Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1905-12-28
THREAT MADE GOOD
GENERAL STRIKE IN RUSSIA is
TRANSFORMED INTO ARMED
REBELLION.

Fierce Fighting Occurs at Moscow,
More Than Five Hundred Persons
Being Killed or Observation-Disclosures
of the Workmen's Organizations
Plan to Produce an Uprising in St.
Petersburg.
st. Petersburg, Dec. 25.-With Mos
cows baptism Of blood, the revolu-
tionaries made good their threat to
transform the strike into armed rebel
lion and the mex fo%rty-eight hours
should determine whether they a
marshal sufficient strength to plunge
the country into an actual state of
civil war and seriously threaten the
immediate downfall of the govern
ment.
The government processes con-
fdence that the whole attempt will
fail owing to the woeful insuficiency
Of arms in possession of the pro-
letariat and by reason Of the loyalty
of the army as a whole; but its calcu-
lations might again be rudely upset.
A few arsenals might be seized to
furnish arms or the open support of a
few regiments might start a landslide
in the army. Certainly the shrewdest
of the revolutionary leaders fully ap-
preciate that the issue must be de-
cided by the attitude of the army,
which is vet to cast the die.
Thus far reports from Moscow do
not clear up the vital point as to
whether any of the troops there actual
lv refused to obey commands, although
there are persistent rumOrs that they
did. Revolutionary leaders here claim
to have confirmation of a report that
a %grenadier brigade and some Cos
sacks mutinied and are now locked up
in their barracks. While the military
succeeded everywhere in driving the
insurgents from their barbados in
Moscow Saturday night, the defeat
evidently was not a decisive one, as
barbados were again thrown up in
dozens Of places Sunday morning and
fighting was renewed before II O'Clock.
Orders Issued for an Uprising.
1t is said that orders have been is
sued for an uprising here, but the gov.
ernment's measures seemingly render
this impossible. No meetings, public
or private, are allowed, which makes
an assembly Of more than five persons
In a private lodging illegal. The pris-
ons and jails are filed with leaders of
the revolutionaries and agitators. Two
caches of arms have been seized and
an entire organization consisting of
300 "crujina.' as the student militia is
called, has been captured.
Rumors were purposely circulated
that a conflict would be i~naugurated
at a demonstration of workmen in the
Nevsky Prospect Sunday afternoon,
but they proved to be unfounded. The
city. in fact, wa5 unnaturally calm on
the surface, and a stranger dropping
down the Nevsky ProSpect in the al,
terncon would have seer no evidence
of ferment. It was a bright. crisp
winter DAY ana smart slelghS and
e%quippages Of the ~aristocracy with
their occupants in sables and other
rich furs were out in force. Only the
sullen faces of the crowds of strikers
On the sidewalks and heavy horses
and foot patrols on every block looked
ominous.
If the plans of the revolutionaries
to produce an uprising in st. Peters
burg fail, as it is believed they will.
an attempt certainly will be made to
terrorize the government by guerrilla
warfare in which bombs will play the
chief role. The government having
embarked in a war against the reds
it is difficult to see how it can draw
back one step.