New-York tribune., 1907-06-26
THE RUSSIAN APOLOGIA.

It cannot be said that the aspect Of the Rus
sian coup d'etGt is materially improved by the
0pOI0gtG which has just been put forth by zone
Of the most liberal members Of the Cabinet"
On the contrary, that utterance seems to do lit
tie more than to repeat the specious ana contra
dctory phrases of the imperial decree dismisslng
the Douma, and thus TO confirm the opinions al
ready formed Of the arbitrary conduct Of the
reactlonary autocracy. If it truly expresses the
mind of one Of the most liberal Of the Cars
ministers, 1t Is not pleasant to speculate upon
what may be the mind Of tho least liberal.
The Will Of the people is the supreme law"
begins this apolOgist Of reaction, and then com
plains Of the Russian people for "clamoring for
additional rights" and eIaborately approves the
Emperor's purpose to dismiss Douma after
Douma If necessary until he secures not one
that represents the people but one that is sub
servient to his will.
"My department introduced three hundred
bills which related to national needs which
could not properly be deferred" But the
Douma did not act upon them promptly, prefer
ring to legfslate according to what 1t conceived
to be the Will Of the people rather than at MIN
isterial dictatIon. Therefore the Douma was
dismissed and these most urgent needs, which
could not properly be deferred" were deferred
until some unmentoned time In the unmeasured
future
I'VE issued the law as did the Prusslans In
"1S4S. Most OF It's features are modelled on
German precedents" And nearly all Germany
has long been at the point OF revolt against q
partial, unjust and oppressive electoral system.
''Those classes" he continues, will possess q
majority in the new Douma which actually
''have the upper hand, as IN the American Con-
"gress.' The only class which has n majority
In the American Congress or has the upper hand
in America Is the American nation, without re-
gard to racial origin, religious creed or social
standing.
THE new law farors genuine Russian stock
'at the expense Of aliens. The dlsrranchsement
"of aliens means the enfranchlsement OF Rus
"sans." SO not only the Jews, who are nation
without a country, are TO be dsfranchised, but
also the Poles and the Turcomans, whose coun-
tries Russia has seized. They are not TO be rep
resented in the Russian Douma, and yet neither
are they to- have legislatures OF their own
Poland is dead forever" The Poles are not to
have autonomy as Poles, nor are they TO enter
the Douma as Russians, but they, together with
Jews, Turcomans and all other "alicns' whom
Russia has dragged forcIbly into the Russian
empire against their Will, are TO be held forever
political serfs and helots
1t is a sorry showing. that, for the yindlcatlon
Of the government OF a great empire. There IS
scarcely phrase or Il word IN It which Will
command the sympathy Of tho world. Where 1t
IS not speclOus or hypocrltical It IS cynical But
perhaps such qualities are appropriate to the
apologize OF such coup d'etQt. The gist OF It
all Is that the autocracy VIII let the democracy
have its way only so long as It's way Is such
as the autocracy dictates. That is the estimate
of the Russian situation to which the world has
reluctantly been forced to come.