The Washington herald., 1916-02-20

even MS LIE. And Countess lngatieVs
and her circle of high court dignitaries
are not merely peace advocates; they are
openly pro-German. The salon of the
countess before the war was the favorite
meeting place of German attaches, and
here fruitless efforts to stem the tide OF
Pan-Slav feeling were Matched.
Representative in Duma.
The representative of this peace fac
ton in the Duma are those members OF
the extreme right who refused to join
the progressive bloc, and who recently
were permitted by the government to
hold congress in Moscow and another
in Nljni-Novgorod when the government
forbade a congress of Zemstvos, or pro-
vineial legislatures, to assemble. The
leader of Count Frederick's party I'm the
Duma is NJ. Marklakov, minister of the
interior when war broke out, and he said
in speech to the congress of the right:
Il am quite at a loss to understand why
Russia went to war with Germany. Both
states depend upon each other, and their
historical development shows that they
must be in close friendly relations"
These names have given must not be
confused with the traitors who have been
discovered In every department of public
life in Russia. Most of the members of
the court party in all probability never
did and do not now desire the victory of
Germany over Russia. Their position is
that Russia's traditional enemy is Great
Britain. The present war. in their view.
was undertaken by Russia to win con-
troll In the Balkans and to crush the pow
er of Austria Hungary, and the war with
Germany is regarded as an accidental
and unfortunate collision between nat
ural allies. To allow Germany to be
crushed, in the view OF the court party,
would be equivalent to signing their own
death warrants, for it is by an alliance
between the two great autocratic en-
pires Of Europe that the bureaucrats ex-
pect and hope to turn back the rising
tide OF liberalism In the world.
To persons holding such views the sit.
uatiCn now seems ripe for peace, be-
cause they admit that Russia's hopes in
the Balkans have been ended on the
battlefield and claim that Russia's future
now lies in close political union with
Germany, with the spells of India loom
ing in the distant future to take the
place Of the now shattered dream of Con-
stantinople.
wouId Continue War.
The members OF the progressive bloc
In the duma, who represent all classes
in the empire excepting the bureaucrsts,
accept the bureaucratic view that a VIC
tory Of England and France means the
end of absolutism in Russia, and for that
reason they are determined to continue
the war regardless of the sacrifices in
volved. They not only overwhelmingly
command the Duma. but are supported
by at least six of the fourteen Russian
war minister. Polivanofr;
the foreign minister, Sazonof; the finance
Bark: the head of the depart
ment of general control. Khartonoff. and
two ministers appointed last fall in the
place of men attained by the Duma NJ
Trepotf, minister OF ways and comm uni
cations. and NJ NaumoH. minister of
agriculture. The aged Premier Goremy-
kin is generally understood to have join
ed the peace party. and the Duma is al
most unanimously against him. khvos-
toff, the new minister OF the interior, is
n member of the right and did not join
the progressive group, and has been de-
scribed as a progressive reactionary. He
seems to be trying to win the favor of the
Gar by keeping in the good graces of
both sides, and is widely spoken of as
the next premier.
1t seems TO be the hope OF the pro-
German party to force the Gar into
peace by fomenting trouble throughout
the country. Just before the Duma wa.
dissolved. moderate liberal delivered a
chinations of the pro-Germ which was,
of course, suppressed. The following
summary Of what this deputy said is
given TO show what incredible conditions
were alleged few months ago:
Some Allegations.
The important part of the speech was
that the munition factories were under
the control either of Germans or of men
with known German sympathies and the
workers received materials for making
shells sometimes only eight days a month;
that the evacuation of Riga had left
the big machinery and engineering
works untouched and that, II the town
fell, they might be taken over in full
swing by the enemy: that this was not
due to shortage of trucks, as not half
the trucks daily supplied by the railway
to the commandment were load
ed for dispatch; that this new comman-
dant OF Riga was man who only a week
or two before had been dismissed as
unreliable from the position Of governor
general of the Baltic provinces; and that
the head of communications on one of
the chief railways was a certain Kas-
peron, born in Austria, who had quite
recently sent from Petrograd a train load
ed with ornaments for the front to-
VIadivostok-
In conclusion, I desire to make it per-
fectly clear that there is not the slight
est chance, SO far as my information
tends to show, that these German in
trigues in Russia will succeed, and ii
do not believe that Russia will make
peace. There was a chance for
that last fall. but the firmness of the
ear and the overwhelming manifestations
Of that new force in Russia, public opin-
lon. defeated the intrigues of the court
party. Russia's new millions now arm
ing to enter the fray will have their
chance. backed UP by cannon that will
shoot and plenty of shells. Not Until, and
unless. the Germans again infiict tre-
defeats upon the armies of Gen.
eral Alexieff will the peace party man.
suvers be dangerous. The fate of the
Duma and of liberal government is in
deed in doubt, but not that of the al
lance with England and France.
This last point is very important, be-
cause the amazing story of the Princess
and the mention of the
high dignitaries who have had enough !
of fighting. might easily give a false
impression. about conditions In Russia.
Americans know German propaganda and |
plotting better than they did a year ago.
and they know that the most Ingenious
H. ralI IL