The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-02-16
In No Hurry About That
 ZemSky Tabor.
CONSIDERING SITUATION
Conditions at L0dZ Again
 Serious.
Much Suffering Among Families of Strikers-Students Indicating
 DissatisfactiOn-An Inter-
 view with StOessel.

5t. PeterSnurB, rep. 10.-(ll:4O D. m.)--In spItc of Emperor Nicholas personal inclination Tn favor of the zentsky zabor, as intimated to Count Leo Tolstoi. the imperial decision 70 summon this parliament has not yet been taken. The Emperor is carefully weighing arguments for and againsi the plan before committing himself to thls course. This statement Is made on the authority of pernaps the most liberal of the EmperOrs ministers who this evening informed the Associa ed Press that the question remains under consideration at Tsarskoe-Selo.
 T myself have frankly urged upon His MaJesCy," the Minister said, the view that the time has come when the people should no longer be denied voice in the government: and the same counsel has been given by many others ,who. like me, believe that the moderate. liberal element which has been drifting away, can thus be Sal- lied to the governments support. His Majesty received us sympathetically and believe Is personally inclined to adopt the course we suggested. He now is carefully deliberating upon the subject.
 Time Necessary.
 sTt is no secret, however, that the powerful Influences about His Majesty are pressing the contrary view and ad- vancing strong arguments which can not lightly be thrust aside, even If the decision is finally favorable. Precipi- tation is impossible, although the peo- ple who are laboring under the stress of excitement seem to forget that for such a sweeping innovation time is necessary to formulate and elaborate the scheme for the electorate. compo- sition and functions of the body.
 ala avis Vryh might make 1t inadvisable to summon such a body during the continuance of the war since the government Is of the opinion that peace is impossible now.
 But if the body is to be convened at the conclusion of the war, a proc lamation should be issued now. Yet no matter what the Emperor's decision may be, the manifesto on reforms on which the Committee of Ministers is working, will be productive of great good, The misfortune is that all the discontented classes are for the mo- mert skeptical. They are using every weapon to embarrass the government while 1t Is engrossed with the war.
 "The situation is deplorable, but not critical There may be trouble and disorders even on a comparatively large scale though there will be no crisis unless the discontent extends to the rural regions. In my opinion that is uossible only in the event of some great catastrophe such as general failure of the crops or nep.demic or cholera Then. with famine to fright en the country coupled with political agitation in the cities. no one can pre- dict what may happen.
 Overthrow of AutOcracy.
 It is said that one of the arguments used by the court party against the revival of the zemsky Zabor Is tho fact that the body in the old days yielded immense power. being itself responsible for the elevation of the Romanoff dynasty to the throne and therefore it might even undertake, 1T again called into being, to elect new ruler. Generally speaking the position of the opposition to the zcmsky zabor is well voiced editorially in today's Moscow Gazette, the leading exponent of the absolute autocracy of Russia, in which it is prnphecied that any sort of national assembly will lead to struggle between 1t and the emperor and this controversy inevitably will end in the overthrow of the autocracy. The article draws a parallel between the present political situation and the Nihilist terrorism which almost wrung a constitution from Alexander II and after his assassination confronted Alexander III with choice of alter natives. The article continues
 'NThen, as now. the public press loud ly proclaimed that without a parlia- ment or zemsky Zabor Russia must fall Even government circles were so intimidateE by an insignificant group of terrorists that it came to believe that Russia could be saved only by the xemstvoists instead of the sensible power of the autocratic sovereign. But Alexander understood that the first consideration for the welfare of Russia was the restoration of order. The government and not the people, the emperor and not the zemsy zabor then rescued Russia from revolution.
 What was true then Is true now; the emperor must again save Russia"