The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-03-02
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aarHir ffrh flf neHf n fhHir uWu iuuafe
lNH f|I.ras1r hui ihe H..rpi translate
HIfI hrlah tmi sspt 10 W. tasin sifh.rii
"HHunHi tui fHaHs fha u.IirHf 7rffi
lhHfr 1e rrtaHnr " aUaftuhr 1rd pro-
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'rIHaiafr tfaep4l rnt rp itFrtliv Nil
DO rissi Nv iirsr present timers over lru
frsHr rsilfjnH nf siWtitru " ~ FiHuf
FIl uflv HrHp comparatively 0uir' W
Ia only lHrriar ilry 49, al na1T AMI d'nl
f'r'Us 'Irt ilssv have srn tt"ir fsiin' on
iHH HnaunFr tlcatIuu ~ quietly w"
fraiof'iiun ~ thrlr urtl lraislttafe leaves
ilsHr put ~ ~ rhpmr ~ tbr Htssinn I'm
fHfHl ulmt pud iiris saves Tho ptt'f fnrfu
iNr muat inattsfthle ~ IN W. tfo,hl"a
tor npbuiv can sirarat how this b'fsH
can b" MAIDS hillv imperial nnd ~ th' airne
time rpmtrrt Ne iei,atca IN % luns mae ttns
drrs''srd by all tho mon elerted ~ "
Az arprni tho territory whtrh is -iiI
Russia ara Russian s'iifircts utfthHed to
vote. and certainty dtfrrtlv Interested In
whit REFORMS the Government may cInier.
vhu sIs'tk language which have no re-
artuhlanre to une ]auuther ~ w Huastan
In tho Rnliic prpvinccs there ~ the hulk OF
the Iraa,ntrv sIrakina their wi fsthouian
and l"ttish Tongues, and no other Theirs
ia M compiria between their case and
that ~ the fringe ~ Scotch and irish CeIts
whu ain speak only their own language.
Thesr arr numerically aud politically in
considerable: but tho naltic province
peasants form the great majority in the
country where they live. they have their
own church services. books and newspapers
all carried on In their live tongue. and with
~ little In common with the position Of the
Gaelic language that instead Of being fos-
tered by any scholarly enthusiasts, the
tongue Of these peasants persists stufdily
~ their only mode Of speech, even though
prescribed and penalized by a generation
Of Russian officials, The more prosper
Gus classes are in a scarcely better case
from the point Of view Of producing debatsrs
in the Russian language. In their family
and business lives they talk herman. A
good many can speak a smattering OF RUS
sian, for It IL compulsory in the gymnasium
classes. but their proficiency IL about on a
level with that Of an average American
man who may have been taught some
French for two or three years at school,
but has lost most Of it afterwaTd because
neither his work nor his inclination kept
it fresh.
The Lithuanians, who people the province
south of the Baltic territory down to the
Polish frontier. have equally their W
separate language, which has no resem-
blance to Russian, and is their only means
of expressing themselves. Their province
happens to hold a vast number OF Jews,
especially in such towns as Wilma and kovno,
and their language, again, is simply Yiddish.
In Poland the old language is still firmly
rooted. Whether they be politically ma
tionalists or Social Democrats or Agrarians,
the Poles refuse TO speak anything but their
own tongue, and in this their Roman Catho-
lie Church gives them it's full support. SO
it is with the Annenians; as a people they
have refused to learn Russian, and their
Church supports them In their stand. With
the Tatars and other Moslem Russian sub
jects it is the same.
Yet taking all these people together and
the areas they inhabit, they form a very
great aggregate. Their membership in the
Russian Empire may often be against their
will, and in some cases may seem TO be
half thrown of already, yet in plain fact
they belong to Russia. and to no other Power.
And it is not a question of this language
difficulty being likely to diminish; of these
native tongues of minor n~atlonalities being
destined to fade away before Russian.
The evidence is all the other way. The
Loon tnpnip hnl haap hr0u pbt haol into
schools all over these provinces In spite
of the defiance Of the Russian Orthodox
Church. Indeed, the fanatical stupidity
of the holy Synod has made the Russian
language so offensive to the subject races
that it has not had the chance Of success
which ordinary business convenience would
have given it had the Orthodox Church
not sought to force it along with their W
creed by the crude expedient Of beating
down the local languages,
This language dilemma is 80 complete
that observant Russians are beginning to
perceive that il the imperial Duma comes
to be a permanent element in Russian
government, then the deeper question Of
the very basis of the empire will be raised.
The first Duma may be n provisional and
hastily collected body, but 1t cannot con-
tlnue 10 be lIHpSTldi III any Senh6 III inc
peoples of the Baltic provinces, OF Poland,
of Armenia and of the Caucasus are to be
definitely shut out from genuine represen-
tation by men of their own race.
The first obvious conjecture following on
this is that the empire may shake out into
a loose federation, with the probability
of eventually falling to pieces altogether.
but it is assuredly true that no Russian of
note who is likely to have a practical share
in helping the political fortunes of his
country desires or even expects this. The
virile element in the nation at large Is more
decided on the subject than is the Govern
ment, At Moscow recently Alexander
Gutohkotr, the constitutionalist leader, re-
ceived a spontaneous ovation from the
merchants on the exchange when they
learned that he had declared strongly
against the separation of Poland from
Russia. Except for the full blooded Rus
slams general willingness to govern any
body and annex anything, it ia not clear
what means there is for holding the SUBJ
jeot provinces inside the empire during the
experiment of an imperial debating as
sembly.
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