Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1905-03-20
Russian Editor Says Country's
Salvation Does Not Rest On
Immediate Change
PROCESS OF IDENTIFICATION
Strong Party of Conservatives Within
the Empire Look With Horror Upon
Tho Prospect of Such Fate and Are
Endeavorins With All Their
Strength to Avert It.

ICorreSpondence of Associated PreSSI
ST. Petersburg, March 20.-Much has
been said and written to show the adj
visibility and even necessity of chang
ing the form OF government of the Rus
sian state from an absolute monarchy
to some form of constitutionalism but
there is a strong party within the en-
pire which believes that the only sail
walton for Russia rests in the retention
for the present at least, of the existing
form Of government. One OF the ablest
advocates Of this view Is Vladimir
Gringmuth, editor and publisher of the
Moscow Viedomosti, the leading con-
servative organ, from whom the Assoc
ciated Press has secured the following
article, setting forth one phase OF the
argument against sweeping changes.
Mr.. Gringmuth takes the view that to
hold together the vast empire, absolut-
Ism and autocracy are imperatVely
necessary, that under the influence o.
constitutionalism and u parliamentary
form of government the centrifugal
forces would prove too. strong to be
resisted by the present bonds which
unite the Russian people to them en-
peror. He says:
IA full and accurate answer to the
question why autocracy is indispens-
able to Russia would fill volume, so.
many are the reasons which could be
given to prove that Russia cannot ex-
ist without the autocratic power of its
emperors. Among these are forces OF
historical, geographical, chronological,
religious ethical and psychological ma
ture, the latter Of which could hardly
be presented In a clear and convincing
fashion to those who have not studied
Russia closely at first hand and fanil
darized themselves with the spiritual
and Intellectual qualities of the rus
sian people. For these reasons shall
not attempt to discuss the latter causes
within the limits Of this sketch, the
readers Of which. uracquainted with
Russia, might easily take the deep
convictions of Russian for idle talx,
inconsistent with reality. shall,
therefore, restrict myself to answering
the question from the viewpoint Of his
torical facts.
First Of ALL to simplify the reasons
ing, let me restate the question and
ask: Why would q parliamentary
system cause the downfall Of Russia?
This involves no change In the sub
stance of the problem, FOR, as parlia-
mentary system must be the corner
stone of any constitutional regime, to
prove that parliamentarisia would
wreck the Russian state will involve
the corollary, that autocracy is indis-
pensable to this country.
Centripetal Force Necessary.
"My readers probably know that
every civilized state must in its evolu-
ton, pass thru the following stages:
Autocracy, constitution, republic. This
proposition may be considered axiom
attic by all who have in mind the his
tory OF the past two centuries in west
ern Europe and America. But one cir
cumstance which always accompanies
such an evolution may have been over
looked, a circumstance which, with
two exceptions of which shall speak
later, has helped the progress of all
countries and saved them from disso-
luton. I refer to the existing CEN
tripetal force of a nation. The more
typical examples of this are Germany
and Italy, where the evolution from
absolutism to constitutionalism went
hand In hand with the powerful ma
tional tendency to unite in one strong
whole. In France, likewise, all the
great governmental upheavals, from
the downfall of monarchy in 1888 to
the establishment of the republic in
1870, were accompanied by strong
nationalistic feeling, and no one even
thought Of the disnen1berment of
France; that France, which, thru the
policy Of Richelieu and Louis XIV,
was so firmly bound together that even
the German A1sace felt itself an inte-
grail part. No need to mention the
smaller states, such as Greece. Bel
GUM, Holland, which represent
strongly united entities, incapable of
division, since they have no parts. And
who does not know OF the ideal nation
al energy Of Switzerland, which will
always remain one, tho composed of
three different nationalities?
But now for the other side of the
picture. In Great Britain we already
see signs Of an Insufficient centripetal
force, due to. an insufficient feeling of
national unity. In the eighteenth CEN
fury it lost it's American colonies and
the present relation of the mother
country to its foreign possessions is
weakening to such an extent that the
very name of British empire is be-
coming questionable. We will say
nothing of Ireland-that' eternal open
wound in the body polite of the EN-
pre- In the same manner the rela- |
tions between Sweden and Norway are /
constantly growing weaker; these two I
countries could not unite into one
whole in 1914, and now they will never t
do so. But the most striking example I
of centrifugal anti government force is
offered by the Austro- Hungarian mon T
arcl1y. During the unlimited autocracy I
of the Hapsburgs lsince 1880, it pre-