The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-09-16

that / cannot bring before my readers
scme of the faces that we observed Il.
he iobby--facss which seemed to pre-
sent an epitome of Russian history
strong. firm, unyielding faces which
plainly tell of the stern resolve that
lies behind the peasant movement.
they may protest. like Mark Anthony,
that they have neither "wit nor words
nor worth. action. nor utterance nor
the power of speech to stir mems
blood" but they can put tongue In
very wound" of their countrymen that
will almost move the stones to rise
md mutiny.%
This is the first duma, and IT has
not proceeded far enough to fully de-
telop the permanent leaders but II
nay use the smile, as a basket of peb-
lies is shaken by debate, the large
mes are gradually rising to the top.
The President of the duma is Prof
serge Murmetseff of Moscow. whose
earning and judicial temperament
C mbined to make him the choice o;
..veral parties, no one of which car
lain majority.
The Constitutional Democrats have
he largest membership and are tn
hest organized. They also have the
advantage of occupying the middle
conservatives. Having about $50 mem
bers on their rolls and some thirty
more acting with them. they can count
upon enough votes from the more
conservative elements to defeat the
| extreme radicals. and they can. rely
upon enough radical votes to carry oui
their program.
The floor leader of this party !:
vladimir D. Nabokoff of st. Petersburg
In nf MT n "
himself until recently an instructor
In the national daw school, He f.
about 3s years of age, intelligent ant
alert, and has the confidence of hi
party.
The orator OF the Constitutions
Democrats Is Theodore I. Rodichef,
scholarly looking man of so. He j
polished in manner and persuasive Ii
l speech One of the most influential o
the Constitutional Democrats is Mr.
Maxim Winawer, a Jewish lawyer o
the capital. He is sometimes describ
ed as the brains of the party an
is credited with drafting the duma'
reply to the address from the throne
He is one of the ablest civil lawyer
in the Empire and his, election fror
st. Petersburg. where there are but y,
900 Jewish voters out OF a total vot
of 10000 and his elevation to the vice
presidency of the national organizatio
of his party would seem to answer tn
charge that there is widespread hostil
ity to the Jews among the people.
Nabokoff Rodcheff and Winawer ar
members of the duma and are
therefore prominently before the pub
lie at this time, but in popularity the.
| have a rival in the person of Paul
Miliukoff, editor of The Reich" 9Th
government would probably put
| wv" before the .'R" and give the wor'
its English meaning, but in Russian
/ the word Reich means specify MI
Miliukoff, it will be remembered. wa
/ one of the candidates of his party II
st. Petersburg. but the government com
PEELED the substitution or anothc
name becaue he was awaiting trial 70
an alleged violation of the press law
He was acquitted soon after
wards, and is one of the NOV
! ing spirits in the present parlia
mentary struggle. He speaks excellen
English and has lectured in the United
| States. No one need despair of reform II
Russia while such man as Miliukof
devotes his great ability to journalism
Next to the Constitutional Democrats
the members of the Group of Toll
form the largest party, There ar
about a hundred of these. and Alexi
G Aladdin is their leader. He is ever
younger than Nabokoff, but has ,alread,
shown himself to be a man OF fore
and originality.
Count Heyden is the leader of tn
: conservative element, II there is con
sentative element in the dupa. Per
haps It would be more accurate to de
scribe him as the spokesman for tn
least radical group. for all of the mem
bers of the duma are reformers, differ
ing only as to the extent of the change
and the speed with which they shall b
made. He was once considered radica
but he has not moved as rapidly a
public sentiment. Count Heyden bear
quite a resemblance to Uncle Sam as
lis pictured in the newspapers. / hav
spoken somewhat at length OF the lead
ers in order to show that while tn
grievances of the peasants and laborer
are at the bottom of the movement,
classes are enlisted in the EFFORT to es
tablish constitutional government.
The afternoon sessions, are general
lively, for, It is at this time that TN
ministers make their reports. ore
their messages and answer the cues
lions propounded by the members. In
| session which we attended was NJ
| execution to the rule. The house wa
full, the galleries crowded and tn
newspapers fully represented. Their
were more than forty Russian writer
in their corner and not less than fift!
Of the foreign press. When the rep
resentative of the War Department