Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1907-03-30
OTHER LANDS THAN OURs.

AliNH NpIINleIHlN luAn any OANeI NAAANAtA "a
the government Entering the service Of
the empire in 1876 at the age OF ls his
ability and loyalty were rewarded by adj
vancement step by step until he became
a member OF the council OF state in 1S72.
Eight years later he was appointed pro-
curator general OF the Holy Synod, a
position he held with inhexible authority
until 1905. Probably no post In Russia
could have given Pobiedonosteff greater
scope for moldlng public policies. The
Holy Synod Is one OF the four great ex-
ecutive councils Of the empire. II has
absolute control Of ecclesiastical affairs,
and by reason Of the close union OF church
and state exercises surprising influence
in the government. The procurator- general
Is the representative OF the car in the
Holy Synod, and OF the church in the
cabinet Pobiedonostseff was legal adviser
TO the metropolitan OF the church and for
years past had the power OF appointment OF
archbishops, bishops and priests. Thus
he had complete control Of the ecclesiasti-
cal machinery of the empire and swayed
II as his will dictated. man OF ex-
traordinary ability. a jurist of conceded
eminence, intense in his fealty to auto
cratic government. he concentrated all the
resources Of his skill and power in sup
pressing all movements of a republican
tendency. Only one faint gllmmer Of
liberty lights his record Of tyranny. He
favored the emancipation OF the serfs.
Pobliedonostseff pursued his policy Of re-
preston without assembling. He made no
concession or compromise Every brand OF
reformer from terrorists to constitutional
list, looked alike TO him and he struck at
and struck down each with as little
ceremony as the convience Of the Cossacks
would permit. The limit to his resistance,
as well as his power came when the
japanese winged the Russian eagles on the
plains of Manchuria. Not the least notable
feature OF Pobliedonostseff's life is that he
reached the patriarchal age Of four score
and died natural death.
Recent events in the Transvaal are signi-
ficant and tend to show that the soul Of
Paul Kruger is marching on The first
Parliament Of the colony under the new
constitution met in the hall in Pretoria in
which the late president Of the Boer re-
public presided for so many years over the
sittings of the upper Volksraad OF that
day, and the stage settings were the same.
Premier Botha, the Boer chieftain, occupied
the center OF the stage, a staunch repre-
sentative OF the old order in the new
setting. A singular scene was enacted
when the matter of electing a speaker
came up. Mr.. Hoffmayer took the chair
and proceeded to explain the method OF
electing a speaker. He was interrupted
with the shout, Speak Dutch" and this
was followed by loud applause Accord
ingly he finished his explanation IN Dutch.
General Botha> nominated General Boyer
for speaker and the leader Of the pro-
gressive party nominated Mr.. stocken-
ctr
his origin. He was put forward in the hope
Of dividing the ministerialists, but the
premier's nominee was elected. and he re-
turned thanks in English. Then he ad-
adjourned the house In Dutch amid cries
of Speak English" from the opposition.
On the uppermost question before Parlia-
ment, the Chinese question there was no
confusion OF tongues With emphatic
unanimity the ministerial measures for ex-
GLIDING Aslatics were approved at the first
session. The disposition OF the Chinest i'm
ported two years ago to work in the mines
is a matter for future action. South Afri-
can whites are Just as determined as Aus
tralians and Californians in the opposition
of coolie labor.
The school teachers of France. or rather
the big body of radicals among Them have
been carrying on an agitation for some
time I'm order to secure the right OF or
ganizing themselves into trade union. No
government, hitherto. has given them the
least encouragement in this ambition, but
they have continued to indulge in sangulne
expectations. owing to the recent develop
ment of socialistic influences The other
day an association of Seine school teachers
appeared at the Labor exchange in Paris.
intending to install themselves in one of
the rooms that had been put at their dis
posal by the managing committee. The
project OF the Seine gave orders that they
should not be admitted. Thereupon they
demanded an interview with M. Clemen-
ceau, who left them in no doubt as to his
position. The trade union law OF 1884 he
said, did not apply to school teachers,
though ne admitted the legitimacy of GER
tain kinds of formal association among
civil servants. The government, he added,
was preparing a bill on the subject. But
before allowing the school teachers dele
gates to depart he again declared that It
was impossible to permit members OF their
profession to join a political organisation
whose object was not only TO upset the
government. but to overturn the existing
social order you will not easily find
ministry" he said, which will consent to
hand over the government to a trade union
bureaucracy" The whole subject IL likely
to be threshed out in the Chamber before
long.
Consul @. A. Bucklin, jr., OF Glauchau re-
ports that another effort Is now being made
In that district Of Germany to raise wages
and shorten hours of work. concerning
which he writes:
The workers in the knitting machine
needle factories have been having fire.
ouent meetings and have resolved to pre-
sent to their employers, through a COM
mittee therefor, a demand for a nine-hour
day, a 20 per cent increase and Is per
cent additional hourly wage for overtime
work. The comparatively small number OF
workers originally affected has been in
creased by q considerable number OF bed
and table cover workers joining the move
ment.
This Is significant as carrying out among
the smaller bands OF wage-workers the gen
eral movement for higher wages which
has been going on In this region for several
years. Increasing prosperity has made the
movement generally successful, while in
creased cost of living has made Il neces-
sary. Strikes are now seldom resorted to-.
contracts between laborers and employers