davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
New-York tribune., 1918-01-06
Give Death Signal
For Alexander II

On March II, 1881. close to II.
Winter Palace, the consptrators' w -,
tempt on the life Of Alexand.r II
succeeded. 1t was Ri.ecov who th,..,
the bomb, but Sophie Perovskaya vho
gaze the signal. They gained moth.
ing. The long demanded corsti.nt;n,
had been drawn up and was awaitin1
the signature OF the Gar on the fat.'
1ul morning. Autocracy, with Aley.
ander III at its head, began its nov
reign of horrors.
All had been in vain. "sonian ,.a
tod Prince Kropotkine in davs tbs.
were past: We have only begun a
great thing. Two generations perh.ns
wlil succunlb IN the task" Yet. st;'l
believe that She had hoped for imm,. r,..
date results from Alexander IFS death
hoped that tyranny would hide in fear
end trem oling before newborn liberty
Ever fearless, she refused 70 leave
Kussla and preferred TO await events,
Far from seeking concealment sbe
moved about freely, disregardinr all
warnings and cntreaties to fee.
A weel; afterward she was se;z.d
Simple, brave. pure-rlirded as Sonia"
vas, thus she appeared before her
judges. But neither youth, beauty nor
pure motives could avail. She was
reglclde and condemned TO death. All
she asked was TO share her comrad.s'
fate ~
New-York tribune., 1918-01-06
Sophia of Greece-Royal Meddler

The diplomacy of the Allies in
Athens vas conspicuous failure. The
eSpedient was tried of sending special
envoys to the Greek capital. One after
the other they returned home, usually
with q loss Of prestige. Queen Sophia
had outwitted them. Excuses of all
kinds were offered to account for the
failure. The favorite one was that
Russia was behind King Constantine
that Greece being an Orthodox Greek
country by religion. the Car. the hcao
and patron of Orthodox Greeks ana
Constantine the son of Russian prin
cess. Russia could not afford to permi>
harsh measures being adopted against
him.
One envoy came back and told the
truth. This was Mr.. Denys Cochin.
the French Cabinet Minister who, after
q visit to Greece. declared that Queen
Sophia singlehanded was match for
all the ENJOYS representing the other
side in Greece. He had met the King.
but had excused himself from meeting
the Queen. Frankly, he admitted, that
he was afraid she would turn some
trick on him, as she had done on 80
many Others
New-York tribune., 1918-01-06
Russia's Women Martyrs
Sophie Perovskaya, Who Gave Death Signal
for Alexander Ii

.ions agains. those who vera |.
f1ierGing TIE people increased: ho'..
and girls OF twelve and fourteen 49,:
Tor the least word said. Tor = re,,.'
which escaped them, were sent m E;
bcria; hundreds were weekly tbros.-
INTO prison. The Schiusselpury ~.
Fortress Of 81. Peter and II pa. s"e
real Bastil,es of iriquity. were ~, uI
with thousands Of victims. Th;r,~
seven Provinces IS go:crnmss.
manifesto declared in 1874. yo-. on
tested By the Sociaiistic con,ss,aA "'
and would be dealt with accordinelr =,
In 1875 the movement which H.
hitherto been peaceful grew vjolsns
The two monster trials, that Of On
Fifty which WIS made public !, s ="
der 20 frightcn the people, bat vs;.s
in reality made them look upon -.
rcvoiutioraries as so many saints W..
followed by that Of "the 1881 yb;.s ~.
lasted four years. Sophie Pcrov.t.s.
was implicated in the latter. A.
Quilted, but not released, she escansd
and returned to Petrograd.
II was the year when Terro,;,u
brandished its red torch. ali ON s.a
means having failed. Enthus;as.;va.
ardent, imbued with lofty concss
ton OF her duties, beloved by ~.
peasants as we'll as by every membs.
Of the party, al able organizer :.
master IN the art Of convincing 90 =
gaining new adopts to the caase' p,;,S ,t
her keen. penetrating brain. Sonh;.
became the founder Of the mork;n.
mems Terrorist society. the raboe;ai.
drugina, OF which Micailoy and Pr.
COY were members. and asserted her
self rs born leader In all the To-
rorist attempts which Characterize ~.
three following years she was II. II.
head, the others only following h.. M
instructions. "sf
New-York tribune., 1918-01-06
Russia's One Real Power
The Cooperative Congress That Unites In
Auence of 100000

