The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1906-04-09
EMPEROR MUST
yy:<lD To PEOPLE
>9S
sSs1V3InmanpS Calculations Rude
y Upset by EIsciOn Results
LIBERALS HAVE GREAT LEAD
Indications Are That Constitutional
Democrats Have Gained Tremen-
dous Victory Over octoberists
and Other Conservatives.

ST. Petersburg April S.--The electoral
colleges in twenty-eght out of the fifty
one provinces in European Russia to-
day elected 17s members to the national
parament-about one-third of its entire
membership-and returns received up to
midnight indicate that the widest hopes
of the liberals have been realized, the
constitutional democrats and old progress
twists practically everywhere having gain
ed tremendous victory over the Octo-
berists and other conservatives.
As far as is ascertaned not a single
reactonary candidate pulled through.
and no where did even the Octoberists
score triumph. The majorities obtained
by the radicals clinch the character of
the victory From the frontier of Poland
and from the still ice-bound coast OF
Archange to the Black sea. the story is
substantially the same.
Many Peasants Are Elected
one of the astonishing as we'll as hope
full signs for the future is the eharae-
ter of many of the peasants elected Be
fore the electoral college began to elect
the members allotted province, the
peasants separately chose one of their
number a candidate. This provision
was designed to appease the peasants
and was soon regarded by the government
as nsuring conservative nucleus but
this calculation has been sadly upset for
in almost every instance the peasants
elected not only We're progressivists but
the most highly educated among their
class, the majority of them at least hav-
ing a high school education A peasant
in smblrsk named Alladin was educated
in England.
In the Nolga district and the central
provinces where famine and agrarian dis
orders ghaves beea the greatest the peas
ant vote wa most radical
In samara by vote of SO to they chose
socialist, while the members elected
by the college were donator, four zemst-
vosts and five progressive peasants.
In far away Ufa, the border territory.
the orenburg Cossacks returned a solid
progressive delegation consisting OF four
Russians and six Mussulmans.
Social RevoIutionist.
The effect of the revolutionary out
breaks at Sebastopol was reflected in the
results in Taurida which includes the
whole of the Crimea, where the peasants
chose social revolutionis;
In the province of Grodno in the Jew
ish pale a cold progressive delegation
was chosen including two Jews.
Tver. where Governor General Steptzon
was assassinated Saturday, was swept by
the constitutional democrats by an over
whelming majority Ivan Petrunkevitch,
leader of the constitutional democrats, and
against whom the opposition was eoncen-
trated and Rodicheff and Kuzminkara-
vief we're triumphantly elected.
Among other prominent persons elect
ed are Prince Balataiteff, the well known
zemstvoist worker of Simblrsk; Prince
Shakensky, and Prof Mlaximo Kovotev-
sky of Kharkoff.
In Favor of Progressives.
While no definite results of the muni-
cipal election held today are known they
seem also everywhere to have gone in
favor of the progressives. In Minsk the
radical Russians and Jews and Poles
formed a coalition and decided to put up
joint ticket comprised of four Jews, two
Poles and one Russian.
| Todays results prove beyond question
that the calculations of the government
have been rudely upset and that the op-
position elements will control the national
parliment by a decisive majority. Premier
| Whites efforts to induce Emperor Nicho-
| las to proclaim constitution should now
be greatly reinforced.
Another crisis plainly confronts the
government for the sweeping character
of their victory undoubtedly will encour-
age the liberals to push the government
to the walls, and 1t should seem that the
Emperor must yield to the entreaties of
those who counsel a final surrender by
| issuing a constitution to the people, or
dispensing the national parliament as soon
as it assemblies. There seems no alterna-
tive except the choice of one of these two
\