The morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1899-1930, 1909-02-25
STATEMENT OF RUSSIAN
Defense COMMITTEE
BITTERLY DENouNcE EX.
TRADITION PROCEEDINGS
IN NEW YORK.

| The developments in the extradi
tion proceedings recently commene
ed and vindictiyely carried on by tn,
Russian Government in New Yorl
and Chicago justify the opposition
made in 1893 to the ratification o
the Extraditon Treaty under who's,
provisions the Russian Government
is acting.
More than Is years have passee
since the promulgation Of that treaty
Since then, the Russian people have
been profoundly agitated by a rcve,
Intionary movement. unprecedented
ior patriotic herosim on the one side
and for hideous atrocities on the
other--the governmental side,
During the two years succeeding
the Cars manifesto OF October 80
1905, granting to his people funda.
mental constitutional liberties, in
complete statistics of the Russian
Government itself show that 1924
persons were convicted Of political
otfenses Of these, 27i7 we're sen.
fenced to death.
An official report Of a committee oi
the Second Douma states that in the
Lettish region from August, 1900.
on, the punishments assumed the
character Of ycritahle tortmcs, to
wiring confessions from the prison.
ers, and then to deliver them to the
Field Courts-Martial Where such
confessions could not be extracted.
prisoners were shot or bayouettcd
without semblance OF trial"
Out OF this Lettish region came
Jan Janoff Pouren, who has for over
year been, and still is, imprisoned
in a New York Jail upon the demand
Of the Car, and Christian Rudowitz,
whose extradition to Russia was or.
dered by a United States Commits.
sioner in Chicago, but was refused
by the State Department on the
ground that the offenses CHARGED
were Of a political character. In the
Rudowitz case, as we'll as in that OF
Jan Pouren, common felonies were
charged and extradition was de.
manded under false pretenses,
In both these cases the defense
has been established, by document
airy evidence and by the testimons
of eye witnesses, that the alleged
offenses, il ever committed, were acts
OF political warfare in the course Of
the revolutionary uprisings Of Rus.
sia, Even the evidence produced by
the Russian Government clearly in
dicates the political character Of the
offenses. The witnesses for the ac-
cused, with rare heroism. volunteered
their testimony, though realizing that,
in so doing, they were ieopardizing
their liberty and life. In both cases
the attorneys for the Russian Gov.
ernment persistently attempted to
wiring from the witnesses on the
stand such information about persons
identified with the revolutionary
cause, still in Russia, as would enable
the Russian Government to visit
vengeance upon them. In the Rudo.
witz case one witness, Martin Juraw,
was held by a Judge for contempt of
court, because he refused to divulge
the names of such persons II this
is good law, it means that in the
future it will be morally impos-
sible for a Russian refugee to
offer any testimony proving the po'
litical character OF his offense, mas
much as every witness can be asked
to name his associates in the reovlu-
tionary organization at home and
thus be confronted with the alterna.
tive Of becoming traitor to his com.
rades or going to jail for contempt
of court. The exemption contained
in the treaty in favor of political refu.
gees will become a dead letter.
These refugees are people Of limit
ed means, living quietly in our midsf
by the proceeds Of their honest toll
Left to their own resources they
cannot successfully defend their lib,
crty against the legal talent em.
ployed by the Russian Government
and paid with the fat fees from the
Russian treasury. Their friends arc
too poor to raise the enormous ex
Denses Of long series Of court pro,
,eedings. In contest Of purses
between them and the Russian treas
1rv fbh Iafter Mill ettraiy, min