The Washington herald., 1914-03-08

That was the essence Of our complaint.
We were called Nihllists. That word.
however. lacked In meaning. We were
revolutionists. as we're George Washing
ton. John Adams and Thomas Jefferson.
''In our studies Of governmental ques-
tions, we naturally became socialistic In
our opinions. We wanted TO end tyranny
and set I'D a government Of the people.
a brotherhood among human beings.
First we were revolutionists. In that we
sought to destroy the monarchy: then We
were Socialists. In that We meant TO es-
tablish equality among men. You see
the two doctrines worked together.
I'VE were young. ardent and optimistic.
There was n possible day. we argued.
when there would be no rich or no poor.
We were practical men as revolutionists.
but ! suppose we were dreamers as So
cialists. We had higher ideals than those
foundationed on purely material. things.
Poverty was unnatural. but then, too.
there were matters of the spirit-good-
ness. generosity. self-sacrifice and so on.
Our meetings. you understand, were
held In secret. ] had belonged to circle
In wilma. I Joined another at Welsh,
where ! was sent as a teacher. One day
letter came from my mother. In IL
was a sentence OF warning Your friend.
she said. mentioning his name. is dead.
was present. al MS Iuncfdl anu VIC
buried him deep. deep
THE repetition of the word deep al
ways means something to the Russian
jew. 1t Is a peculiar word and can be
sarcastic. cautionary D: humorous. My
mother never joked. ] understood that
my friend had been buried IN Siberia.
And SO he was. but he came back after
many years.
We'll. Abraham !Cahan. government
teacher. began to clean house at once.
burned all OF my dangerous papers
and books except volume by Kari
Marx, the German Socialist II had just
come into my hands and was crazy ID
keep II unfil ! found what II contained
i would drop II out of my wiEdow int
the shrubbery of the garden, / said to
myself. II I heard the police.
Gendarmes Search His Room.
Breaking into my dreams, as ! slept
in my room ono afternoon. were strange
sounds. i felt. as I struggled to get
awake. that the gendarmes had finally
come. II was so. Karl Marks book
was on the bed at my side. A colonel
and half dozen of his men came
roaring UP the stairs. They were fierce
looking rufiians. and that is the way they
wanted to loOk-big. bearded men in
uniforms with spurs on their feet.
1--WE are here to search your lodg-
inGs.' tho colonel said.
They paved over my papers and books
for five hours. pretending to read. though
they were as ignorant as beasts One
of them saw the book by Karl Marx,
Oh ! explained. that's a work on
commerce. To them commerce meant
agriculture. So the goods were not found
on me- at that time.
"Such were the men the government
sent to investigate the libraries Of stu
dents and scholars. A gendarme saw an
algebra on the table Of one Of my friends.
Who is this Algebra he asked in a loud
voice, thinking II was the name OF
man.
The gendarmes brought two witnesses
to my room-two shrinking victims whom
they picked up in the street. One OF them
trembled so much that he could not
speak But looked the colonel straight
in the face and showed no sign OF the
great fear felt. Some old-fashioned
Jew I said to the colonel. may be Of
Tended because l am not teaching He
brew, but other subjects in a Gentle
school He may have complained 10 the
thinking me a wicked young
man.