The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1906-02-13
PRESENT TREND
OF THE GEAR AND
HIS VAST EMPIRE

| given Dy MIN Oh SlOlpddg evenings a.
Brown university. He announced. how
ever that after talking with President
Faunce. he would give another lecture
next Monday evening on the subject which
was to have been delivered last week on
German Milltiarism."
His subject last evening was Which
J Way Is Russia Fighting Now?' 1t was
rather a dark picture that he had 70 paint
OF Russia. and although he hoped he
! would not have 10 go before anybody
like the senate inquiry because of any
OF his statements. he said hey were In
the main personal impressions end the
result OF personal observations in Rus
sia
He said in part History is generally in
| teresung II must be studied from us
causes II events In history surprise us
IT is because we go in conventional grooves
OF thought. We are travelling rapidly, es-
pecially in the newspaper world, srd liko
! 10 accept our own pet theories and not
| have them disturbed by unforeseen { .ents
| As a nation. having remarkable luck. We
are quick at understanding the faults OF
| others. The Russian Is much like our
| selves except that ne does not have our
! nervous energy lie needs 10 be spurred
/ TO activity. Russian history takes as
| back thousand years ago. when Russia
was much more civilized than today. Just
/ as In Spain and many other great nations
| that nourished as world powers in glory
| and splendor hundreds OF years ago-to-
| day. II you travel through them, you find
little to suggest the magnihcence or Fer
lnand aid isabella and Charles V.
/ The Scandanavians and Norsemen. who
! had their stations In all parts or Russia,
/ respected civil and personal independence.
/ Again history is made up OF dramatic
/ events A country which has had no
! troubles Is tedious 10 read about, for ex-
| ample Switzerland. French history. on
! the contrary, is intensely interesting. on
| account Of the tyranny of the kings ana
the social interest of the lower classes
| Likewise, with Russia. In studying
\ nation YOU must go behind the scenes
and the pales of Official reports and look
at the people Mr.. Smith. who saw Russia
from the court circles. made a magnificent
speech at Philadelphia regarding her
| prowess l. having seen something OF the
! country among the people themselves.
saw that the opposite was the case ana
the war substantiated it clearly
! The character OF the people may pe
shown I'M I'm their ways of doing things.
| When I visited Warsaw TO see friend.
| had 10 go to a store nearby and while
| purchasing a piece OF music Incidentally
| inquired for the man I was looking Tor.
When the Gar passes through warsaw,
| the people are made 10 get out and stand
.l | ike OUfnnlltS anu enONAs AShb 49,
! Czar," while the police and guards stand
watch to detect AMI sign of disloyalty
| Likewise with Taft passing through the
Philippines In Poland, when this country
sent great supplies OF wheat 10 relieve the
famine, not a word was permitted In the
press about It, found that an autocracy
aid not think II could AFFORD 10 reveal
anv such weakness before the people. In
the army no Pole can get promotion be-
vond n captain, except in the east, the
government does not want them around
Poland. I'm case another instruction
should break out 1t is with Difficulty
that a Poland boy can get an education.
A singer in the theatre there responding
10 an encore sang a snatch OF a Polish
song the audience went wild. but imme-
dsately the chief OF police rushed In and
stopped t. and hurried the singer out or
the country When you go to hotel, a
very suave gentleman shows you marked
attention and kindly wants to know your
| business, which information Is soon IN the
hands of the police.
What religion Russia has may be called
Christian An official once married
Greek woman, who made him change his
! religion So then his subjects changed
theirs and consequently became Chris
tian Russian religion is a matter OF form.
| no priest cares TO discuss II. as In this
country. Again a heavy intellectual feel
| ing exists everywhere. The peasant is
! sodden in his vice and drink his world
lies in his COW. his house and his drink.
! II YOU talk 10 him, he cannot follow you
TO talk 10 him about constitution and
liberty is wasting time. The people are
| not ready for II. II the individual OF a
| hation is sound and healthy. then the ma
ton is sound and healthy. People rarely
get behind the scenes. Foreigners coming
| here cannot understand the independence
and morality OF the American boy They
can't see how he can be brought UP side
| by side with his sister To see n woman
| alone In Russia Is considered lawful prey.
Russia calls herself a military autoc-
| racy. which holds millions In check.
There are no leaders among the people
| Lock at Russia geographically, a great
| mass of territory, with the brains an in
the northwest. Here the Vikings, the
Iutherans. the Firms and German Prot
| estants say their prayers every night,
praying for her downfall They have been
completely subjugated,
In the German provinces things have
been Russifed. the German university
has been changed and the priests go about
! everywhere backed up by the police. In
the eouth are large reservations where
| Germans have settled. These privileges
| have been violated time and again by the
| government In Poland the people are
! superior TO the average Russian. In all
| those they have the element of real aris-
tocracy. They little dreamed that the
pivot OF empire would be in the east.
When the railroad was built men were
needed 10 operate the telephone and to
telegraph. The government had 90 get
these very people. offensive to Its tyr
amy. 10 do the work. When the war
came they were more interested In Civ
ing news to the Japs than TO the govern
ment. So the army went TO pieces. The
navy was manned with those hardy
Firms. enemies OF the Russian dynasty
| You could not change their revolving
| hearts to loyal ones.
The Russian today is degenerate. he has
learned to distrust every force that no
| ought 10 respect. Such n people cannot
| have a republic. We can only antic' gate
! such reform as followed the German war
| Of As, which led 10 reorganization and Of
| hciency. / would venture to think that
we will zee that Russia will profit by