The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1905-05-17
ALL RUSSIA IN TURMOIL
Wholesale Anarchy and Disruption
Feared by Government.
POSSIBLE REBELLION OF ARMY

Liberal Hope For a Constitution Lies In
Ultimate Defeat of the Gar by Japan
ARRESTS Made on All Sides-Poland
and Other Provinces Are Heavily
Policed.
st. Petersburg, Russia.-Not only the
future of the war in the Far East, but
the fate Of the whole program Of in
ternal reform to which Emperor Nicho-
las stands committed seemed to lay
upon the issue Of the sea battle. be-
tween Rojestvensky and Togo. The
Government undoubtedly would be
greatly strengthened, at least for the
moment. by a victory decisive enough
to change the wal situation.
The Liberals have been impatient at
the delay and suspicious Of every move
of the Government. They have been
convinced that if victory comes to the
bureaucracy, to which the realiza-
ton of reforms has been consigned by
the Emperor, will be able, despite the
clamor throughout the country, to keep
the execution of these reforms in their
own hands, which, Of course, in their
opinion, would mean their eventual
dissipation in a labyrinth of endless
commissions.
Practically the interior administra-
ton has been conducted through a po-
lice regime. Already there has been
everywhere evidences Of return to Won
Plehve methods. Domiciliary visits
and arrests by scores and hundreds are
reported in every part Of the empire,
and meetings of all classes of the peo-
DIE have been forbidden and broken up
by the police under the direction OF the
local government. Even zemstVo
meetings in Vladimir, Elizabethpol.
Orel, Tifis and Livadia have been
closed. Of course the Goyernment
properly argued that it could not old
it's arms and see the flames of revolt
ton famed by agitators, but it was no.
ticeable that such spokesman OF reac-
ton as Prince M~estchersky, editor OF
the Grashdanin, have again boldly pro-
claimed the doctrine Of repression,
characterizing the Constituencies
and .Intelligentsia" as lunatics. RUS
STA has suddenly become. a vast lunatic
asylum" says the Grashdanin. land
unless mad people are locked up n
placed out Of harms way there is no
predicting where all this idiocy Will
end" ~
In the meantime the Easter holidays
and May Day were awaited with e4-
IRENE anxiety both by the authorities
and the public. The Social Democrats
and Revolutionaires have planned dem
o%nstrations on an extensive scale. They
seemed to have plenty of funds, tur-
nished both from abroad and by
wealthy sympathizers in Russia. The
widest stories Of plans for blowing up
the members Of the imperial family,
Ministers and palaces and OF plllaSc
and murder Of the nobility and the
wealthy have been current, especially
in aristocratic drawing rooms. and
many society people, thoroughly
frightened, have made preparations to
go abroad.
Large reinforcements Of troops, and
especially of Cossacks, have been
brought to st. Petersburg. Arrests n
searches of the lodgings OF suspects
continue. but even General Trepof, al
though he has been taking every meas
ure of precaution, did not seem to
know exactly what to expect. That
he anticipated trouble and bloodshed
was apparent from the fact that he had
notified all manufacturers to guard
against incendiarism, and through
house porters had warned every raml!y
that women and children must remain
off the streets.