New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1907-05-29
EVOLUTION Or REVOLUTIoNr

Lowell once remarked upon the tendency of
people Of certain limits of intelligence TO spell
"evolutiOn' with an initial 'r." The question
whether or not it shall be spelled, whether in
brief, affairs shall be readjusted through evoIu-
ton or revolution, is really the one paramount
issue Of the day in Russia, upon which not only
the continuance of this Donna but also the in
tegrity of the empire depends. This has been
made Enthusiastically clear in the last week or two
i'll the proceedings in the DOuma and in the
| transactions between it and the Prime Minister
Apart from the reactonares, who are opposed
to either and who desire what we might call re-
pressve involutiOn, the Donna Is divided be.
tween the policies of evolution and of revolution
The evolutionists, of whom the Constitutional
Democrats are the chief part consider that n
sufficient revolution has already been effected in
the granting of q constitution, suffrage and an
. elective parliament, and aim now to proceed
through orderly evolution to the development of
a completely satisfactory system of free repre-
sentative government and TO the correction of the
social Ills from which the empire suffers The
revolutOnists led by the Socialists want to turn
everything upside down at once or smash 1t out
right, and from the chaos thus precIpitated To
erect an entirely new state and new order OF
aHalrs' ana IN that strenuous process they would
nave no regard for rights or equity or for any
thing but their own crude desires
The most striking and instructive concrete an
pllcatlon of these rival principles concerns the
land question, which all are agreed IS funda-
mental There must be q distribution of the
lana among the millions OF peasants who are
now landless. All are agreed on that point. But
how Is it to be done? The evolutionists would
90 1t through purchase and sale The great land
owners want to sell, can easily be persuaded
10 sell. The evolutionlsts would have the state
purchase the estates at reasonable prices and sell
them again in small parcels to the Deasants on
easy terms. mat process Is, in fact, already in
eA'ensne ana successful operation, being facl-
llated by the medium of land bank, and there
Is reason TO believe it might be continued mill
IN the near future the whole aprarian nrobIero
Is thus solved. But the revolutionlsts viii
nave none of 1t. They are for Compulsory er
propriation," which is a euphemism for conf,sco-
ton. They would seize mans land he hA will
ing or unwilling and would pay him something
or nothing for IL, according to their own arh.
trary caprice, and then distribute it among the
peasants, in entire disregard of the circumstance
that they were thus establishing precedent nm
der which the land might at any time similarly
be snatched from the peasants and given to
some one else
There need be no hesitation in saving that
public opinion in all countries where law. order
and justice prevail and where rational self.
government is praetised is on the side of the
evolutionIsts. and would regard it as calamity
II the revolutlonists should carry the day in the
Douma and thus cause the dissolution of thar
body. For that ii would be dissolved ~ n cam
mftted Itself TO the land coniscation scheme. and
that 1t would deserve TO be, there can be little
doubt. Indeed. it is a mournful and disrradit
able fact that that is the very end which manv
OF the revolutionsts have in view. They have
no nope that the contiscatory policy would he
adopted by the government if the Douma sbouJd
ehact II, but they do expect and hope that If il
were mus enacted the Douma would be dis
MISSED III disgrace, and they think that would be
capIlai way IN which to smash things" and
TO precipltate the chaos which tbev das,ra =.