Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-08-09

question:. Many peasants began to go up
to the towns for part of the year to work
in the factories. When they returned to
their farms at planting time In the spring
they spread their new-found knowledge
among their neighbors. A migratory fac
tory class, numbering about 2.00O.OO0 now
passes twice annually between the cities
and the farms and carries progressive ideas
and revolutionary sentiments with 1t.
New law courts, with trial by jury, were
introduced by Alexander II in 1884. al
though the police retained the power Of adj
ministrative arrest. Sometimes they tried
to rearrest persons who had been acquitted
by the courts, as in the case Of Vera Zasu-
ich, who attempted to assassinate Gen.
Trepoff, governor of St. Petersburg, whose
son now occupies similar position. Her
trial and acquittal by regular jury left
deep impression upon the public mind and
made it necessary for the police to obtain
an imperial order under which political Of
lenses are tried by special courts and diff
ferent procedure. But these two systems
liberately advertised the injustice of the
police. / have seen men guilty Of trivial
offenses acquitted by the general courts
simply to annoy the police.
Rise of the Zemstvos.
County councils, called zemstvos, were
introduced in 1865. and town councils,
called doumas. in 1870. They were given
most of the benevolent functions Of local
government-the care Of hospitals,
schools, roads. sanitation and the develop
ment Of agriculture. They were therefore
natural friends of the peasants. while the
odious functions of the police remained
with the central government. Local OFF,
Gals were elected on an absurdly high
franchise. so that all the poor members of
the intelligencia were more or less ex-
cluded from the polls. But still many Of
that class were elected to office. The best
of the country gentry served in the
zemstvo-men Of good families, who in
other countries would have been In the
ministry or the parliament. BY zemstvo
work they secured the only training in ad-
ministration that Russia offered. They
founded schools all over the country, the
tended to- and many zemstvos employed
salaried experts to teach the people agr1-
culture. Household industries were en-
couraged, the local zemstvos acting as
further improvements. large number Of
schoolmasters and doctors were brought
into the country to work among the peas
ants.
intelligencia and the peasants and has
been Invaluable in the propaganda Of lib
eral political ideas. But they were In no
sense revolutionary Witts s saw sn f dnnma IN
would become the actual basis OF govern
ment in the country. and so reported to the
car in a private memorandum.
THE zemstvos always elected peasants
to their executive boards. In some dis
tricts the peasants had a majority In tho
zemstyos.
THE ministry was always afraid OF the
zemstvos and tried In vain to identiIy
them with the revolutionists. The govern
ment hindered their work. raised the iran
chise and in some cases dismissed the en-
tire membership for spending money TO
helm the peasants In consequence or this
the local hospitals fell almost into dflap-
idation. and many Of the schools were
closed.
Unpopular Land Captains.
Land captains, who are so odious to the
peasants. were introduced by the govern
ment to recover it's lost hold over them
They had a discretionary power OF arrest,
and their tyranny provoked revolutionary
feeling among the peasants. It would be
absurd to deny that considerable section
Of the peasantry had become revolutionary
In 1904. i had many talks with them which
made that quite clear.
Meanwhile a few members OF severa!
zemstyos began working for more hoerai
order of things. In 1878 Pierre Petrunkye-
vich persuaded the revolutionaries to abstain
from action and presented to the zemst-
vos a broad and simple plan for politi-
cal reform. He was arrested and banished
to Kostroma. After the murder OF Alex
ander II there was panic among the
zemstvos but sixty brave men of different
zemstvos Joined in q league and held Sc
cret meetings to form plans to improve the
economic conditions of the peasants. These
meetings took place yearly in the early
eos.
I'm 1894 Rodichen induced the zemstvos
of Tver to send an address to the new
emperor. which was most moderate in its
0bcholas. He was asked At the beginning