strikes that took place and how the
railroads, the postal service and the
telegraph were tied up il order to
secure governmental pledges of reform.
The Car called meeting o! Gov
crnors in st. Petersburg. While they
were at the capital the train crews
walked out Of the railroad cars and
the Governors could not get back to
their provinces. When the Gar be-
came aware of the difficulty Count
Witte experienced in getting back and
forth between the capital and the
Cars palace, twenty miles away. he
sensed mis- danger. and this incident
moved him to sign the first Russian
constitution. This was Oh October Il,
1905.
1t gave TO Russia parliament Of the
people called the Duma. Progressive
Russians placed great hope in this con-
stitution, but it became evident after
the convening of the third Duma that,
owing to the changed election system.
it did not represent the great body of
the people. but the vested interests,
agrarian and industrial. The govern
mental power lay in the hands of the
bureaucrats, just as before
But in measure as the bureaucracy
waXed powerful as did the cooperative
h
peasants and other classes Of workers
1t should be remembered that between
so and 80 per cent Of the Russian peo-
pie even to-day are peasants.
far-ot Siberia responded to the ever
widening movement of the cooperative G
system. and the great Siberian Cream
cry Society was formed Northern
Russia caught the spirit of cooperation,
and the Flax Growers Cooperative So
clety came into existence. The native
tribes of Siberia formed small coopera-
tive societies; those Of Turkestan did
likewise; Mahometans, Tartars and
kirghis all became affiliated under the
cooperative system, until there were
more societies than postal telegraph
stations in Russia. Moreover, this par
tlcular form OF organization taught
concerted effort along lines of harmony
and mutual good will. 1t gave to Rus
sla a convincing ideal Of union for the
say that the membership of the CO.
operative societies came to include not
only the forward looking. the intelli-
gent and the idealists, but that the
substantial and sober-minded citizen
ship of the empire was for the most
part to be found within it.
When the Great War burst over Rus
sia the bureaucrats began to make
every selfish use Of their vast power.
1t soon became known that no govern
ment contracts could be secured with
out the payment OF heavy bribes. To
counteract this, or as protest against
it, new era of organization set in:
All classes began to organize, not only
the factory workers and industrials.
but city employees, professional men,
and even the soldiers Thev n1cc+od
delegates in order to cement public
opinion. Finally, the revolution burst
out, revolution against Russian bu-
reaucracy.
In this sublime hour Of Russia's ma
tional life the cooperative societies be-
came powerful political factor. Over
night. as it were, the potentiality of
their organization and their numbers
gathered itself together and sprang
into the arena. where the struggle for
democracy was taking place.
New-York tribune., 1918-01-06
Recreant Greeks
Accompany Her

Wherever she goes on Teuton soil,
or on territory occupied by them. sns
insists on being treated with royal
honors and on being accompanied by a
guard of honor from the Greek arm~
corps which went over to the Germans
more than year ago at Kava)a TIL.
Greek flag goes with her. She re-
NAMED in tdinc during a visit there
oil Emperor Charles Francis OF Aus.
tria, and at his departure she returned
to Gorizia.
There She is 10 pass The winter.
using that point as her headouarters
for the campaign in favor Of Germany.
which untiringly she carries on.
Gorilla has sometimes been called
the Austrian Nice, for the beauty of
its location and the mildncss Of its
winter climate. The city is situated
IN an amphitheatre on the lsonzo River.
where the famous plateaus running
southwark from Tolmino have sunk
down to the Carso. and where the shell
tered river approaches sea level before
1t enters into the Adriatic
Gorilla. though wa--ridden and a..
ticted Tor more than two years, is a
quaint Old World city ard is the bes,
place one would expect the restless.
chatting spirit Of the eXiled Queen to
find herself at ease. 1t is believed in
Italy that Sophia has special motivcs
for remaining in Gorizia. and. indeed,
outlines OF her plans and of the scops
Of her activities have been published.
although whether on accurate informa
ton or not does not appear.
With almost demoniacal fury this
daughter Of the Hohenzollern,
struggled in behalf of the Kaiser's
cause since the war began. And there
IS no reason to doubt that she will con
-inuc 20 employ her amazing enercie 5
Tor the same cause. For long months.
running finally into years. she pi,ted
herself against the ministers Of the
Allies in Greece.
New-York tribune., 1918-01-06
There Wasn't Enough
Left to Wad q Gun

