Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1905-12-15
In a Week During Recent
Rioting at Odessa.
Forty-three Russians Refugees
Seek Safety in Boston.
Awful Scenes Of Murder and Plllage
Depicted by Eye Witnesses.

BOSTON. Dec. 1I-Forty-threc Russian
rcfug,s were brought her, today, by the
cunard Line steamer Ivernia which ar
rived from Liverpool. Among them
were included men, wOmeE and child
rem. and they came from Riga, Wilma.
Eieff Odessa and kobno. All had es-
capped by various methods after having
fed from their homes on account OF dis
turhanccs there.
Two mon. Ephraim Groistaschcr, a
butcher and Joseph Dudovsly. a wood
carver both of Odessa seemed 10 be
leaders Of the refugees. They had left
that city at the time of the disturtan, es
attending the PRONUNCIATION of the En-
peror's manifesto III October They
described the scenes at Odessa as those
of & general butchcry. in which police.
Cossacks and Il general rabble partici-
pated on one hand and Jews and
Christians who We're called upon to de
fend themselves on the other. The fury
of the mob did not seem directed Who'll
~ against the Jews but many IF that
faith became victims while the Christ
ianS. who in many cases We're neighborS
and friends of the Jews assisted in de
Tending them and We're killed. The
men estimate that the victims number
ed 10000 during the week following the
Tuesday nearest our Nov. 1st Groi*t-
aschcr stated that he saw 60 men shot
down in one sally and that at least go
Jews were killed in one day.
When the police, Cossacks and other
members of the mob We're known to be
advancing the people in the different
streets fled to their houses. The riot
ers followed. Men and women werc
killed while trying to defend their DOM
iCilCS. children We're thrown from
second and third story windows into
the streets and Killed in that way. Tho
houses and mercantile buildings were
sacked. the mob participating in gen.
eral pillage.
In the midst of the disturbances
Russian gunboats fired upon the city,
apparently for the purpose of intimid-
ating the msurrectiOnists. and consider
able damage resulted. Toward the end
of the week three Christian students
and two women were found among the
killed with notes which they had pre-
| pared before death asking that they be
buried beside their Jewish ncighbor5
who also had been killed.
These men who We're accompanied Nv
their wives and children, effected their
escape from the city by taking small
boats on the Black Sea and then sacur-
ing passage by steamship to Liverpool
One of the most intelligent appearing
| of the arrivals was Miss Olga Stroud
man. a school teacher from Riga. This
who 1an1.,roI oh,
Socialist. said that she had come away
| from Russia not so much because Of the
| present disturbed condition but more
especially because she believed that
freedom never would come to the
country and that a revolution was Ger
| tain.
Miss Stroudman left Riga about Il
| days ago. At that time the exciting
scenes which had attended the strike of
a month previous had in Il great mea-
| sure subsidized, III" people had gone back
to work and the schools had been re-
| opened. Referring to the violent scenes
| which attended the strike at it's height,
| she sal that more than 100 were killed
| and several hundred were wounded at
| Riga. The students she said We're the
real leaders Of the disturbances They
| went about the streets armed and dis
| Euised in civilian clothing They were
responsible for many acts of violence.
The refusal of the governor to carry
out some of the provisions of the En-
perors' rroclamHtion the woman said.
was the real cause of the disturbances.
| When the people saw that the governor
was restricting the privileges granted
| by the proclamation they held meetings
on the hill tops and decided upon the
| strike. To offset the action of the stu
| dents the police We're ordered to nut on
citizens clothing and to minglc in any
gathering and find out the plans of the
p"pul2Co. This lead to frequent clashes.
One incident is described by the teach
| cr.
| One day in front of my house" she
| said. two students were held up by the
police i'll civilian clothes There was an
alteration. The police began cutting
the students with their swords The
students drew their revolvers and fired
upon the officials. The police tknn raj
lied and cut the students to death"
Such occurrences, she said. were. fire.
quent.
| Riga was quiet" sh" continued
when we came away. but it was a
quiet that preceded a storm. The peo-
pie of Riga. as well as al Russia, be
lieve that the Car is a man of words
nut of no deeds. In fact this has be
come proverb among them. They
have returned to work. but it is only to
prepare for a greater struggle: for a
rev "lu,ion which will be successful
4 Miss Stroudman intends to reside in
New York with an uncle. she expects