Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-08-09


fho who started the great political revolution
One OF the most influential members Of the re-
cent duma.
called a revolution. Prudent men avoid the
use of that word as much as possible be-
cause it is offensive to the conservative
sense of propriety, and Is associated with
the operations of reckless. hysterical. ir-
rational class, who destroy rather than
build up The ''intellectuals'' and the in
telligencia" call 1t 1.-The liberation move
ment" but that is not an accurate term
Liberation implies passive acceptance OIL
relief from restraint. whereas the reforms
that appear in Russia today nave not peen
conferred upon a passive people They have
been wrung one by one and little by little
by the irresistible forces of society from
reluctant and a stubborn autocracy. Inc
exercise of the force which has accom-
plished this has been both visible and IN
visible Men who have worked In the open
have almost invariably been punished for
their audacity while those who nave
worked in the dark have been threatened
with even greater dangers
Progress of the Revolution.
Prof. Bernard Pares of the University OF
Liverpool told me an interesting story the
other night Of how this revolution has been
advancing since the assassination of Alex
ander II. March 49, 1891. Prof. Pares is
we'll qualified to speak He is familiar with
events because he has been on the ground
for several years. has seen what has &C.
Cured with his own eyes. or mas mad the
experience of the moving spirits related 10
him by their own tongues. Hence he has
come to be regarded one of the highest
authorities on Russia, and lectures every
winter on that subject for the Cambridge
and oxford extension courses in England
He is engaged with Samuel M. Harper
of Chicago and Dr. II. w. Williams, CORE
spondent OF the Manchester Guardian. in
writing history of the revolution 1 have
described.
Prof. Pares looks upon 1t as more of an
economical than a political revolution and
has found that 1t is chiefly based upon
economical conditions and involves indus
trial and economical problems
Russia was organized on class basis.
said Prof. Pares. with system of close
compartments wrich were az the gentry.
GU the merchants. who were unimportant,
and CD the peasants. Each class had. and
still has its set of Institutions, and
the autOcracy. which really composeS
fourth class has at times been quite as
liberal as the other classes Peter the Great
was revolution!st on a thone but his re-
forms were all intended to consolidate the
autocracy and to create a race of efficient
officials which now are termed bureaucrats.
The Russian court copied that of France in
the old regime. The French revolution.
however. threw 1t into panic, from which
1t has never fully recovered. Everything
western was boycotted from 1918 to 1854.
and the bureaucrats fought French ideas all
over Europe. In Europe they play tricks
and the Russians get hit on the back, said
Nikitenko. liberal censor. But Russian in
telligence and literature grew under this
pressure The intelligence was always op-
posed to the government. and therefore
revolutionary. 1t existed. however, only in
the higher classes. In 1915 there were no
more than 1900 reading people in Russia
THE Crimean war. Ike the Japanese war,
laid bare the bankruptcy of the bureau
Gratis Their name became term of con-
tempt. Alexander II, a weak but well
meaning man. carried through certain great
reforms. but several times slipped back into
the attitude of a reactionary. The nihilIsts,
tional vexation at lapses- They were men
who had picked up scraps of theories con-
corning government in different holes and
corners OF Europe without a full realization
II when his summons for a kind of nation
al assembly was already in the government
press.
Revolt Bred by the Government.
The period from 1881 to 1904 saw three
phenomena: Despotism, revolution and the
development of a middle way. The govern
ment fell back farther and farther toward
reaction. 1t had only two articles of sin
gle policy: To get away from the west by
erecting passport barriers. by censorship
religious persecution. political persecution
OF the most enlightened elements and espe-
clally or the universities, and to suppress
those nationalities which are more cultured
and have had constitution, like the Ger
mans. Fins and Poles. Thus revolution was
bred by the government. The terrorIsts
were soon crushed for the time being. but
intelligence continued to spread and to be-
come largely socialistic In theory. The So
cial democrats worked for economical
rather than political results. They began to
get some hold on the workmen. The social
revolutionists worked among the peasants,
but with only slight success These parties
We're the-only active forces until 1902. Both
ha hat hoy Cd Auhf iv,y ants
which In the case OF the social revolution
lists removed" obnoxious officials. Mean
while the reforms of Alexander III produced
remarkable results.
peasants resulted in a gradual leveling up
OF that class of the population. They in
creased rapidly (which caused the land