The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1905-05-08
RUSSIANS FIGHT
FOR FREEDOM
Internal Situation Treated by Prom
inent Liberals.
CONSTITUTION DEMANDED
REVOLUTION PREDICTED AS a
PENALTY FOR REFUSAL.
CONSTITUTION DEMANDED

St Petersburg, April 15.-The follow
ing interesting article upon the present
political situation in Russia was written
for the Associated Press by one of the
most prominent and active liberals lis
the empire He Is "A large landed pro-
prietor. a marshal of nobility with a
mansion i'll Petersburg but distinctly
a man of the provinces. He had d
large share in drafting the famous
Zemstvo memorial. and his words viii
have added interest when IL is stated
that after bloody Sunday" when the
liberals were talking Of a provisional
government, his name WAS on every hp-
Should this be a constitutional regime
III Russia his name and fame viii loom
large:
In essence the present political
movement IN Russia Is a fight of the
advanced classes of the people against
the ACCOMPLISHMENTS govern
mental organization Of the country
Having grown up and strengthened it
self upon the condition Of SeTfdOm, the
Russian bureaucracy has developed to
the maximum all the negative qualities
which naturally iuhere in bureaucracy
and has become an aII-powerfuI auto
cratic machine.
Young Mems Eyes Opened.
The fight for popular freedom from
the yoke of abSUlUtiSm has deep root
in Russian history It has been waged
for nearly 100 years. now burning
bright i'm a moment of high effort, by
the best and uObleSt forces of the na-
ton. again dying out in the darkness of
reaction Its first pioneers. the Deem
DTIStS- were born of the national up
- heaval of the war of IS13
The triumphal march of the Russian
army throughout all Europe was d
school Of political education for the
best and most cultured youths of the
better class who found themselves in
the ranks of the officers. The Iiber-
atOrs Of Europe saw with their own
eyes all the tragedy IF their own posi-
tons, They We're called, not to liberate
Europe but To restore the old order.
They saw clearly that il was not Eu-
rope which was in need of real liberty
but the Russian people bowed beneath
The yoke of seTfdom, that Russia rep
resented I'm her governmental system
the bUlWark of popular political slav-
cry The SociaI-pOliticaI programme OF
the DecembTiStS of 1925 was the HbeT-
alton of the peasants from serfdom and
The esta hiiShmeUt Of a constitutional
governmental organization 1t WAS
crushed aud was wounded by a gloomy
Jhifty years reaction, during which the
movement for freedom was, secretly
kept alive and fostered in more OF less
wide circles of Russian society.
PIebeian Class Takes Hold.
But with the fall of serfdom. tn.
army of freedom began to- include the
educated representatives Of all classes
The So-called pleheisu cultured class
many concentrating their strength IN
literature. which played such q prom
1H'ht part In the movement for free
dom i'm the sixties But the granting to
the public al local ScIf-Coverur1suf
created general demand for iuteIIi-
gent public workers. iu all walks of life
ana the plebeIau cultured class Is thus
gradually taking tho uIacc of the uu-
hliltN IN the ranks of the battIers for
freedom I'm no way bound To- the hated
governing bureaucracy and animated
ny the bright ideals of freedom and
national happiness. the voUuC iUtoIIi-
gent class sharply c"USUreG the exist
Ing order, opposing to it the ideal So
rlallStlc society worked out upou the
theories OF European socialists The
revolutionary movement SuraUC I'D The
revolutionary party The Peoples Will
spread, eudeaVoTiUS by means of uoIit-
Heal conspiracy to free the people The
seventies the epoch of the reactionarv
movement of the government. were
marked by an heroic fight of the first
IeVolutIOuaTieS- The movement fer
minated with the catastrophe of March
J. 1881. assassination of Alexander ID
Students Take Up Fight.
But the growing public forces ,.er.
making themselves known. During thu
last ten years the student riots have
been almost continuous. Tho work
mems movement also grew and
strengthened. I'm places the starvfu.
almost landless peaSautry rose and re-
VOTED Revolutionary parties We're ro-
organized. this time finding fertile soil
and impressionabIe material i'm the
material in the rapidly growing factory
proletariat- It even invaded the ueas-
antry, where The latter Svere touched
by city life as 50 many mUjiks are being
compelled to go 10 the cities to ear.
their bread during q portion of the
year
But above all a liberal constitutional
party was organized. recruiting lis
members chiefly i'm provincial circles.
The political movement which dur
ing the past few months aroused tn,
whole Russian society really berar7,
sharply defined two OF three years ago
The student movement. which in IN,
course OF the '9es was the only nrer
expression of public protest against In,
existing regime, and. therefore. tn,
center OF public attention WAS irre
vocabIy carried over on rp political Ter
Titory On Feb. 80 1902 bv the NT,sro,.
students. The series of political 1yprL-
mems demonstrations I'm many cities II
the whole course of 1902 the note,
RoStof strike manifestation i'm the fsT
of that year the general strike which
in the summer of 1903 uaraIyzaf fb.
whole industry of the south indicate
the powerful development of The work
mems movement. led by the socja
democratic party With the aSSasefua.
tion Of Sipiagin. April l.. 1902 tthe as
SassinatiOn Of BoEoIyepOff iu 1901 being
the act Of an Individual and not :
manifestation of party. opens the san.
culinary period of revolutionary terror
At short intervals Of time the most
prominent and hated leaders Of re-
action fell ny bullets or bombs I'm tn,
spring of 1902 the peasant riots broL,
out in the Black Earth governments
Terror and dgraTian disorders amonr
the peasants bear witness To tn. life
of activity Of the other rcvoIugonar,
party, the social rcvOIutiunaries
Union of Zemstvos.
In 1901 from Feb. % To March : =
meeting took place in Moscow of IN,
provincial workers engaged in adm.
the population I'm agricultural matters
At this meeting was raised for the frs
time the question of smaller provincial
units, as radical means of drawint
closer together the zemstvO and tn,
people. This meeting. in which par
ticipated. besides the chosen leaders o
the zemstvo element. the representa-
tives Of the so-called third element
J. O.. those intelligent zemstvo worker.
upon whom in reality falls all the worI
of initiating measures of the economi,
nj