Los Angeles herald., 1905-11-27
MUTINY
SERIOUS
Official Russia Fully
Alarmed
Witte Calls Cabinet in
Special Session
II Is Reported That Soldiers In Man.
churIa Are RebeIlous and That
Llnevlteh In Putting Down
Revolt Executed Many
BY Associated Presa.

BY Associated Press.
ST. PETERSBURG, Nov. 28.-The
successful mutiny of the sailors of Sc
bastopol. accompanied by the first open
revolt of an entire regiment of troops,
has created the greatest alarm in gov
ernment circles and no attempt is made
to disguise the seriousness of this latest
crisis.
The army is the last prop of the gov
eminent. Mutiny Is contagious and
the epidemic of revolt which has at
tackled in turn practically all the units
OF the navy from Vladivostok to Cron-
stadt, it is now feared is destined to
spread throughout the army.
Ugly reports have been repeatedly
circulated of the sedition among tie
soldiers in Manchuria, and it was spe-
officially reported week ago that Gen.
Linevitch had to put down mutiny
with considerable bloodshed, and that
subsequently he executed forty-two
men. No confirmation of this report
was obtainable, but whether it be true
or not the moral effect of the troops on
duty in Russia has certainly every
where been shaken by the revolution
ary propaganda and the fidelity Of in
dividual units, even of the guard regi-
ments, is questioned.
During the disorders following the
promulgation of the imperial manifesto,
some of the provincial governors re-
Trained from testing the loyalty of the
troops, preferring to rely on the Cos
sacks, who showed no signs of waver-
ing.
Witte Calls Cabinet Session
Count Witte called an extraordinary
session of the cabinet this afternoon
and another session was held tonight to
consider the situation. Grand Duke
Nicholas Nicholaievitch, president of
the council of national defense and
commander of the imperial guard, was
present, and this fact caused revival
of the rumor that the grand duke
might Immediately be appointed dicta-
tor: but it can be taken for granted
that this step has not been decided
upon, as 1t is plain that a dictatorship
at the present juncture would be sure
to precipitate an immediate armed
revolution. Nevertheless Count Whites s
government if 1t continues it's present
policy, in the opinion of many students
of the situation will be powerless to
cope with the increasing problems by
which it Is constantly confronted. The
revolutionary tide subsidies only to
mount higher and the extreme ell
ements, convinced that the government
proportionately.
The Slovo today pertinently pointed
out the Inconsistency of the demand
of the revolutionaries for the abolltlon
of the death penalty, saying: They
base their demand on humanitarian
grounds, yet they closed the drug
stores, which furnished medicines to
the sick, and stopped the railroads,
which were carrying relief to millions
suffering from famine"
Beginning of the End
The Russ halls the mutiny at Sebas-
topol as the beginning of the end and
calls upon the zemstvo congress to
ollit talking and to come to st. Peters,
bnrg in the name of the country and
ask Count Wittee what he proposes to
do to tranquillize the people, and If
the reply be unsatisfactory, to take the
only step which remains, namely, the
formation of q provisional grovern-
ment.
M. Souvarin, editor of the Novoe
Vremya, likens the situation to a
HYDRA headed monster which no sooner
than one of its heads is cut off. grows
two in it's place, adding that ''unfortu-
nately there is no Hercules in sight"
The only immediate measure the gov
ernment Is known to have decided upon
is the enactment of a drastic law to
punish persons guilty OF lncltlng
strikes, but this would only be likely
to influence the Socialists. The phys
ical impossibility of holding elections
in many provinces owing to the pre-
valence of agrarian disorders and the
generally disturbed conditions, involv-
ing the postponement of the meeting Of
the douma, which is sure to be misin-
terpreted, continues another danger and
adds weight to the arguments of those
who are urging on Count Witte that
the only chance of restoring compar-
ative tranquility is to induce the en-
peror TO sign a constitution guarantee
ing the liberties promised in the mani
festo. They declare that the choice
lies between that and a dictatorship.
dono CAL npc I'M MIITIAIN