The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1905-02-21
lRoFESsoRS AND STUDENTS AS
SEMBLE IN MASS MEETING
AT ST. PETERSBURG.
|EHAND REFORMS AND END OF WAR
iPlRIT OF LIBERTY PERVADES
The AIR AND AUTocRAcY is
FlERCELY ASSAILED.

st. Petersburg, Feb. 21.-The spirit
pf revolution had complete possession
Epf the great meeting of professors,
E*tudents and directors Of the st. Pc
Eersburg university which assembled
&furing the day to discuss the question
|zpf joining in the general strike inau-
E#eurated by similar institutions in Rus
&fla and decided to close the university
until fall. In anticipation of trouble
when the meeting broke up squadrons
&pf Cossacks again paraded the streets,
especially the Nevsky Prospect and
@the neighborhood of the KaZan cathe-
xdral which is always q point for stu
@dent demonstrations.
1t was the first joint meeting of stu
GENTS and professors ever authorized,
fbut in view of the gravity of the situ-
Eston it was hoped the presence OF the
professors, most of whom are In com
|plete sympathy with the liberal move
|ment, would exercise a restraining In
|nuence. The meeting was held In the
of the university, sprawl
Ing pile of yellow buildings on Basil
island, Neva hall being comparatively
small and incapable OF holding one
fifth OF the 1000 students assembled.
The auditorium was packed to sufto-
cation with earnest looking young men
and women and the doorways and
windows were banked with students
who held others on their shoulders.
II was a strange gathering. Most
Of the students were poorly clad and
all were in a state of intense excite
ment, their very eyes burning with
zeal. A small rostrum in corner was
occupied by the speakers. A bell, with
which the student who presided tried
to stop the thunders of applause with
which the orators were greeted, was
unavailing. From the out
set student orators set the imagina-
ton of the auditors
Afame With the Spirit of Liberty,
denouncing the course OF
the government, declaring that prom
ises could no longer avail and that the
only satisfaction would be freedom OF
speech, conscience and the press and
the convocation of national assem-
bly, The majority coupled their re-
marks with a demand for ending the
war. Almost every orator went back
to the French revolution for parallels.
Again and again was Russia declared
to be on the eve of revolution.
With burning words one of the stu
dents described the affair of jan %,
which, he said, had at last solidified
the interests of the liberals and those
of the workingmen. Amid a storm of
cheers he announced that a continual
ton of study was impossible while
such a struggle was in progress and
said 1t was the duty of the young men
there assembled and others like them
to return to their homes in the prov
lnces and spread the agitation.
Some OF the professors tried to stem
the tide with moderate counsels, ad-
vising the students to go back to their
studies. but their advice was howled
down.
When Professor Speranzi, one of the
speakers, revealed the fact that Gov
ernor General Trepoff had threatened
not to permit any student who left his
studies to re-enter any of the big uni
yersities the statement was received
with a veritable- howl Of rage.
A,..a.~ aS Grand n,,La HIor;f;ad
The speeches In the auditorium were
mild and temperate compared with
those delivered at the overflow meet
lngs In the classrooms, where even
the murder of Grand Duke Sergius
was sloriAed. An attempt of few re.