The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1905-07-30
III.

ILL.,
In q chapter entitled "A Sick Society"
the author adduces some striking examples
Of official venality. we are invited to
notice, for instance, that the Siberian Rail-
way does not pass through Tomsk. al
though this city is the capital Of Siberia,
its only intellectual center, the seat OF
government and Of a great university.
Nevertheless, the trunk line is some sixty
miles distant. Why? Because the local
authorities would not give the engineers
who laid out the road the brides which
they demanded. The great Moscow Cathe-
,dral, the Temple Of the Saviour, took sixty
years to build, because during that period
the funds provided for 1t disappeared SOW
eral times over. The same thing hap
pened in the Case Of the Alexander IL.
Memorial Church In st. Petersburg. Tho
connection Of the Cars personal land
speculations on the Yalu with the origin
Of the present war Is matter OF common
gossip. Naturally the war In the Far East
has offered great opportunities for swind-
ling. At Odessa not long ago highly
decorated officer was caught with two
accomplices selling exemptions from mill
tary service. At Wilma a Lieutenant
Colonel and hospital doctor were con-
victed on a like charge. At Tomsk there
was a remounts scandal after the South
African model At Irkutsk Lieutenant
Colonel was cashiered for selling contracts.
In Moscow a prison inspector, who was
a Captain Of Reserves and a member Of the
nobility we'll known in society. forged the
signature Of the Governor to bills amounting
70 more than $4,000.
The entertainments committed in con-
nection with the Red Cross Society are no.
torious. In Moscow. the president Of the
society's local committee. Nine. Wish
nyevska. and her husband had to be re-
lieved OF their duties on account Of grave
irregularities and disorders Subee-
quently Prince Galitzin and Count Lam
skoy failed to turn over moneys received
by them for the equipment Of hospitals and
other instruments Of relief. One day
the Grand Duchess Elizabeth. startled by
r,lmors that had reached her, decided
to apply a test. A load Of Red Cross sup
plies, which she had collected was to leave
by train for the Far East. Going to the
station, she ordered some Of the boxes and
packages to be opened. Some were found
to be empty, and others to be full Of straw
and bricks. The story goes that tho Grand
Duchess burst into tears.
By prolonged residence In Russia and
careful study Of It's conditions Mr. Perris
has become convinced that 1t Is impossible
for the old autocratic form to continue
without grave modification. One after
another every section Of the community,
except the court and the bureaucracy. has
been alienated. Manufacturers and mer-
chants are at the mercy Of officials. insa-
table In their thirst for brides, and, without
any court Of appeal. they are subjected to
complicated restrictions on their business.
The professional man and professional
woman are, as such. suspected, and the
tale Of their sufferings Is endless. With the
exception Of Leo Tolstoy. there has hardly
been q single notable author. from the
time Of Gogol down to that Of Gorky and
Korolenko. who has not suffered imprison-
msnt or exile. Tho higher schools and
universities Of the empire are continually
exposed to the violent intrusion OF the
police, their professors are removed, their
classrooms are closed and large detaSh-
ments OF their students are rusticated or
consigned to penal battalions. The press
Is under the tutelage Of an ignorant and
freakish censorship, with the result that
all over the country secret printing offices
have been esta blished, and organized
smuggling OF books and papers Is carried
on across the western frontier. The me-
ohanics and lshcrere in the large towns are
aoutely conscious Of the contrast between
their pitiful lot and that Of their Western
fellows Worst Of all Is the plight Of the
peasantry. now finally disillusioned in their
famine stricken villages Of the bright hopes
raised by their emancipation forty years
ago. .,
".
We are continually told that the people
OF Russia are not prepared for and do not
even desire representative government,
and that revolution is impossible 80 long
IS the army remains loyal. Our author
takes q different view Of the matter He
points out that In the long history Of lib
GRAFTON movements there IL no modern
Insksnn~ In -klch - Nx,tn~ Ror<~a - .