The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1905-05-10
Has Taken Deep Root.

Has Taken Deep Root.
The fight for popular freedom from the
yoke OF absoiutism has a deep root IN
Russian history. II has been wased for
nearly hundred years. now burning
bright in moment OF high effort by
the best and noblest forces OF the nation,
again dying cut in the darkness OF re-
action. Its first .,ioneers the Deeem-
brists, were BON of the national upheaYal
of the war of 1872.
The triumphal march of the Russian
army throughout all Europe was a school
of political education for the best and
most cultured youth of the better class
who found themselves in the ranks OF the
officers. The .Liberators' OF Europe saw
with their own eyes all the tragedy OF
their own positions. They We're called,
not to liberate Europe but to restore the
old order They saw clearly that it was
not Europe which was in need of real
liberty but the Russian people bowed
beneath the yoke of seridom; that Russia
represented in her governmental system
Tie bulwark of popular political slavery.
L he soeial-poltical programme Oh the
Decembrists of 1875 was the liberation Oh
The peasants from serfdom ana the es-
adjustment of constitutional govern
mental organizations 1t was crushed and
was wounded by Il gloomy thirty years
reaction, during which the movement for
freedom was secretly kept alive ana les
tered in more or less wide circles OF Rus-
sian society. But 1t acquired the SAD
cid of the Climean campaign to again
arouse am open movement Inc iall ol
Sebastopo, was the spark which klndled
the common energy OF uiseohteht anu
turned loose the secretly maturea public
forces. The government comprehended all
The gravity Of the movement for freedom
and sought to meet 1t half way. But the
dark forces of bureaucratic autoeracy
nrevented the execution of the programme
Ia the end. arresting ii half way, stop
ping always with half measures. me
peasants were liberated from seridom
The public was given local provincial ana
municipal sel'-sovernment
Little Was Accomplished.
Jnrdleal reforms were carried out IN
their entirety. juries We're instituted and
trials were made public. The academic
life of the higher school was transformed
on the basis of autonomy OF the peda-
gogieal corporation. The press received
n certain freedom. But the general gov
ernmental regime remained as before au-
cratic-bureaueratic and all partial re-
forms were thus deprived of guarantees
of their perpetuation The seventies al
ready showed a retrigrade movement or
the government. All the partial reforms
realized underwent alteration IN the
beginning of the nineteenth century III the
ranks of the advanced intelligent csasses
the representatives of the privileged
classes, the nobility. predomlnated But
with the fall of serfdom the army OF
freedom began TO include the edaeaeeu
representatives of all classes-the So
called plebian cultured class many CON
centrating their strength, in literature,
which played such prominent part In
the movement for freedom in the sixties.
But the granting to the public oil loeal
self-government created general de-
mand for intelligent public workers IN an
walks of life and the plebian cultured
class is thus gradually taking the place ri