The Bolivar County Democrat., 1916-03-18
German Arms Are Blasting the
Shackles Off the Rack
ward Empire.
NEW PATRIOTISM is AROUSED
Honest Attempts Of Government to
Solve Problems Encourages Intel
lectuaIs to Look Por Better
Things-Remarkab Exploit
of a Russian Soldier.

| Petrograd.-Out OF the tears and suf-
ferings of the great war new Russia
| is being born-a Russia Of fair govern
ment, progress and economic solidity.
This is the belief of many patriots.
Perhaps it is all beautiful dream.
The patriots were profoundly discour-
aged last September when the czar
prorogated the duma. But hope re-
vived and was intensified fivefold
when Nicholas not only called togeth-
er his congress again, but few days
ago appeared in person at the opening
of this representative body and well
coined the members in the name OF
victory.
1t is hard for western minds to COM
prehend just what this action OF The
Little Father" meant to the Russian
mujik. To the humble. peasant his
czar is a demigod, indeed almost an
equal of the Virgin Mary and the
Christ. For him to personally receive
the peasants representatives was an
inspiration for the wardriyen Rus
sian.
The further proceedings Of the duma
will therefore be watched with more
interest than ever. The body is pa
triotic to the last man and the liberal
block, or union of parties, has de-
cided to forego pressing for reforms
until the crisis in the nations history
is past.
The Premier, M. Sturmer, has rec
ord of conservatism which does not
recommend him to the liberal elements,
yet, like the czar, he now conciliates
the most radical and so combines the
mighty people to oppose united front
to the German.
The honest attempts of the govern
ment to solve the frightful transporta-
tion problem, which has resulted in
famine in one province with super
abundance of the needed products in
another nearby province, are gen.
orally recognized, The efforts have
not met with great success, however.
Russian bureaucracy, unlike the Ger
man brand, is not efficient. But the
spirit in which the problem has been
met, like the severe measures taken
to root out and punish war grating
in high places, have encouraged the In
tellectuals to look for better things.
NJ. Sazonoff, the foreign minister, is
another government official who,
though a conservative. has gained the
respect and confidence of the people.
1t is felt that Russia's delicate rela-
tions with her allies and with Sweden
and the United States are in good
hands.
Even if Russia should lose this war,
or it should result in draw, great
changes are to be expected Russian
reforms have grown out of conflict.
When toyd-George, the British min
lister of munitions, said that German
arms are blasting the fetters off back
ward Russia he told the truth. -"'
1t was the constant incursions of the
Tartars which led to the consolidation
of old Russia about Moscow A reign
Of terror in the first half of the sew
enteenth century led to the formation
of the house of Romanoff, under which
the Russian empire has grown to it's
present greatness.
Great Giant AWakens.
A century later the war with Sweden
brought the nation to a realization Of
its need of western ways. Under Pc
ter the Great the Swedish struggle re-
suited in the permanent alignment Of
Russia with the nations of the West,
instead Of the civilizations of the East.
With the Napoleonic wars Russia
took several more steps out of her
semi-Asiatic seclusion. The Crimean
war brought further spread of en-
lightened ideas and had much to do
with the famous emancipation of the
serfs. The feudal system received fur
ther blows at the end of the Turkish
war Of 1S77-fS. =
AS a climax to the Russo-Japanese
war came the bloody revolution of
1905, the birth of the first duma and
the seeming dawn of freedom.
But it was false dawn. There fol
lowed reaction of the most terrible
sort, pogroms, wholesale arrests, the
Suppression VI 4lD6Idl luedS anu great
shipments of the intellectual leaders
to Siberia.
This era was passing away when the
war began, In. the spring of 1914 the
DANA dared to refuse Ito pass. the
budget. 1t fought the reactionary gov
ernment on almost equal terms. Sc
The war caused the liberal leaders
to consent to delay. Old institutions
were allowed to stand unchallenged
in the hour Of crisis when every nerve
and sipew of the nation were needed
in the great trial of arms.
The war itself has done much to
enlighten. The ignorant young peas
ant, who seldom went more than fifty
miles from his little village, has trav.
eled to the battle front and talked
with all sorts Of men he never
! dreamed existed.
The suppression of vodka has
wrought marvels. The older peasant
instead of spending his evenings in
besotting revels, now takes his place
IN little group around some man O,