Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1906-06-08
RUSSIA AT A CRISIS.
SITUATION SIMILAR TO THAI Or
FRANCE A CENTURY AGO.
Developments at st. Petersburg sih-
liar to Conditions In Paris fr'
cedinS the French Revolution
of Gar.

For a parallel to the present deFel'
,pments at st. Petersburg IL must ~
Jack to the situation which preValieu
II Paris in the days preceding the
French revolution. In many respects
! 4e crisis WHICH the Car faces resell-
= lies that which confronted Louis ANl'
more than a century ago when lne
Itates general, resuscitated AFTER IL
apse Of nearly POO years., asserted us
| lemand for legislative rights ana d
constitution. Now, as then, monarch
md legislators have FLASHED upon the
question Of their relations and respec-
i've powers. Now, as then, the ruler
allure to satisfy the asSembIys ue-
! hands has provoked Il menacinS storm
If Indignation. Saturdays speeches III
he douma in response to the Cars
announcement of his program are strik-
ngly reminiscent Of the utterances OF
Iirabeau and his colleagues when they
declared that having been convened 10y
The will of the people bayonets. alone
should dispense them.
As the imperial ministers in their
.eply to the doumu refuse some of lis
most important demands ana are eNas-
3eratingl- ~eQuiyocal regarding the
he hot anger Of the proSrcsslVeS IS
Easy to understand. Briefly
Zed. the d0umu's demands were for
general amnesty, the revision OF the
fundamental law, the abolition or the
:ouncil Of the empire, Il ministry re
:ponsible to the parliament and the
appropriation Of crown lands to be
distributed among the farming classes.
The Car in his effort to steer a safe
middle course has found 1t impossible
70 grant most Of these requests. lie
promises ameliOrative measures, lnclud-
ng a provision for universal educatlon'
4 system of local autonomy, the early
.clease of many prisoners arrested by
administrative orders steps to i'll
.reaSe the farmers holdings of land.
But he practically reaftirmS the Irlnrl-
pie Of autocracy and declinos to grant
l responsible ministry or adopt other
.eforms calculated to transfer power
rom the administrative to the legisid-
i've branch of government.
The douma's reply to these counter
proposals has been prompt and vene-
nent. 1t denounces he ministerial
program in emphatic terms, declares IT.
complete distrust in an irresponsible
ministry and demands the immedja+o
Of the present C.vlnet az
lot having its confidence. Whether this
1istc-ic mGment in Russia marks the
,artins of the ways for b Gar and
AS people, with revolution imminent.
depends largely upon the tact and skill
With which Nicholas handles the situa~
ion. His position is extremely deli
Aside from the difficult problems
in the creation Of a new par
lament, he must try TO placate con-
and wholly irreconcllable elev
nents. To override the dOuma's de"
Is to put the empire In jeop"
lrdy. To accede to them is to increase
the douma's influence as a r u
constituent, representative assembly
The terrorists have seized upon the
to inaugurate a new reign of
and assassination, and
Sunday saw the murder of NJ. Shata-
off, warden Of the st. Petersburg city
prison, and the attempted murder Of
General Timoseieff and Chief
If Police Martinoff at Tifiis. Bombs
we're thrown throughout the entire EN-
,ire and many persons We're killed and
injured.
At Sebastopol in a bomb outrage dur
ing the review of troops after the cele-
oration of the anniversary Of the en-
peror's coronation eleven persons were
silled, including five children, and over
100 persons were wounded.