The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1905-11-01
RUSSIAN ARMY A
MENACE TO CAR.
FORMER OFFICER OF NICHOLAS
TALKS OF MANIFESTO.
Troops Are SO Densely Ignorant that
They Do Not Desire Liberty, but Of
fcers Are Enlightened and Would
Doubtless Have Turned on Ruler but
for Proclamation.

Issued in desperation to stem revolt
that was certain to sweep away all his
power, result in his death and the
slaughter of his family and all the
leaders of the grand ducal party, and
iects, the manifesto Of Gar Nicholas,
nevertheless, binds the unhappy mon
arch to make his people as free and |
equal as the unrestricted subjects Of
King Edward. It is without exception |
the most liberal and far-reaching docu-
ment ever signed by Russian, mon
arch, and will take its place among
the most momentous acts Of history:
Such is the opinion Of NJ. B. Dillon,
once an officer in the Russian army
and now citizen Of the United States
and resident of Minneapolis.
Tin the last year the czar has issued
several manifestoes purporting to
grant liberties, but which were clothed
in such language as to be practically
valueless,' said Mr.. Dillon. But the
manifesto just issued cannot be mis-
construed, and tho the car and his
before its liberal and sweeping reforms
are finally granted, the people will now
act in unison and ultimately force free
dom in the form of constitutional mon
archy. This document, direct in it's
promises and designed by Mr. White,
who has the welfare of the people. at
heart, binds the car and opens the
eyes of his deluded subjects to real
ization that such thing as liberty ex-
lists. :s,..,. - :. S.;;- - II: <
>.s:: WHITE Is Responsible.
cit is, without doubt, to. Witte that
the people owe their great gain. An
enlightened man, tho he may not have
been in absolute sympathy with all the
people, he saw what they needed! as
humans, and also saw to a certainty
the fact that the present revolution was
resist. further would have meant COM
J pletez defeat for the government: and
| an even worse eventuality than the
present--a dictator and lawless rule. M.
a Witte doubtlessly had a most gruelling
task when he, presented the question
to dictate to the ruler. for the latter,
a. Degenerate, without foresight or de.
clsion, hated to raze the class distinc-
tions and make vassals the equal Of the
despotic grand dukes who were sap
ping out the life of the land and re:
resources. But White finally proved to
! the. weakling that no power in Russia
) could ever put down the revolt, and
won liberty, unrestricted. ;
SHNo, there is little. doubt that the
1 question Of the revolutionary sentiment
LII EAO oil NY WOu1u nave CO11IO w LAS
8, surface if the car. had demurred, fol
the revolutionary party worked hard il
q the ranks. What the sentiment Of tn,
. army is cannot be told. The matte
Z has never come to a test and the pre-
y sumption that one-fourth, if not one
e the people is not authentic, in view
. of the fact that there has been no test
a The Army Illiterate. T. I
r. "You see, 95 per cent of the Russia
Of army is made up of peasants who ar
agine the lack Of intelligence in such
- large body Of men, but none has had tn
advantage of learning even the, alpha
bet, and so Ignorant have been the
parents and those who surrounded thel
in their secluded villages that the
T have meyer g4 possessed the desire ),
- liberty in the ranks of the peasant
They have never known what liberty
' and, therefore, know not what to as
They, are content to live their. desolat
thought for anything, but to live.
, ':'Were the army recruited from Il
artisan class, it would doubt1essly hal
openly joined the revolutionists e
this, but the clever grand dukes kno
= how to manage to their safety al
build the army from peasant materi;
: VI course, d Id1r per cent or the 81
diers become enlightened, but tn
( are never sufficiently educated or
formed to realize a. lot better TIL
(, theirs. And then another clever prs
q tice Of the government in sending re,
u ments recruited in the far-off west
}, remote eastern localities, and vi
e versa, prevents the soldiers observan
), Of how the condition Of those he kno
q might be bettered.
= The Officers Feared.
+ CIT is the officers of the army tt
- the government fears. They are in sy
~ pathy with the reform movement. Tn
/ are educated men and see the CORR
= ton and cruelty in. the despotic rel
10 of the grand dukes, thru the degener:
u Romanoff ruler. They. Of course,
a not approve Of bomb rule and fanati
= uprisings, but their sentiment is W
Il, IS it. Whether their men would foil
"a them in conquest against the COVE
=. ~ ment is an unfathomable question. ]
a. test has never been made, and wo
~ not venture an opinion, for while so
"a regiments might revolt, others m
II probably would not. But the army
~ been disquiet and there have been o
Il nous rumblings in the arguments of
Ia Witte which wrung constitution fl
IL the despotic Nicholas.
Of BIG OVERDRAFT
l 49, So (.