Los Angeles herald., 1906-07-22

who several weeks ago vainly tried "a
form A coalition ministry. IN a CONVEX
sation with the correspondent Of the
Associated Press tonight. declared that
the situation was extremely critical
but he refused to believe that the En-
peror had taken an irrevocable decision
to dissolve parliament, though he con-
sidered that such step might become
necessary. He was without hope, how
ever, that a conflict could he avoided.
The situation is 40 complicated" he
said. that II Is impossible for any man
to predict the course Of future events.
but feel safe In predicting two things
first that Russia will come TO a con-
stitutional basis second. that there will
be no great revolutionary cataclasm i'm
the sense that foreigners anticipate.
People abroad talk Of the coming
revolution I'm Russia, while failing to
understand that a passive revolution
has been in progress for forty years.
Cause Of Present Condition,
"The active revolution began with
the assembling of the first Zemstvo
congress year and half ago. The
present travail Is only n natural ac-
compartment Of the birth of the new
order of things. The main obstacle to
the work Of the peaceful reconstruction
of the different elements which are
fighting the government.
"Of course II is useless to expect any
thing from the extreme revolutionists
whose object is not reconstruction but
the destruction of the whole fabric of
the government. The more intelligent
of the Constitutional Democrats, how
ever, from whom much might have
been expected instead of accepting the
elementary principle of practical poll
tics, that progress is made by a
compromise, committed the mistake of
thinking that they could ride on a
revolutionary whirlwind into power.
1.-TWO weeks ago they could have
had the ministry If they had been will
ing to discard what was impracticable
in their programme. Now that the ex-
treme left has definitely broken with
them they begin to appreciate that
blunder. If the prestige is not de-
stroyed by their tactics and they have
at last come to their senses, perhaps
it may not be too late to tide over the
present situation with a mixed minis
try, representing the liberal and con-
factions and in which they
could participate.
otherwise they are bound to share
the fate of their prototypes, the
Girondist doctrinaires of the French
revolution, and the government might
be driven to a dictatorship. There is
much truth in the contention of the
that parliament no longer
the real sentiments of the
country. The masses are not so revo-
lutionary as represented.
"The peasants, 1t is true, are land
mad, and the socialists are filled with
dreams of an unattainable land Utopia.
The occasion calls for practical men
and practical measures. The people
must not go on harboring false hopes.
If the agrarian programme of the ex-
tremists was adopted there would not
be enough land in Russia to satisfy
the peasants and the projected socia
listie labor laws would ruin the coun-
try inevitably.
Personally I can see little hope of a
or reconstructive work
either with the present parliament or
the Goremykin ministry. With the new
cabinet and new parliament a settle
ment is possible. The future is fraught
with danger and deplorable possible
ties. Riots and other disorders in the
cities and agrarian excesses in the
will continue to characterize
he political readjustment, but the coun-
try is too big for a general simultan-
aOlS uDriSing."