Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-08-23
All Are Revolutionists.

The same mistake was made when the
universities were closed and the students
were sent to their homes. 1t is an aston
fishing and significant fact that every stu
dent in every university in the Russian
empire is revolutio1ist, no matter where
he comes from what class of society
he belongs to. No resident of Russia, unless
he has personal interests on the other side
can study the history of civilization with
out becoming enemy of his own gov
ernment No young man OF ordinary in
teligence can read or hear about other
systems of government without attempting
or wishing to reform his own. That is the
reason why the universities are hotbeds of
revolution and why the students are in
surrectionists. And the minister of educa-
ton, when he closed the universities two
years ago because the students were en-
gaging in political demonstrations, sent out
into the country, to the farthermost parts
of the empire, 10000 or more revolutionary
agitators. whose work among the people
may be seen in every direction. 1t has been
more effective than that of the professional
revolutionists-yea. thousand fold.
As long as these students were segregated.
within the walls of the universities in st.
Petersburg, Moscow, Kazan, Warsaw and
other great cities, they were comparatively
harmless. They were, of course, a con-
tinual cause of irritation to the police. They
We're always organizing meetings and polit-
ical demonstrations and marching in pro-
Cessions in the streets, but such pranks
an enthusiastic apostle of liberty in his
native village, where he is an object of
pride and admiration. and where every
word that falls from his lips Is received as
a vivid truth. Very much of the rapid
progress of the revolution during the last
two years, very many of the local dis
turbances and uprisings, are due to the
active efforts OF students who were sent
home by the government two years ago to
plot and labor for it's overthrow.
And now the duma has been scattered in
the same way.
Promises Violated.
The administration is not so severe as
expected. nevertheless every promise in the
cars famous October manifesto has been
violated. Hundreds of citizens-nobody
knows how many-have been arrested and
sent to prison as objects OF suspicion; every
newspaper in St. Petersburg, except the
Novoe Vremya and the Rossa, the official
and semi-offical organs of the government,
thirteen in all. were suppressed for several
days, and nearly every other paper in the
empire that dared to criticise the dissolu-
ton of the parliament. The publication of
the manifesto of the duma has been forbid
den under the heaviest penalties, and the
secret printing offices which were aban-
doned under the cars benevolent procla
nation last October have been re-estab-
lished, Even the club rooms, which are the
headquarters OF the constitutional demo-
cratic party-the party of moderation,
which asks only limited monarchy-have
Deen CIOSeu Dy lne pOHCe' aflu otIiei
ways the government has broken faith with
its subjects upon almost every promise that
was made year ago.
Every American who comes to Russia
is asked why the people of the United
States sympathiZe with the revolutionlsts.
Every American who comes here is told
that the car the ministry and the govern
ment anxious for the good opinion of
the people of the United States 1 have
been asked dozen times the reasons for
the lapse in the traditional friendly rela-
tions between our country and this. And
the supporters of the cZar complain bitterly
because the foreign newspaper correspond
entS here are unanimously partisans OF the
duma and hostile. to the government.
The reasons are perfectly plain.
!. Everybody who comes here can see
for himself that the car and his minis
tiers are wrong almost every question
member OF the cabinet will testify to the
wickedness OF the other departments, while
he defends his own.
2. Everybody who comes to Russia knows
that the officials of the government and the
police are guilty of the massacre of hun
dreds or innocent men. and even women
and children: that these atrocious murders
and cruelties have been going on for five
years, and that no guilty person has ever
been punished. This is admitted by the
membess of the cabinet. At least two of
the present ministers have acknowledged
frankly to me that the police are RESPONSE
Bile for the massacres of the Jews and ex-
pressed their regret that such atrocities
cannot be prevented.
3. People are prejudiced against the gov
eminent OF Russia because tens OF thou