Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-11-02
THEOUTCOMEDUB
Result of the Cars Manifesto
Regarded as Uncertain.
STATE OF THE PEOPLE
GREAT MASS OF PoLULACE UNI
FITTED FOR sELF-GovERNMENT.
Doubtful if One Peasant in 10000
Knows the Meaning Of the
Recent Concessions.
STATE OF THE PEOPLE
Written for The Star.

Written for The Star.
1t would be hard for any one. perhaps
even for White himself, to say what is to
be the outcome of the cars latest mani
festo 1t will, If the country is not too far
down the incline of revolution, break the
backbone of the strike and pave the way to-
ward a peaceful solution of the difficulties
with which the government is confronted.
But it will be remembered that there have
been a number of concessions from the no.
bilty within the past two years that would
have been considered the height of libe-
rality not many years back. The only result
of these concessions has been to make the
people-that is the city dwellers-anxious
for even greater concessions.
1t must be remembered that the Russian
people are no more like Americans than
either race is like horned cattle. That is.
the masses are not. Take the high
class cafes and hotels of ST. Petersburg,
Moscow, Odessa and Sebastopol. and the
people one meets and sees at the tables are
charming and polished clever as any to
be met in Europe. They are the people of
the world that one meets all over the world.
Condition of the Masses.
But go out into the cities, take the Sar
dove or the Officers street of st. Peters
burg after dark, and there one commences
to meet the masses, the people who under
leadership carried on the last strike and the
one before the last, for strikes are a new
thing in Russia, and there are but two on
record Among these people illiteracy char
acterizeS the large majority One man dur
ing the war would spell out the war bull
letinS at the street corner for the benefit of
ten who could not read. In fact to the end
of the war there were a good many of the
VI n al moi
was war, or could not have told you what
it was about
But when you have noted that brand of
illiteracy in the city, go into the country,
and you find the inability to read or write
rising to 80 per cent in many places and
bringing up the average of the country to
20 per cent. These are the people who will
be gathered into the election of the ma
tional assembly when the elections are held
and it IS hard to say what the result will
be. One of the truest remarks made in all
the recent discussion of reform in Russia
was that of Prince Merstchensky, the edi-
tor of the Grasdann, and one of the most
reactionary of the strong men of Russia
He said in speaking of the clamor for
constitution: THE people of Russia are no
more fitted for representative government
than. are those of the United States or
Great Britain for an absolute monarchy"
This of course was the word of a very
strong Russian conservative. Yet it was by
no means blind infatuation with system.
The liberal element of Russia might at the
outside number million people. Possibly
the intelligent liberals are nearer 100000.
But the population of the great empire is
between 120,O00O00 and 14O.00o.000. The
liberal minority are closer to the news
papers and telegraph offices than their
brothers of the fields, and when they make
a noise it is heard a long way. But II Is
very doubtful If one peasant in 10000 could
read the cars manifesto or could tell
what it meant if it were read to him.
Discomfort of the Peasantry.
Yet there is a vast amount of discomfort
among the peasant class that is the out
come of hard conditions, low living that
does not conduce to high thinking. Their
desires are vague and are principally for
change. any change that will bring them a
better living.
The principal yearning among the younger
members of the communes Is Tor PERMISSION
to gravtate cityward. But this they nave
not been able to do under the law, as the
peasant, though nominally free, was at
tached to the soil In his commune. Should
a great tide of these country folk set city
ward it would make an enormous change
in the complexion of Russian life. There
are now few great cities in the empire ana
many small towns. A big urban population
of illiterates is the easiest prey in the world
to the demag ogue. and it may lead to such
a carnival of Legislation in Russia as the
world has never before seen.
The Doubtful Future.
All this great power suddenly turned
loose may possibly be held in check. Pos
sibly also it may take the bit in it's teeth
and run away with the wagon. That was
the thing of which Plehve was afraid, and
that more than innate love of repression led
to the stern reactionary regime that ended
with his death. Plehve tried to hold down
the lid too long, and the pressure killed
him. Nicholas a year ago might have
MI nf WI nannll
with half the concessions that have now
been wrung from him. But he hesitated
and wavered until the engine was on the
down-grade, and now he has thrown the
throttle wide open What the result will
be cannot be foretold, but the ship of state
may plunge a bit before she settles down
TRANQUILITY to her new load line.
The difference between the old regime
and the new if one reads the proclamation
Alright, is simply the injection of universal
suffrage into an absolute monarchy Here
tofore all power has centered in st. Peters
burg, and st. Petersburg has run from
the handspring in the winter palace. There
have been ministers with portfolios, but
there has been no cabinet. There has been
a senate. but its functions were to tie up
documents after the car had approved
them.
Ministers and departments might be and
often were at loggerheads. Court intrigue
was developed to almost an exact science.
and the last minister who talked with the
car had the best chance of carrying his
point. But there was no action of any
sort without the cars approval. He was
the richest of European sovereigns. He
ruled one-siXth of the habitable globe, and
his army on peace footing was over a mill
lion men. He called no man even his adj
wiser, and the power of life and death over
every subject was in his hands.
New Law-Making Power
Now he has voluntarily or nvoluntariiy
turned loose the whole of this immense
power, and for the first time in history
legislature elected by constituents who have
never before cast a vote will have law
making powers The whole scheme is neb-
ulous so f-r. The right of veto is not men,
toned in the proclamation and the powers
of this reorganized duma are not defined
But freedom of speech and of the press is
assured. This will mean trouble enough
for the old nobility for some time to come
1t now remains te be seen how the peasant
who has never had ballot will use 1t and
how far the troubles of Russia will be as
suaged or increased by her transformation
into a limited monarchy. j. w. NJ.
Proposed Pan-American Congress.
The executive council of the bureau of
American republics, representing all the re-