The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1905-12-08
W|1TE FRONTS A
RUSSIAN HYDRA
1t Realizes That He is
No Hercules.
FAITH FAST WANING
Whenever the Workmen's Organization
Presents a United Front Witte
Yields. Mutineers and LaWless-
ness Increase. Russian Peer
esses Sort Letters.
(By the Associated Press.)

st. Petersburg, Dec. Wednesday
night, via Eydtkhunen, East Prussia.
Dec. Public confidence in the gov
ernment's ability to weather the grow
ing storm is waning fast. Premier
White seems powerless to cope with
the new elements of danger which the
revolution is raising on every hand.
New rnutinies among the troops are
constantly reported and the lawless-
ness in the country is increasing.
Whenever the dread Workmen's or
CARNATIONS present a united front as
they did last night the premier is
compelled to strike his colors.
1t now appears that the comrades
of Sokoloff the railroad engineer of
Samafa whose condemnation to death
threatened the country with a great
railroad strike. independently organ
lied the strike on the rans-Caspian
line from the AleXandrovsk to fash
kend The Governor General of Kur-
shka who exercises p1enary powers on
the Afghan frontier without consult
ing with the st. Petersburg authori-
ties convened court martial and SEN
fenced Sokoloff to DEATH The pre-
mier. as a result of the action of the
executive committee of the railroad
employees union in preparing for
general strike unless the sentence was
reversed before midnight, December
5. was compelled to get Mr.. Meme
chaieff, the minister of communica-
tons, to employ the railroad tele
graph to forward a stay of execution
which fortunately arrived in time. Had
the man been shot nothing would
have prevented a universal strike. This
danger for the moment has again
passed but the weapon always hangs
over the head of the government as
threat against any new arbitrary act.
Attack on Russian Credit.
The immediate danger confronting
the government is a concerted attack
on the countrys credit. The public
fear that the government can be
forced to suspend gold payments, in
creases daily. This would be the
GROWING achievement of the reVolu-
ZIONIST who are satisfied that with the
attending financial crash the whole
house would come tumbling down.
The chances of driving the govern-1
ment into bankruptcy, they profess 20
believe, would be materially increased
if the confidence of the foreign hold
ers of Russian obligations was un-
dernined and the news that the
French investors who hold four fifthS
of Russias Immediate foreign indebt-
edness were unloading, was received
with publication by the revolutionists.
AT the same time it created a very
able panic on the BOurSe. The
savings bank was subjected to a run,
and ut the state bank II long line of
nervous men and women waited for
hours to exchange paper money for
gold. The bank officials did not at
tempt to dissuade them, and ex
changed rolls of gold for bills as fast
as the latter were presented.
The only break in the ranks of the
telegrapRers is reported from Kasan,
middle Russia. Elsewhere all the
governments attempts to resume tele-
graphic communication have been
unsuccessful. In this city there has
been a partial resumption of mail de-
livery by means of volunteers, but it
requires two policemen or two sol
diers to escort every carrier. In
the postofIice the officials who can
he spared are working in other de-
paitments with volunteers, some of
whom are Of high rank. Princess
Obolensky, Princess kofhuber,
Countess Morvinoff, and Countess
Ozeroff are sorting letters in the mail
ing room. At Moscow over twenty
car loads of letters are undistributed.
At kharkoff it is reported that
5000 soldiers have agreed not to fire
on the people and at Rostoff the
Third Grenadier Artillery, consisting
of 400 men, has held a meeting and
formulated service demands Similar
action. it is rumored. has been taken
by tho military engineers at Odessa
and by troops i'm several places in the
Baltic provinces.
The declaration of martial law in
Livona is due principally to aGrarian
troubles. Large bands of peasants
are marching and pillaging. 1t is
reported that Dorpat is in flames.