The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1905-02-04
WILL RUSSIA YELL?

The spoke to a delegation Of thirty-two
workmen on Wednesday. He told them they were
victims of traitors who induced them to address a
petition to him which meant a revolt against hn
and his government. This charge is no. verified
by the words of the petition, which was 10 be pre-
scented by Father Gopon The petition states:
Sire: We. workmena inhabitants of St. F.
tersburg of all classes. our wives children and
INDECENT parents, come to you, sovereign, ask
ing for protection.
I'VE are poor, prosecuted, burdened with labor
beyond strength We are insuted, treated nat
men, but as slaves who ought to bear their cruel
fate in silence. We have suffered, but are being
plunged deeper III the mire and deprived of our
rights
"Uninstructed, stiAed by restitution and in
justice, we are perishing!" We have no strength
left" : 'a'
These pathetic words addressed by the subjects
to the ruler do not Indicate disloyalty. l. is be-
cause they poor, prosecuted, uninstruccI,
stied by destitution and injustice, perishing from
want. with no strength left" they arraigned
as traitors The petition shows the abjact misery,
slavery, wretchedness and ignorance to which tie
petitioners, in st. Petersburg, reduced II
shows that an upheaval in the cars unlimited
territory is coming and will come soon.
He tells the thirty two workmen that the lot
of the workman is not easy. Many things require
improvements; but have patience; Sou will under
stand that it is necessary to be just towards your
employers and to consider the condition OF our
industries" To this sweet morsel which must be
intended as a reply to the workmens petition, We
doubt if Father Giopon and his followers will pa
tently yield. The undeliyered petition says:
''Sire: We have arrived at the extreme limits
of endurance; we have reached the terrible mo-
ment when death is to be preferred to continual
ton of our intolerable sufcrings. We have left
our work. and informed employers tha5 we will
not resume until our demands are conceded. We :
have not asked much; we have asked but for means
of livelihood, without which life is burden and
labor continual torture.
"Our first request is that masters should
investigate our case. They have refused. The
right to put forward our claim has been denied 20
us. it being held that such right is recognized
by law.
"Any one of us who dared raise his voice in the
interests of the people of the working classes has
been thrown into prison or transported. Kindness
and good feeling have been treated crime"
lneSe Simple WOTuS dT6 NcIS tAp'CSoJNc. LNlt
the Limits OF endurance rcachedf 1t So death
is to be preferred to continuation of int2lcrable
sufferings." The Russian workmen have been IL
treated and, as the czar admits, many things re-
ouire improvement" Is this the first time when
hundreds of thousands of his subjects striking
for work and no work for half OF them to do, not
enough to exc out miserable existence, that this
great truth dawned upon him?
But the car says that those honest workTen
(who asked but for means of LIVELIHOOD left their
honest work at period when all Russian work !
men should be laborng increasingly to vanQuish |
their obstinate enemy" The enemy may be OBJ |
stinate, but Russian stubbornness cannot claim
immunity from obstnacy in extending her terri !
tory. She does not consult the voice of her sub
jects, who in their petition say:
"The bureaucracy has brought the country to |
the verge of ruin by shameful 1t is Turing |
it to its downfall. We have voice in the heavy |
burdens imposed; we do not know for whom or
why this money is wrung from an impoverished |
people, and we do not know how it IS expended.
'Ths state of things, contrary to divine laws, |
renders life impossible. 1t were better that we |
should all perish, we workers and ali Russia Then,
good luck to capitalists and exploiters and poor,
corrupt officials, robbers Of the Russian people"
Herein lies the secret of tho discomfort Of the |