The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1905-12-20
CRISIS IN ARMY.
That Is the Hope Of the Russian
ReVolutiOnists.
Strike About to Be Inaugurated
to Be Final.
GOVERNMENTS HOPES.
Are Based on the Strikers Lack
of Funds.
Employees of % Roads Ready to
Stop Traffic.
3OVERNMENT'S HOPES.

St Petersburg, Dec. 20.-1.20 p. m.
The proclamation Of a general strike
for tomorrow at noon has created the
most intense excitement If it can be
successfully begun and maintained, the
revOlutonaries are confident that it
will break the governments back. In
government circles however, conf
dence is expressed that the proletariat
organizations cannot effect a complete
tie-up and that the strike must be of
short duration. This hope seems based
on the theory that the extreme pro
gram of the reds has created the SYM
pathy of large proportion of the real
Workmen and also upon what they
claim to be absolute knowledge that
the organizations are without funds.
The governments calculations. how
ever, have proved deplorably at vari-
ance with the true situation in the
past and the strike leaders declare the
government is again hopelessIy ig-
norant of the magniture of the stug-
gle confronting it. Their plans are
exceedingly ambitious.
From the nature of the appeals of
the leaders to the troops it is evident
lnat tney expect to precipitate a cri-
SIS IN the army.
The central committee Of the rail
way men at Moscow which determined
the issue last night by voting in favor
OF a strike, has telegraphed over the
railway lines that the employees of
lWenl y-tWo roads are ready to stop all
LraIuc- The decision is to close everv-
| thing in the empire, railroads. -rnanI1-
/ factories, wholesale and retail stores
ana ali government works except the
waterWorks The bakeries IN the cit
les, however, will not be closed 50 long
as EneX do not raise
they raise the price of bread even the
pakerles VIII be closed. 1t was pro-
posed IN MOSCOW to exempt the cleo
trlc light plants but this was defeated.
Allhough the blow is timed for tomor-
row noon, on account of the difficulty
OF communication, the strike leaders
40 not nope to bring the life of the
empire to a standstin by a single
stroke, but they VIII labor for a grad
ual extension of the strike moveTnent
The nature Of the manifesto of the
Wofkmen'S s council of Moscow to the
army IS so inflammatory that even the
radical papers are afraid to print it
Duflng the strike it is proposed to stop
all papers and to print and distribute
only the organ of the workmen's S
council.
The police are hunting down and ar
resting the strike leaders as rapidly as
they can be found. Comparatively few
captures nave been made as the lead
ers keep in hiding avoiding their resi-
/ denceS and meeting in secret each time
at a different locality.
The helplessness of the government
in this crisis is demonstrated by the
inability of Interior Minister Durnovo
last night to get through instructions to
arrest the members of the workmen' s
council of Moscow. He attempted to
use the railroad wires, but the oper-
ators obeyed the dictum of the council
and refused to send the message. The
/ government is even unable to forward
instructions to General Linevitch, COM
mander of the Manchurian army. Five
operators in succession on the railroad
lines declined to send a cipher message
signed by the emperor.
Strike Begins Promptly.
Moscow, Dec. 20.-The strike was be-
gun here promptly at noon today. All
the men walked out of the factories and
mills and the trains on the six rail-
roads were left standing in the stations.
Shortly afterward an incoming train on
the Kursk road was fired into by armed
strikers. The engineer and several pas
sengers were wounded. The strikers
generally seemed provided with arms.