Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1917-03-16


in which the same spirit of good or
der prevailed through the hours when
the revolt was at it's height. Unor-
ganized crowds of revolters seemed
to take pride in 'doings things regu-
larly.'
I'm all sections of the city the
crowds commandered all motor cars
on the streets. but in every case took
the names of the occupants and prom
ised to report the names and circum-
stances to the Duma committee and
facilitate the return of the car.
Practically Bloodlcss
'In the view of the populace the
revolution was practically bloodless.
! Certainly there has been some loss of
life. but it is insignificant in popular
estimation as compared with the tre-
mendous results obtained. For some
weeks past everybody in Petrograd
realized that a crisis of some kind was
approaching. The temper even of
the most patient people in the world,
i becomes frayed when they are obliged
TO stand three or four hours in tenn
perature ten or twenty degrees below
zero waiting for bread which often
was not obtained. Potatoes had risen
to eight and nine times their ordinary
price and other food commodities
were at cost practically prohibitive
to the poor.
The explanations of the voluble
new Minister of Agriculture, NJ. Rit-
itch. were not calculated either to re-
lieve the present hunger or the anX-
| lety for the future. He ascribed the
delay in the arrival of flour to snow
storm. as though snow storms in Rus
sia in February were unparalleled
phenomena. The people in the streets
were not the only ones who squirmed
under this sort of explanation. The
Duma leaders as well regarded the
situation as ineXcusable and President
Rodzianko finally felt justified in GO
ing to the length of Offering his
whole-hearted assistance in putting
into effect special emergency measures
for increasing the food supply.
Deserted BY People
Minister of the Interior Protopop-
off was absent from Saturdays confer
ence on the food question. NJ. Proto-
popoff is wealthy manufacturer and
a couruer with a reputation for deb
onafr duplicity. Residing in the
Tsarskoe-Selo palace he was reported
lately as spending a large part of his
time lndulging IN Spiritualistic frances
) Equally detested by the parliamentar-
lans and the people he never appeared
in the Duma since his ministerial ap-
pointment
with such an administration OF
! agriculture and the interior and with
the premier nonentity it was not
surprising that the food prospects
: were regarded by the members of the
Duma with the greatest alarm and
dismay. While the Duma leaders were
discussing the food situation the peo-
pie in the streets were getting more
and more voluble in their protests
against the whole situation"
Further details of the events pre-
cedlng the revolutionary coup in Pet
rograd given in Reuter- dispatch
from the Russian Capital The dis
| decided on peaceful" street demon
strauons on Saturday. Early on Sat
urday morning the police warned the
| citizens not to leave their houses as il
| was not safe. In other words, the
food demonstrations were to be sup
pressed with an iron hand. Undeter-
red, however, by this warning the peo-
pie came out in such numbers that
the Nevsky Prospect and other main
thoroughfares were thronged.
:. Middle Glass in Crowds
The crowds were mostly from the
middle classes as the roads from the
| labor district were barred. The peo-
pie were so good natured and jovial
that the authorities believed at first
that the day would pass all right.
| Nevertheless they took precautions by
sending for reinforcements.
Patrols of Cossacks, mounted and
/ foot soldiers and police lined the New
sky Prospect and the court yards of
the houses were filled with reserves.
The crowd cheered the troops and
| Cossacks warmly as the soldiers show
ed themselves appreciative. There
was ar unprecedented feeling of COM
raderie between the populace and the
| troops. Cossacks doffed their hats re-
peatedly to the cheerers and some
groups of soldiers called back at the
crowds. 1t was a sign of the times
which the authorities, however, failed
! to read.