The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1905-04-07
SITUATION THROUGHOUT RUS
STA is BECOMING SERIOUS.
ONLY WAITING FOR SIGNAL
Terrorists Showing Great Activity
All Over the Empire-Newspa-
pers Warn Government.

st. Petersburg, April 5.-The pros
poets of general unheaval of the
city and country with the advent of
spring increase daily. Evidence ac-
cumulates that the radical forces are
acting in unison and awaiting a sig
nal which, it is generally believed,
Will be given shortly after the Rus.
sian Easter.
The terrorists are showing great ac-
tivity and reports from all over the
country prove that the workmen who
in many cases have been formulating
petty demands which are no soone.
granted than they are succeeded by
others, are acting under instructions
from the revolutionary leaders, who
are only biding their time.
The employers frankly admit that
it is not possible to try to continue
their business and some of them have
already shut down. The people are
plainly becoming panicky and the au
thorities also cannot conceal their
alarm. The guard regiments whicn
usually go to camp in April, will be
retained in ST. Petersburg, it is an
nounced, until June, ostensibly in
view Of the danger of cholera, which
is regarded as being so serious that
the sanitary authorities have ordered
the immediate cleaning of the streets,
sewers, cesspools and canals of the
capital and have issued specific in
structions to householders, especially
in the poorer districts. where the peo-
pipe live in cellars.
Doubt Cars Good Faith.
The dilatory tactics OF the govern
ment in celebrating the scheme for
popular representation, provided for
in the imperial rescript of March 3.
tend to intensity the acuteness Of
the coming crisis, as the liberals are
firmly convinced that the real pur-
pose of the bureaucracy, if the crisis
is safely passed, is to smother the
whole reform movement The state
of public opinion on this subject is
apparent from the tact that over 300
municipal councils and public institu-
tions have already petitioned for par
the project.
| An intimation that it is proposed to
send a commission abroad to study
the machinery of foreign parliaments,
which would require months, has
raised another outcry. The Novoe
Vremya solemnly warns the govern
ment that the situation is too danger
GUS for such maneuvers, declaring
that unless the government forms an
assembly and the date of the elections
is Immediately announced, it will be
impossible to restore even a measure
of public confidence and the govern
ment will lose all chance in securing
the support and sympathy of the lib
erals who do not believe in violence
when the disorders which are predict
ed for the immediate future break
out
Federal Corruption Exposed.
In the meantime, what is now call
! ed the constitutional press adds fuel
to the flame by entering on a cam
paign for exposing the corruption and
venality in various branches of the
administration Old scandals rela-
tive to the transportation of merchant
freights, especially on the Siberian
railroad, have been revived and from
documentary evidence the most rot
ten state of affairs is shown to exist.
The military authorities control the
transportation on the Siberian rail-
road, the general staff is issuing per-
mits for every car and merchants de-
string to ship goods to 1rkutsk or fur
ther east are compelled to buy sucn
certificates. A regular traffic in them
has been exposed, permits bringing
from $500 to $500, the authorities then
shipping the goods as munitions OF
war, while the latter are sidetracked,
A case is cited where 1t cost mer-
chant $1,453 to get singel car to
Irkutsk and another where car re-
mained on a sidetrack from May to
! January because the consignee de-