The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1905-03-19


ious labor reforms and serious reforms
for the whole people.
With reference to the question of poll
itieal revolution, the Russian government
must be made to understand that It Is
standing over q volcano. We socialist
revolutionists are al present conducting
peaceful propaganda, but one from which
the autocratic regime of the empire re-
ceived a death wound 40 years ago Its
term came to an end together with the fall
of serfdom which was about equal to
the patriarchial system. The people to-
gether with the delivery from serfdom. re-
| ceived the right to have Independent
thought and govern its own destinies The
reforms OF the first years of Alexander
the Seconds reign showed that he UNDER
stood the needs of the times and advance
ed to meet them. zemstvo courts were
built up by him on the basis of national
autonomy, but having taken that step
on the road to the logical development
Of the results of the fall of serfdom, the
government plainly feared the conse-
quences. stopped and suddenly turned
back. From that time the Russian people
| have been awaiting continuation. The
continuation must and will come. The
question is who will introduce it and lead
it, the people themselves or win 1t come
from above?
Struggling in Peaceful Manner.
I'VE social revolutionists up 10 the pre-
sent have been struggling with the ex-
listing regime in peaceful manner. Our
task Is to make plain to the people that
| the present system is unsatisfactory. Our
| task is TO organize the opinion Of the ma
| jority in the state, that is to say, that
majority which at present consists of the
| leading force in the country In a moral
atively free and which has broad views.
The government stands In the way of the
| intelligent 1t will not count any more
with the party of social revolutionists
when the government ACCUSES of con-
tinued encroachment on it's existence. The
| party is not to blame in this. 1t is right,
\ If behind the party are the majority of
the people. The duty of the government
| is to meet the wishes of the people.
THE method of fighting of the party is
| by means of word, proof and conviction,
and this is the only means of agitation
which the party has and upon which the
| party Is conducted.
"The sad necessity of terroristic acts
falls on the party wholly taken up with
| a peaceful fight.
Force Is Answered BY Force.
"Terroristic acts are necessity which
suddenly fall on the party as something
| irrelevant and foreign to its original
aims. The programme of the party de-
clares such acts detrimental, and we
would never have resorted to arms but
for the unlimited freedom of action al
lowed to the chnovniks, the acts of
whom force us to it, Only force is an
swered by force. Only in those cases
when the ministries and chinovniks re-
fuse us the right to speak verbally do
we speak another language Only when
all other means are exhausted we answer
by DEATH Only after insufferabe tor
lures, awful humiliation of citizens and
revolutionists do we go to extreme
measures.
1.-THE activity of the fighting organiza-
ton is only called into play on special
occasions. The acts of the fighting or
ganization' are of a refractory nature
corresponding to the character of the
impulse.
Look at what the fighting organiza-
ton has done up to now. You will see
that 1t has never had resource to arms
as a special independent means of fight
ing the present system. The special rev.
oiutionists more than anybody else I'M
derstand that an idea cannot be done
away with by means of bullets, and
that bombs do not break down systems
An idea can be conquered and destroyed,
but a system falls only when the foun-
dalton which uphods it Is rotten and
broken down.
I'm order to show the real character
Of our terroristic tactics remember the
party of the peoples will which our
party considers its foster mother. The
theories of that party and we, their
children, are the same, but the condi-
tions under which the members of the
peoples will lived and acted are differ
ent from the conditions of the present
day. Then the government terrorized,
now we. Then the people only just freed
from serfdom were iliterate. Habit of
living and thinking independently was
stamped out of them during centuries
In one word, the nation had hardly got
away from slavery and was in its in
fancy. The members of the peoples
will were persuaded by experience that
to fulfill the difficult mission of agitat-
ing socialistic ideas among such an UNI
conscious people, and having before them
the ghost of the white terror, was an
unproductive action. Losing hope that
the people would fight independently for
their own interests or come to the help
of their champions, the members of the
free will by means of the red terror
decided to conquer or die. But they
were forsaken alone on the field of bat
tie and had to fight like Titans.
Peoples Strength Behind Them.
| 1--WE social revolusionists, children of
| the twentieth century, do not feel our
selves alone; on the contrary, we feel
| behind us the peoples strength Since
| the monarchic regime was MORALLY
wounded forty years ago the nation has
grown intellectually. 1t already has
| wants. and Is able to think and govern
| its own destnies. The members of the
! party of free will dreamed Of present.
ing the nation with free institutions as a
present obtained from the government
in single combat We have no such
broad aims. We are much more modest.
The system is already falling under the
pressure of national needs which 1t now
ceases to satisfy, and under the. pres
sure of national discomfort with 1t. The
nation has problems and demands. II
we followed the example of the mem
bers of the free will and If we have
taken to arms 1t Is only because repre-
scntatives of government which Is
dying out have taken charge of the au-
tocratic power and have gone quite out
OF the bounds of humanity in their deal
ings with us revolutionists and the dis
satisfied people We are treated like
hunted and beaten animals. For this
reason we have barred our teeth and
taken to arms.
"And so against the present system we
have the peasants. workmen and intel
ligent classes working In common with.
us.
"Terror against the terror of the Of
ficials who have lost their heads In their
actions. Death for death, wounds for
wounds and dishonor for dishonor.
"A revolutionary tribunal for the oil