The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-12-13
PROBLEMS OF RUSSIA
COUNT wITTE TELLS OF sITU-
 AT1ON's GRAVITY.
When Freedom Became License. Society stiIl Locked on With StoIid In- di6erenee--Revslutio or
 Violent Coercion

London, Dec. 11.--The correspondent of The Daily Telegraph at St. Peters, burg. in a dispatch dated December 10 sends an interview with Count Witte. in which the Premier indicates that Russia Is confronted with the aiterna- tive of revolution or violent coer. cion.
 Though the Count has not abandoned hope, he Is not sanguine. and if for- cible repression should become neces- sary, he will. according to the corre- spondent, resign his task to other hands. Questioned by the correspond ent as to the genesis of the revoiu- tionary movement. Premier Witte at tributed its rapid development to the grant of autonomy and the universities and the high schools where the revoiu- tionary forces hitherto doomed to se- crecy, found asylum and sanctuary ani absolute freedom for discussion. Fur ther, when this freedom became license,
 society still looked on with stolid in- difference.
 Continuing M. witte said: "on my
 return from Portsmouth I found the country in a difficult position from
 which there was only two issues. The
 problems were thorny and fatefui but after long and careful deliberation the
 Emperor. who needed no persuasion, acted on his own initiative and never QOuptluB tndt nC COdAo puhd ePOA ~NN moral courage and the political and
 good morals of his subjects, took the course of issuing his manifesto of oc- tober 30. not only with aiacrity but with pleasure.
 "Clearly the vast changes which the manifesto heralded required time and patience to carry out, but what hap pened was utterly unexpected. Sec tions of the community-nay, whole classes--went to work systematically to annihi1ate their own means of liveli- hood and to ruin themselves and the whole nation. Social instincts seemed to have atrophied. Instead of uniting among themselves and attacked the Government.
 'The only people who acted in their own interests were the revolutionaries. They knew what they wanted. They chose the most effective means to at- tain 1t and they are capable of adopt ing these means even at the price of heavy sacrifices. The revoIutionists hide all their quarrels and their ani- nlosities and act together for the end they have in view, which spells de- struction. Out of the resultant chaos they promise a new world and an earthly paradise"
 After admitting that the manifesto had indirectly intensified the revolu- tionary movement, the Premier said:
 Unfortunately the people at lars take the view that it is the Govern ment's business to realize constitutional privileges and to fight revolutions. Doubtless the Government can employ force. but force is only an evidence of weakness until 1t is levelled by the so- cial conscience against the public en- emy. If a community will not struggle against anarchy. no government can successfully cope with it." Q
 Count witte contended that the same argument applied to strikes. With re- gard to the Jewish question he said 1t l was impossible at the present moment l to proclaim equality of rights because l such a measure would provoke ap- palling bioodshed &