The Detroit times., 1909-06-26
DESPAIR FEVER
SWEEPS RUSSIA
Peculiar Malady Goads Hundreds TO
Self. Destruction-Czar To Have
Private Newspaper

ST. PETERSBURG, June 25.7-ln
despair fever" Or. Dvoretzky, a well
known professor OF the KEN uniyer-
sity has discovered. isolated and given
name 20 new Russian disease. lie
says 4. is disease which Is spread
ing with tremendous swlttness and
shows itself in vast majority OK
cases in the desire OF the patient 10
commit suicide.
AS far as the professor knows the
disease Is confined To Russia. Here
all strata OF Russian society and al!
ages and sexes are suffering from II.
II affects the l0-year-old child and the
loctogenarian alike.
DIR. Dvoretzky does not maintain
that Il is new disease. His con
tention Is simply that for the nrsI
) time the awful ailment with which
all Russia is afflicted has been classi-
fed and named The average mum
, Der OF those who commit suicide every
month In Russia is S50-more than
600 each year. All Of these, Dr.
Dvoretzky SAYS, are sufferers from
, despair fever"
In Moscow alone there were. last
YEAR nearly 600 cases and in 81. Pc
tersburg nearly 1900.
Most OF the deaths are among
young men and women between the
ages OF is and 80 The most popular
} form OF death is poison. but there are
numerous other we'll approved forms
OF self-destruction In Odessa. for ex'
ample. no less than ak persons SUI
fering from despair fever consumed
themselves with fire.
Or. Dvoretzky says be sails the dis
ease despair fever" because It's VIC
tins are always persons who md
nothing but despair IL the future both
as regards their own lot and the fate
of the country In which they live
They see nothing but WEAKNESS and
a stagnant life for themselves and
nothing but increasing unhappiness
for the country This stagnant lie
the Russian youth fear even moro
than death.
Cars Special Newspaper
The Gar has issued an order that
a special newspaper be prepared for
this personal use. The circulation Of
this imperial journal is 20 be one copy
will contain extracts from the reports
Of all the police projects Of Russia
together with such news from abroad
as concerns Russia and especially as
concerns the Russian government IA
its struggle with nihilism and an
larchy
There are 20 be - numbers year.
and the annual volume when com
I - ~
/ the size and shape of Punch.
! Before the Car sees his newspaper
lit will be carefully gone through by
the chief cerkor and minister OF the
interior. No one else is 20 see It. The
matter will be so changed that the
writer's Of the reports can form no
4aAeauate- idea OF the contents OF this
unique newspaper.
In reading the sheets the Gar viii
make marginal notes. which are 70 De
Iseut 20 the ministers concerned.
s preliminary number has been pre-
pared 70 test the scheme. Some cop
lies escaped the vigilance OF the min
| lister Of the interior and loose sheets.
! II not the entire newspaper have wan
Gered out OF Russia into the hands OF
! the Swiss nihirst committees.
How Russ,a's Press Fares.
This establishing of an especial
| journal for the Cars personal peru
sal makes timely the news OF the lat
est action OF the government in pun
fishing an editor who offended against
the ethics OF journalism. Proprietors
Of newspapers the world over work
under conditions approaching Utopia
as compared with the obstacles which
beset the path OF the publicist here
Since the beginning OF 1903 there have
been 532 cases In which editors and
other newspaper men have been eth
er arrested and semitic prison or ex-
PEELED from the country.
As an example OF the kind Of OF
lenses for which the press Of RUSSIA
is amenable 20 punishment. the case
Of the editor Of the BatetFa NeHesd
IS Illuminating In announcing thaI
the governor Of Kutais had resigned
the NoyOsti omitted 10 give list Of
his titles For this crime. which
was pronounced an offense against au-
thority. The editor was fined $3.50 and
publication Of the newspaper was sus-