Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1905-11-04
END OF AUTOCRACY
ROOSeveIt's Peace Plan
LiberdteS Russia.
MTTE TO AMERICAN PEOPLE
AT Cars Word All Strikes Are
Declared Off.
NlTTE TO AMERICAN PEOPLE
A CABINET ON BRITISH MODEL

His Word to Emperor Caused Fan
of RomanoR's Iron RuIe--Rejoicing
over All the Land.
ST. PETERSBURG, Oct. 31.-The
autocracy of the Romanoffs and the
old order of things has ceased to exist
in Russia.
Emperor Nicholas has surrendered,
and Count Witte comes into power as
minister president, with an imperial
mandate which will enable him to con
vert farcical national assembly into a
real legislative body.
Count White had a long Interview
with the emperor in Peterhof, going
over a final draft of a manifesto to
which he insisted that certain modifi.
cations be made. Before taking a train
for st. Petersburg he telephoned to a
friend that the emperor had affixed his
signature and that the mandate was ia
his pocket.
Its conditions include freedom of the
press, the right of assembly and i'm
munity of the person, including the
right of habeas corpus.
The following is the text of the inn
perial manifesto:
"We, Nicholas H., by the grace Of
God emperor and autocrat of all the
Russias, grand duke of Finland, etc,
declare to all our faithful subjects that
the troubles and agitation in our capi-
tails and in numerous other places fill
our heart with excessive pain and sor-
row.
1.-The happiness of the Russian soyer-
eign is indissolubly bound up with the
happiness of our people, and the sorrow
of our people is the sorrow of the SOW
ereign.
"Ifrom the present disorders may
arise great national disruption. They
menace the integrity and unity of our
empire
I'VE, therefore, direct our govern
ment to carry out our mfieXible will in
the following manner:
''First-To extend to the population
the immutable foundations of civic lib
erty, based on the real inviolability of
person, freedom of conscience, speech,
union and association.
Second Without suspending the al
ready ordered elections to the state
douma to invite to participation in the
douma so far as the limited time before
the cOnvocatiou of the douma will per-
nit those classes of the population now
completely deprived Of electoral rights.
leaving the ultimate development of
the principle of the electoral right in
general TO the newly established legis-
lative order of things
'"Third.-To establish as an unchange-
able rule that no law. shall he enforced
without the approval of the state dou-
ma and that it shall be possible for the
elected of the people to exercise real
participation in the supervision of the
legality Of the acts of the authorities
appointed by us.
1--WE appeal to all faithful sons of
Russia to remember their duty toward
the fatherland, TO aid in terminating
these unprecedented troubles and to
apply all their forces in cooperation
with us to the restoration of calm and
peace upon our natal soil.
''Given at Peterhof Oct 30, in the
eleventh year OF our reign.
II am sure the American people, who
understand what freedom is. and the
American press, which voices the
wishes Of the people, will rejoice with
the friendly Russian nation at this
moment, when the Russian people have
received from his imperial majesty the
promises and the guarantees of free
dom and will join in the hope that the
Russian people will wisely aid in the
realization of those liberties by CO.
operating with the government for
their peaceful Introduction. Only thus
will it be possible to secure the full
benefits of the freedom conferred upon
the people
Count Witte. Russia's first premier,
last night sent the above message to
the American people through the press.
He had just arrived at his residence
ON Kammeniovrov prospect from Pc
terhOf, where, in the Alexander palace
the emperor had given his final ap-
prevail to manifesto and to a pro
gramme which will forever end the
rule of absolutism exercised by him
and his Romanoff ancestors for 800
years.
The municipal council of st. Peters
burg at its sitting, after reading the
imperial manifesto, sent the following
message to the emperor:
1.-The council welcomes with delight
the long desired tidings of freedom
firmly relying on a bright future fol
our dear fatherand Hurrah for the
emperor OF a free peoplev'
At Warsaw the streets last night
were dark and serted and patrolled
by infantry. Nevertheless, the news
that the emperor had signed a con
stitution spread like wildfire, created