The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-11-21
special Cable to New York Herald.

| Special Cable to New York Herald.
 St. Petersburg. wednesday.--All her' is dream. Russia of today is entircl, unlike the Russia of a few weeks ago This rapid change Is bewildering. pick up a newspaper at hazard. Il contains a terribly insulting personal attack on the whilom dreaded General TrepofI It grinds him to dust in the | street. Newspapers appear, so to | speak. at every corner.
 Buy the Voice of the People" yells ] ono leather lunged youth. First num- 1 Der of New Lifei" echoes another. l buy New Life. It represents the work | ingman. In bold. black type Is the an- nouncement:
 .Acc.rdirg to an agreement with the union of the press, this paper is ruo- lished without having been submitted l to the censor. The promised enactment | giving freedom to the press has not yet been made effective. but the press by common consent has taken the law into its own hands. It defies the cen sor."
 In a prominent position in New Life is a warning to workmen not to be led away by lying circulars and informing them that these are published by the police to make trouble.
 Society in Hiding.
 Not a single carriage of any of the members of the imperial family is to be seen. There is rot carriage on the Neva Quay. I pass the famous fash ionabie yacht club on Morskaia. In usual times there would be crowd of carriages around. There is not one today.
 A tall young Grand Duke drives up hurriediy In an unobtrusive light car riage. The coachman is in sombre livery. without any sign on it of the rank of his master His youthful im- perial highness descends quickly from the vehicle, hastens furtively into the club. and the coachman drives hur- riediy away, evidently so as not to at- tract attention.
 The Winter Palace is occupied by that king of democrats. Count Sergius Wftte. man hated by the Emperor, an enemy of the Grand Duke And Coun- tess Witte Is there. too. waited on by imperial servants. He who until a few weeks ago had been banned from ap- bearing at court CD, Count witte. Is virtually in supreme command of this great country.
 He has shown a taste of his temper by dismissing four peccant governors of provinces in one day. and at his belt hang the political scaips of six Minis
 
 Talk of Dismemberment. In talk with q prominent official or the foreign office, he speaks with I interest upon the possible necessity O, dismemberment of the empire-Fin. lani for the Films. Poland for the Poles. the Caucasus for the Caucasians i meet a military officer. He is quite
 ready to discuss the question of lack ! of loyalty in the army He admits there are grave doubts concerning the infantry, but he thinks the cavalry is all right" He Is confident the guards will not revolt; he is one of them. My isvostchik, or droshky driver, is no longer the humble individual h. was some weeks ago. As he passes q policeman he calls that functionary an ugly name. and the policeman says never word.
 The Union of Unions" new an6 admirably organized combination of the labor interests of the empire, publishes daily It's decisions upon questions oi political interest of the moment.
 Count Witte's Ruler.
 Count Witte Is popularly supposed to be in supreme command of every thing. True. he rules nearly supreme But in his turn he is ruled by the Union of Unions. He, the man of tho small, cold gray eyes and the iron will fears that association.
 It can. if 1t wishes, destroy him and all his efforts by a word Will it give him time? Yes" replies the Union Of Unions, but you must dismiss Gen. eral Trepoff." Curiously enough--and it is not generally known-Count Wfttt liked his General Tregofr and found fir miss him, for the Union of Unions SC
 And it has money, that Union oi Unions-a great deal. people say. Il has assessed banks and business houses. each according to its means and very few indeed have thought fl prudent to refuse to give the sum, asked for. My bankers were assessed at 2,000 roubles ($1.000) and paid smil. ingly. small business house I know of paid 25 roubles ($12.50.), and so on Time for Patience. "If Russia Is to be saved from tn, terrors of general anarchy peopl, must have patience" Such is the CT, of Count Witte at this great moment of trial, the greatest in the history O | this country
 The terrifying truth is that at tn, ! present moment only slender threa( | stands between renovated, reconstruct ] ed, liberated Russia and anarchy le loose throughout this ill-starred coun try on scale that the world has never known.
 The thread is held in the hands o ] Count Sergius Witte. Should 1t snap | desolation, disorder, bloodshed ant even civil war are sure to follow. Count Witte makes an urgent, almost piteoul appeal to the people, asking them tC be patient.
 In the meantime. as half the Minis. ters have resigned and the new ones | are not yet installed, the future Pre-. | mier Is carrying on the Government of all the Russias with his own hands and on his own responsibility. Difficulties of the Situation. The difficulties Count Witte has tc face are almost endless. If he over comes them and succeeds he will stamr himself as one of the greatest men oi the century. He has against him the court, a powerful bureaucracy, the army. the reactionary party and the anarchists.
 With him are the Liberals and intelli- gent classes and very fickle, impa- tient and suspicious public. One of the great troubles of the situation is that the Russian people have grown accus- toned to the idea that the law can be changed by a sweep of the pen. They forget that such action Is possible under