The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1906-03-05

Peasant Primaries Now in Prog
ress Dranaattic Suicide
Before oAAapon:

4 St, .Petelsb flgS, IN archs 5.-=sssAn i'm:
Sps Illase issued today soEdersi the
selecfi crs to Che ma nlBl be-
gin ApEm s N eight pro MinGes
soY CENTRAL Russia, On ApEil ,227.siniise seven:
teen either PROVING gs, OF 81 :ntFa;l Russia
and, and the Don Es gions, and, in two other
.e .Elhe any elections of the peasant
GLASS, of which there: are four degrees;
.ase III Progress The returns thus faI
are significant. Yesterday in the rural
districts of ST. Petersburg province the
peasants almost without exception chose
the present village elders and Volost
chiefs, or members of the V6lost courts,
to select tho delegates to the provincial
congress which will be composed Of rep
resentatives of the four degrees, and
which later will choose representatives
to the national assembly.
The selection of the same leaders who
under the old regime were named, more
or less thru the influence Of the gov
eminent district agents, indicates that
the voice Of the peasants in these pro
vincial congresses will be conservative.
No charge, however, has been raised
thus for that the government has exer-
cised undue influence and until the re-
suit Of the peasant elections in the dis
tricts in which extensive agrarian dis
orders occurred is known the deduction
that the communal machinery has been
employed in the peasant elections can
not be drawn.
Gear Pardons Mutineer.
Emperor Nicholas has pardoned for
mer Lieutenant Schmidt, who COM
manded the Russian cruiser Otchafow
during the mutiny at Sebastopol, and
who was recently sentenced to death by
courtmartial. - ,.. - g..
During a meeting yesterday Of the
Father Gapon organization, which was
investigating the scandal involving
charges Of accepting money from the
government, an accused member drama
tically committed suicide. His name
was Sechoff.. He enjoyed a high stand
terribly depressed as a result Of the
scandal in the organization.
, Gapon Saw Suicide. .7
! It now develops that Father Gapon
was himself present at yesterdays ses-
sion when Sechoff killed himself. 49,
Father Gregori Petroff had charged
Sechof with obtaining $4,000 from
Father Gapon, and with having accom-
panied a member of the secret police in
the search of M. Matushensky, press
agent and counsellor Of the Father
Gapon movement, who fled with the or
ganization s funds. During the pro
gress Of the meeting Sechoff made an
impassioned speech in which he de-
clared that he could not support the in
fanny involved in the charge that the
organization had been in league with
the government nor the obloquy heaped
on himself, as both he and the organiza-
ton were innocent. ...1, :. H..
Sechoff then called upon Father Ga
pom to declare in the presence Of his
fellows whether he, Sechoff had re-
ceived cent from the government.
Father Gapon arose and exonerated Sc
choff, whereupon the latter said: "I
Will now give you supreme proof Of my
honesty, and drawing a revolver he
blew out his brains. {"
The Gapon Graft. =
With the recent disappearance of Ma
tushensky, the assistant Of Father Ga
pom, who was charged with embezzling
$l2,oo0 belonging to the workmen IS or
that the modern labor organi-
cation which Gapon established after
the Russian emperor s manifesto Of
Oct. 30, last, was subsidized by the
government, which supplied funds for
Tue rent OF cluDnOuSes and Tor l1tera-
ture: The revelation was made by the
president Of the Putiloff section Of the
organization, who complained that $12,-
900 Of the funds furnished thru former
Minister Of Commerce Timiriazeff had
not reached the treasury Of the moder-
ate party.
When Matushensky was arrested at
Saratoff, Feb. "a, it was said that he
would be taken to st. Petersburg for
trial and that the proceedings against
him were expected to be sensational, on
account of his relations with Premier
Witte and former Minister of Com
merce Timiriazeff and other prominent
persons.