The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-08-05
ENTER STRIKE IN HALFHEARTED WAY Russian Railroad EnPIOYsS Are
 '.'. % 4''' ALL !!;'}s'lS E ON THE TROOPS A tiles Are Confident They Will Stand By the Emperor When the
 Real Crisis comes-Dlctator
 ship May Come Tomorrow.

St. Petersburg. August 4--With a gen. eral strike formally declared. and the country apparently on the threshold of a gigantic struggle, minor issues fade in the background
 If the strike inaugurated today gathers sufficient headway to endanger the life of the state, 1t has virtually been de- vieteh will be named commander of all the troops in the empire where martial law exists' which would be tantamount to the decreeing of a military dictator ship.
 It Is possible, however. that the gov ernment will not be driven to this extrem- ity as the showing made today by the St. Petersburg proetariat was not inn pressive. Although nearly 10000 workmen are reported to be out at nightfall, many of the men appear to be entering the struggle with heavy hearts.
 Endurance Slapped By Long Strain.
 The spontaniety with which practically the entire nation arrayed itself against old regime last fall, is lacking. The en- durance of the people has been sapped by the long strain. the sympathy of the more conservative liberals has been alien ated by fear of revolution and the lowest elements of the population have been or ganized into what are known as black hundreds and are ready to enter the fight on the side of the government when the signal is given. Dissensions also are rife among the leaders over the oppor- tuneness of giving battle to. the govern ment but these probably will be saort- lived as the. response of the country shows that the nation as a whole en- dorses the movement.
 Railroads Have Not Acted
 Moscow and St Petersburg or rather St. Petersburg, are expected to decide the issue. Railroads upon which the initial strike depends, although committed, have not yet formally ordered a strike. On the ulterior object of the proletariat leaders which at present is masked, must depend the attitude of the troops. If the mill tary supports of the government stand up as they did at Sveaborg and Cron- stadt, the leaders acknowledge that the game is lost, but even so they declare that defeat if it forces the disaffected portion of the army to show its colors will only prepare the way for final vic- tory.
 The waYering of the artillerists at Cron- stadt and the attitude of a major portion of the crew of the armored cruiser Pam vat Azova which remained nominally loyal and which they believed would undoubted- lY have thrown It's lot with the rebels, if the rebels had received expected support ba cff in their favor; and they are confident if put to a test thousands of soldiers will refuse to fire on the people, and that weak spots will develop in the army where the government least expects them.
 Authorities Trust the Troops.
 The authorities undoubtedly are anxious to manifest equal confidence that the army will not fail the Emperor in a crisis, and that the strike will prove dismal failure. Indeed the faction now in con- trol seems to welcome an immediate test in the conviction that it will be able to squelch the revolution for long time to come.
 The weakest point in the revolutionary armor is believed to be lack of competent leaders.
 Tonight brought increased excitement throughout the industrial section of the clIy. All1OuBn lIle pollCt dIe IelHlOTctu by mounted patrols In the central dis tricts of the city all Is quiet there.
 Ferment In Workmen Quarters.
 Tn the workmen's quarter which the Associated Press correspondent visited. there was ferment. Dragons and Cos sacks were in evidence in the principal streets, and police pckets. armed with rifles were at almost every corner Never theless the correspondent heard orators addressing crowded meetings at many places. The police displayed open sympa- thy with the men. turning their backs to avoid seeing what was going on.
 On Basil Island the workmen have be- gun to close the shops and have even stopped cabs, turning the occupants out into the street and instructlng the drivers to return home.
 Searchights from cruiser at the Baltic works and from the roof of the building are sweeping the Neva and several tor pedo boats built in the United States are seurrying up and down the river. No collisions of importance were reported up to midnight There will be no newspapers nublished tomorrow, except the Novoe Vremya. whose men do not belong to the union, The cabmen have agreed to strike Monday.
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