and
also. you have vice in
America. The emperor Is largely