The West Virginian. [volume] (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1914-1974, 1917-09-26

eminent attempted to interfere with
the marching hosts, blood would flow
In rivers. They went through the
city in automobiles. scattering procla-
nations telling of these direful deeds
and warning all citizens to keep with,
in their houses on Sunday, for the
general massacre would begin about
1915 and last all day. and no life
would be safe.
A lot OF timid souls took on a panic
sc this and begged the government tc
interfere. So on Friday the govern
ment Issued an order forbidding fol
tn next four days all kinds Of demon
tBtrattons and parades in the streets.
or course here was the finest kind
OF scare material. The situation was
so terrible that to save the lives OF
thousands of people and the destruc-
ton OF the city in civil war. the gov
eminent had been obliged vigorously
to prohibit all crowds in the streets
and keep the people in their houses
while II sat in terror. expecting every
moment TO be It's last,
Sunday passed without a ripple OF
S@NSASNLiNhNs -NO ills III llt " Ollu ina
day was more peaceful. This gave q
good chance to get up stories OF sup
pressed excitement, tense atmosphere
expectant waiting for the slaughter
and all that sort of thing.
On Tuesday in the national council
bolshevic COR extreme radical)
brought the matter up with a resolu.
tton condemning the government fol-
prohibiting the demonstration and
authorizing the anarchists to &c
ahead with their demonstration or
the following Sunday.
At this. OF course, there was hot
debate. and when the vote came or
the bolshevics were defeated in the
usual way, getting about 119 out Of
500.
AS soon as the result was announc'
ed the bolshevics. at a prearranged
signal. arose and started to leave the
chamber in body. The council wa!
therefore about to split, which Of
course would create the worst posi-
! le impression and reveal Russia tc
, the world as hopelessly divided. The
wise men on the other side of the
council had bunch in advance Of
what was coming, and were prepared
for it. The boshevics were moving
toward the door but were still within
the chamber, when one of Kerensky's
party hoped up.
Hold on" says he. Before our
comrades leave us l have a proposal
1 wish to submit to them" and he
read a resolution adroitly prepared
for the emergency setting apart the
next Sunday as day for everybody to
demonstrate. anarchists, bolshevics
menshevics, trudevics, mavimalists
minimalists, peoples liberty party
peoples socialist party, Bautists,
Methodists, Seventh Day Adventists
and Quakers, everybody. high and
low. Silly and hearty, come out on
that day and demonstrate until they
didn't have kick left in them.
This of course left the bolshevics
helpless. They couldn't object to
demonstration, which is the Russian
national game, and they couldn't in
sist that nobody should demonstrate
hut the anarchists. So they sat down
again and looked pretty sheepish
while the resolution doomed through
unanimously.
But of course here was the grand
chance for hectic Imagination to fore,
tell the horrors to be on that coming
Sunday. About half million demon
strators would be turned loose in the
streets of Petrograd, nearly all arm
ed, and what they would do to things
beggared description. About the
least you could expect was that the
entire city would be laid in ruins and
men would be rowing boats in the
blood that would flow through the
Necsky Prospekt, Barbados, street
fighting, murder, pillage and. above
all, mob rule" were the smallest OF
tEe attendant terrOrs.
Among the rest that would suffer
was the American commission. who
were to be led out one by one from
the Winter Palace and sacrificed in
the center of the square. about the
way Apaches sacrificed their prison
ers. But this is a good story by itself,
and II you will wait until the next in
stallment will tell II to you.