The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1905-01-24

REla0l J |.
bra lam Cahan I'M World Il Work.
Is There are several reyoluti onarsyy.S So
ssletie IN the I Russian Empire, bats
the 81 hting League Of 4 The Social
seyolationists IS the only one one pro- 5 ),
Tossing Terrorism as a conspicuous
parts Of its programme. was this;
Fighting League which killed az liz
Plehye his predecessor and several.
titonists& devote themselves to print
other5high officials. W; ,SilE
While most Of the social.Re,,ysolu3
ing and distributing secret literature
to oral propaganda and to revolution.
airy demonstrations plots like the one
Which resulted in the death Of de
Plehve Is the special business Of the
lighting League.
The experience Of, the Nlhilists Of
the SOS led the terroristsS Of to-day
70 keep these two branches OF their
activity, separated: The weakest
point in the organization OF the men
who brought about the death Of Alex.
;nder II: lay in tl.ls---that the terror.
absorbed the main strength and the
hest forces of the VIII of the People,
as their party was called. In order
TO prevent this mistake the new ter.
rorists comprise only "a very small
part of the active men and women Of
the organization and are SO detached
from the other groups as to prevent
their conspiracles from interfering
with or being interfered with by the
other work Of the party. According.
~, the Fighting League is an isolated
Organization, communicating with the
main body through one or two repre-:
,sentatives, a rather small force nu.
merically, but with a long list Of can.
didates to fill the places Of those who
fall into the hands Of the enemy. 1t
is not every member OF the Social.
Revolutionist party who is ready to
Join the Fighting League, but the.
number Of those who are ready! and
WHO beg for chance to attack man
lie de Plehve isireally very large.
4s -. . q : q
The revival Of organized terrorism,
after an interval Of IA years, dates
from the spring Of 1901, and grew out
of the drastic measures which the
government used in dealing with col.
lege demonstrations. The last. at.
tempt at Hbloodshed by members Of
the celebrated Narodnaya VOLTA (Wlll
Of the People, took place in 1887, on
the anniversary of the death Of Alex.
ander H., when several Nlhilsts, with
bombs under their coats, were ar,
rested on the steps iof cathedral
which the reigning Gear, Alexander
.Il1., was about to enter. When the
5Mould.be regicides were brought ito
the nearest police station one of them
threw bomb on the floor apparently,
expecting to blow up the building,
but the missile didSnot go off. But a.
new form Of agitation made rapid
skeadway among the working classes,
as well as among the educated part
of the population. 1t was a Russian
party Of Western Europe, the factor
proletariat being the embodiment OF
all its hopes and aspirations, just as
the peasantry had been the personifi,
cation of the ideals and dreams Of
the peaceful propagandists Of the
eos. yS.s
The government adhered to its old.
policy of repression. Peaceful mis-.
sionarles and organizers Of secret
trade unions were treated with me.
dieval brutality. But the social Dem.
ccrats went on with their work of ed.
ucation and organization, and their,
party throve. Their teachings gained
a foothold in many a factory town,
willie the universities were MS full
of this form of Nihilism-a term by
The way, which In Russia has long
since been out Of .use-as they had
heen once full Of that spirit which
lrlnned It's faith to the village com.
r;une as an instrument to work out
the countries political and economic
salvation. The peaceful unresisting
"peasantists" had been gradually con.
Ierted, but the senseless cruelties Of
the government, into assassins, and
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