Evening journal., 1905-02-01
RUSSIA WILL NOW
ALLOW REFORMS
Grand Duke Vladimir Says
People Will Have Voice
in Government
AUTOCRACY TO Be MAINTAINED.

ST. petersburg, Feb, There has
been a partial suppression of disorder
in Warsaw, and traffic has been re-
stored so far as to permit Of the ar
rival of some supplies Of food Muir
derous attacks on individual soldiers,
however. are reported to be more fire.
Quent. In other industrial centers, in
cluding Moscow and St. Petersburg,
the strike is practically at an end.
Grand Duke Vladimir, in the course
Of an interview with the Associated
Press, inumated that the people OF
Russia would soon be given meas
ure Of representative government, al
though he declared that anything like
general suffrage was not to be con-
sidered. The committee Of ministers
discussing the proposed reforms has
published report with the purpose Of
showing the people that the plans out
lined IN the imperial decree Of De
cember 26 are being carefully con
sidered. An unconhrmed report is in
circulation that Il has been officially
ascertained that the discharge of
grape from a saluting gun during the
ceremony of the blessing of the waters
on January 19. and which imperilled
the lives OF the emperor and members
of his family, was a deliberate act of
the tofrorists. their tool being a pri-
vate soldier Of the saluting battery
An oflcial statement issued gives
the casualties In the collision between
strikers and troops on January 22 as
96 killed and $50 wounded. or the
latter 80 have died.
Grand Duke Vladimir uncle Of EN-
peror Nicholas and commander of the
Imperial Guard, granted an interview
to the Associated Press at the dukes
palace in Quay de la Cour, adjoining
the winter palace.
"The papers abroad" said the cor
respondent. "have made many state
ments regarding the events of Jan
uary %"
Il know; have read accounts in the
foreign press. have stood aghast at
the frightful stories of the butchery
of innocent people which they have
printed. ] know they say well-inten-
toned patriots. with a priest at their
head, coming peacefully to place their
grievances before his majesty. were
ruthlesnly shot down in the streets;
but we know that behind this peaceful
procession was an anarchistic and
socialstie plot of which the over
whelming majority of the workmen
were merely innocent tools. We had
to save the city from a mob. Unfortu-
nately to do so innocent and guilty
suffered alike. But suppose 100000
men had reached the gates Of the win
ter palace they would have sacked it
as the mob sacked Versailles. From
the palace they would have gone else
where. and the whole city would have
been delivered over to anarchy, riot,
bloodshed and flames. Our duty was
the duty OF every government.
THE same situation has confronted
cities in other countries. Why. because
this occurred in Russia should the
whole world point the finger of scorn
at us? In the midst Of our difficulties.
why should we be turned upon? Why
should America. especially, misinter-
pret and think in of US? We have al
ways been friends-friends Of a cen
tury friends when America needed
friends. J remember when America
was our great friend, Why has all this
changed? What has Russia done to
deserve It? What has Russia done to
America? Why should the foreign
press. especially that of Great Britain.
not hesitate before any calumny? No
Invention seems too horrible for them
to print. They do not explain that on
Saturday every dead wall in st. Pc
tersburg was placarded with warnings
10 the people not to assemble. No; but
they tell that thousands of innocent
people were killed and other thou
sands wounded, and paint the streets
as running red with blood. They even
say the dead were pushed under the
Ice Of the Neva at night 1t is in
famous" .
Then. without being asked. the
grand duke went on: People speal,
Of a constitution. A constitution would
mean the end Of Russia, as the state
would be gone. anarchy would super
vene. and when it ended the empire
would be disintegrated. Finland. Po
land and perhaps other frontier prov
inces would have broken away. Rus
sia is not ripe for a constitution. ca
out among the peasants. who com
prise the vast bulk Of the empires
population, and try to explain to them
government by suffrage The peasant
knows nothing Of government. he does
not even know what the word means
He knows his emperor. For him the
aFeror is everything. Give the peas