Iowa state bystander. [volume] (Des Moines, Iowa) 1894-1916, 1905-11-03
RUSSIAN
AU7OCRACY
IS ENDED
The Gar Bows Before the
Will Of the Common
People.
YIELDS TO WHITES DEMANDS
M. Witte Bee ONES Russia's First
Premier--Emperor' Abdication OF
His Autocratic Power 10 Comp, te
and He Has Yielded to lrrevocable.

ST. Petersburg, Oct. 3l.--Last
night the autocracy OF the Romanoffs
and the old order of things ceased to
exist in Russia. Emperor Nicholas has
surrendered and Count White comes
into power as minister-president, with
an imperial mandate which will ena-
BILE him to convert the farcial nation
al assembly into real legislative
body elected by greatly extended SUI.
frage and to confer upon the people
fundamental civil liberties, including
free speach.
These welcome tidings reached St
Petersburg shortly before six o'clock
last evening Count WHITE had spent
the day with the emperor at Peter
hof, going over the final draft Of the
manifesto, to which he insisted that
certain minor notifications be made,
and before taking the train for st.
Petersburg he telephoned to friend
that the emperor had affixed his sig.
nature and that the imperial mandate
comprising the conditions upon which
he had agreed to accept office was in
his pocket. These included freedom
of the press, the right Of assembly
and the immunity of the person, in.
Guiding the right of habeas corpus.
Count Witte insisted on cabinet
on the British model with premier
responsible to the imperial douma, or
parliament, while the emperor chung
to the appointment of the members
of the cabinet on the American plan,
by the emperor, as chief of state. ,
st. Petersburg, Oct. 31.-"I am sure
the American people, who understand
what freedom is, and the American
press, which voices the wishes of the
people, will rejoice with the friendly
Russian nation at this moment, when
the Russian people have received
from his imperial majesty, the promise
and the guarantees of freedom, and
will join in the hope that the Russian
people will wisely aid in the realiza-
ton of those liberties by cooperation
with the government for their peace
full introduction. Only thus will it be
possible to secure the full benefits Of
freedom conferred upon the people"
Count White, Russia's first premier,
last night sent the above message to
the American people through The AS
ISOLATED Press He had just arrived
at his residence on Kammenkovrov
prospect from Peterhof, where, in the
Alexander palace the emperor two
hours before had given his final ap-
prevail to manifesto and to pro.
gramme which will forever end the
rule Of absolutism exercised by him
and his Romanoff ancestors for 800
years.
A simple perusal of the manifesto
shows how complete is the emperor's
abdication of his autocratic power.
The very style of document is clear
and devoid of the verbose, vague ana
bombastic phraseology which hereto
fore has characterized his majesty's
manifestoes. It not only betrays real
authorship, but shows that the en-
peror at last has irrevocably bowed
to the inevitable. He does not even
conceal the fact that the discomfort
and agitation Of his subjects have
driven him to take the step and prac-'
tically yields everything-civil liber-
ty, the inviolability of person, and
liberty of conscience, speech and at.
sembly.
He not only converts the farcical
imperial douma with only consultative
power, into an absolute legislative as
sembly without the assent of which
no measure shall become law and
before which all governmental author
tiles must answer, but promises even
tually universal suffrage.
The title "Autocrat Of all the Rus
sias," with which the manifesto be-
gins, now takes it's place with the
title of king of Jerusalem, borne
by the king of Spain and the emperor
of Austria, and with other absolete
titles of European sovereigns.
The news spread like wild fire
throughout the city. The revolution
lists and active agitators, generally, de-
clared loudly that the governments
promises would no longer suffice and
that the strike must be continued.
In fact, an hour after the news be-
came known, the. revolutionists took
occasion to throw the first bomb in
St. Petersburg used since the strike
began. The incident occurred near
the Polytechnic school, but there was
no fatality. Practically all classes.
except the socialists and the extreme
radicals, however, read the document
with delight and amazement, declar-
ing that It could not fail to rally the
moderates to the support OF Count.
White.