Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1905-01-23
WRITING TOWARD FREEDOM.


Yesterday the Russian capital echoed
with the crash of voleys aimed against
ats own people. A starving and des-
perate multitude stretching it's arms
toward the Winter palace in mingled
reproach and appeal got Its answer
from the lannon's mouth. The reply
left 1900 of it's own citizens writing
on the bloody pnvements of ST. Pet
sersburg. Last night the mob crept
away to sleep and the Russian cavalry
patroled the streets of the seat Of gov
eminent as the Cossacks keep watch
over Mukden. Today may bring anoth-
er massacre in st. Petersburg, a hun
dred uprisings in the cities of the en-
pire and repetition of the slaughter
of yesterday. But the men who were
and maybe slain will never fight for
Russia and Russia's need is great. She
Is in desperate plight. Involved In a
losing war against successful and In
defatigable enemy, beset by internal
dissensions more dangerous to the ex-
istence OF the present system of gov
eminent than are it's outside foes, the
autocracy and the aristocracy OF Rus
sia are facing a crisis that may result
In their overthrow.
rising is strike, a labor difficulty.
Beneath it is the cutlery of crucified
communalty, against oppression, the
instinct of freedom lifting its voice
from the dungeons of ignorance and
poverty. 1t is a ,,lanor of voices nihi-
listie, progressive and selfish, but the
the ignorant Russian, who feels and
crys out in his suffering like child
in the night. knowing he is hurt, but
with only a dim knowledge of what
hurts him.
Perhaps the present emeute may re-
suit in constitutional government for
Russia. IT is unlikely to succeed as
revolution. Mobs are like escaped wild
beats, dangerous in their first mad
dash but without plan or fixity of pur-
pose They rend for a day but grown
hungry or satiated as the case may be
their keepers drive them cowed again
into their cages at night. The mob Is
a manifestation, an argument. 1t is
rarely an act Nicholas is between two
milistores the alistocracy and the peo-
pie. If Me is wise when the mob mas
subsidized he will limit his monarchy by
a constitution granting liberality Oh
government, equal to the capacity Of
the Russian people.
But this capacity is far from self
1t will require more than
one generation to teach the Russian
Mouiik the difference between liberty
and license. His father was serf and
his own condition is but one remove
from slavery. Twenty-three millions
OF The Russian population were slaves
in 1861. Their descendants, perhaps
forty millions, stand in much the same
relation to the government as the des-
pendants of emancipated slaves do to
ours. A truly representative govern
1nent built upon the franchises of such
a people would find the path to peace
and prosperity a rocky one. The re-
generation of Russia lies not so much
-, -, ,,,,, cd rayol,1tion is in evolution.
The mob that is terrorizing Russia to-
day is seeking liberty blindly, but 1t
has not found it and will not find 1T.
Mobs and mob leaders never found but
destroy governments; but the spark OF
liberty lives in the ashes they leave
hahind them. and the dead that lie in
the Russian streets have not died In
vain.