The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-05-20
CzAa LIKELY 10 YIELD PART.
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msts teasafdlly sad wishp'tt thrrs's, ye'
svety oa~ Anows esscp' poesihly, the tsHr
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~ tb# biooilest revolution the world has
ssnu
tine would thlnh ,ha, Resistance IN der
such circumstance world not 10 dfesmsd
~ Nevertheless N 10 SERIOUSLY oOntstBs
plated The fvactionaries WIN surround
fha Emperor sill belleve NJ profess a. bss
lieve that forrs will still avail W hold thS
Hussian psopls IN sIbIec'ion They hit
ierly fegFcs tbs E%mparot'a wsakneaa' In q
moment ~ panic last Octobsr wheh he cfr-
Ated an engine which now threatens the
destruction " Tho Bureaucracy, Some thers
are amuns them who reaiige that their power
Ia Doomed. but the majority o. the reaction
Hries continue Ia urge the sovereign not 20
surrender the traditional unlimited au-
thOrity ~ hia throne without q struggle.
The extreme nature Of the Dumas de-
mands serves 20 strengthen their argu-
menta and influence. but they have lost
one great advantage. They no longer
have a monopoly Of personal access 20 the
Emperor. Tho peoples representative IL
at last face TO face with the sovereign
and IL able TO put before him all their grew
ancea, all their hopes, all their demands.
Moreover. Prof. Muromtseh. the head OF
the Duma and the delegation TO call on the
Czar tomorrow, IL a man Of sufficient
courage TO point ont to the timid ruler
the terrible consequences Of turning a
deaf car to the voice OF his people. This
advantage alone In dealing with the weak.
vacillating nature Of the Russian Emperor
may be sufficient TO decide the momentous
issue, but upon the situation as II stands
no decisive reply can be expected from the
throne.
The Duma il in no temper TO endure
shillyshallying, but full concession Of any
OF the three main points Of the popular
demands can hardly be hoped for at pres
ent The first and most i~nsistent claim,
that for general amnesty, will probably
be granted in part Nobody pretends
to know what will be said in reply to the
demands for the abolition Of the right to
punish by administrative order Such a
reform would. deprive the ~bureaucrats OF
their chief weapon OF repression and they
will do their utmost to retain 1t.
The most extreme demand Of the Duma
Is that for land distribution, and upon this
the peasantry, who are the real russia,
are most insistent. They 60 further in
this thar even the French revolutionist
They declare full adherence TO the great
principle acknowledged by all Asiatio
communities, that whose Is the sweat his is
the soil" They win probably submit to
some compromise in the form Of quit rent.
but what they ask is appropriation Of all
State domains, which are very large; all
church domains, which are larger still,
and much land owned by the great proprie-
tors; in fact, all the culturable and forest
land Of Russia.
1t is significant that even the landed
proprietors in the DUN itself thought
II unwise to vote against this sweeping
demand of the masses. They knew that in
an agrarian rising they and their families
would suffer far more than they would
under the operation Of any law, however
drastic and revolutionary. The Court
knows also that if it grants this prayer and
thus pacifes the peasants the revolution
which might destroy the dynasty will be-
come impossible.
A bold statesman in the Cars situation
might possibly try the eXpedient Of granting
partial amnesty and general expropria-
ton of the lands and then dissolve the
Duma in the hope that the country would
be satisfied with these concessions and
would permit other institutions, including
the autocracy, to go on In the same old way.
No clear, decisive policy can be expected
from Emperor Nicholas, He will probably
throw a few sops to his disoontented sub
jects and find in the end that he will be
compelled to yield much more than would
lave sufficed IL g~raciously conceded at the
outset.
The only choice for such a man after all
is to rule az a constitutional monarch, obey
ing in the end all the dictates of the Duma,
or to make a further attempt to reign as a
despot with incompetent ministers as his
agents and the army as his sole bulwark.
The latter alternative, whether he knows
1t or not, means a speedy revolution and
his inevitable destruction.
The Duma itself, as the first assembly
of the Russian people, makes a fascinating
study. 1t is a primitive, Heterogeneous
but brainy, virile company. There are
some ITO peasants, sunburnt, heavy proved
countrymen in top boots and blouses, who
are intolerant of all forms of order which
interfere with getting quickly at the great
Issues they nave at heart. The member
speak Of each other by their surnames.
They address the assembly as Gentlemen
and sometimes as Comrades The prest-
dent interrupts the speakers and gives
little lectures upon the procedure in other
%parliaments. The members this week spoke
twice or more on the same question and
frequently insisted upon giving explana-
tons OF previous speeches.
There is a strong tendency to Use burning
language, yet all the proceedings are con-
Quoted with perfect order and dignity.
The Russian Duma, in fact, is destined
to become one of the greatest representative
institutions OF the modern world. The
power which created it mo destroy 1t.
With or without the Car it will shape and
direct the destinies OF this vast empire from
this time forth.
NO BIRTHDAY AMNESTY DECREE.