"The Britisher lamps her and
switches his play. She is heading to
pass closer to him than the battle
cruisers, for one thing, and it's sound
strategy to bust the big submarine. The
German high sea fleet is bottled up and
harmless. So he gets two torpedo
tubes dead on the submarine while the
celebration is at its best, and he lets
her have it.
"Zowie! Talk about surprise party
in Helgoland Basin. There isn't
a gun, and as for the crew, they arc
cut short right in the middle Of ring
ing 'Hoch der Kaiser The Johnny
feels the explosion, all right. He lands
on one ear, picks himself up, finds his
boat is still there, and able to turn her
screws over. Never say die; SO he
tries to work her out to sea again, go
ing it blind.
1.-THE luck Of the British navy is with
him, and he had kept careful track Of
his courses while passing i'll through
the mine field. He gets clear of ii
somehow and then finds he's shy Of
battery power to make a getaway into
safer waters So he goes down and sits
on the bottom to rest until night.
"He has stirred up considerable cX-
citement in Helgoland. and the Ger
mans come boiling oua to hunt for him
-destroyers, sweepers, cruisers, and
what not. After while they begin
to drag chains along the bottom. and
he hears them scraping against his
plates. They don't happen to hook
him, but his men get little nervous.
They don't like the sound of those
chains. So the Johnny starts the pho
nograph to soothe 'em and kill the
noise of the chains. and it works fine
and all hands take it snug and easy.
after dark he comes to the top,
runs while, and then lets her breathe
and rest while he puts the juice into
his batteries. Then he jogs back to his
station. And what do you think hap
pens to him when he goes to his home
port at the end Of his twelve days
tour? Do they pin medals on him ?
Not on your life. He gets reprimanded ID
for leaving his beat without orders.
Anyhow. he didn't care. He had the
time of his life"
New-York tribune., 1918-01-06
Sarrail Escapes
From Sophia S Trap

W hcN General Serrai1 went to Greece
10 take command Of the Franco British
troops, which later were expanded to
the great cxpeditionary forces of the
Allies at Salonica. Queen Sophia de-
termlned to match her wits with the
brilliant general, who was one of the
French leaders who had stopped the
Germans at the Marne. An invitation
to court was sent to him and it was
announced that reception was to be
held in his honor.
Preparations were made on an clab-
crate scale, and when the hour ap-
preached for the coming of the French
man Queen Sophia. it is stated on rood
authority. placed herself at the head
Of the stairway, dressed in the historic
garb of Queen Louise of Prussia, with
the chin band head scarf and flowing
robes which the latter wore when she
made ncr famous, though futile, at
tempt 10 reach the heart OF the great
Napoleon.
The Frenchmcn who preceded Cen
oral Sarrail to the interview with King
Constantine were amazed at this vision
on the stairs. but they recovered
promptly from their astonishment and
qnetly warned the general. who, like
all brilliant Frenclimen. has a keen
sense OF the ridiculous. AS mis- high
position in Greece forbade him to risk
any lncoNgruous scene, he quickly
withdrew from the royal palace.
He was already some miles off in
h:s automobile before Queen Sophia.
still in the dramatic pose at tho he'd
OF the stairs, was apprised Of his
departure. Her at-grandmot other,
queen Louise, had failed in her attemuf
10 1asclnate the French conqueror and
she herself had not even had +ha -o.;,
faction Of being permitted to make Tho
attempt Her rage was unbounded
Among the copies OF the daily dis
New-York tribune., 1918-01-06
I ortured AnG
Put to Death

Six days she had TO wait befor,
death brought her release-six daw
fui! of horrors unspeasable. Torture
was resorted to~-ru1nor, at least. said
so-ln order to break the will. in
breaking the mortal frame. There was
no betrayal Of the Cars sinister meth.
eds any longer 20 .e:.r The doors OF
the grave stood already open, TO COM
munication from the condemned to the
living vas allowed to pass. To all
her mothers supplications to see her
daughter there was always only one
reply: You Will sec her on April l5."
Then. indeed. did Nine. Perovskava see
her child, but already mounted on the
fatal car which took her TO the place
OF execution
Sophie Perovskaya went to death as
TO her bridal bed; she died serencly. az
the women of old did die for what
they held dearest. Among the few hur-
RED lines she wrote to her mother be-
lore appearing before her Judges
quote: 81 have a little commission for
you, my dear. much loved little mother
Buy me some cuffs and collars.
the collars rather narrow ard the cuffs
with buttons, for studs are not allowed
to be worn here. Before appearing at
the trial. must mend my dress
little. for it is almost worn OUT
Pitlful words, bctraying woman's
natural desire to appear decently al
tired to receive her doom. words which
recall 70 my mind those which Beatrice
Cenci. another victim oe tyranny, told
her mother at the momcn. Of her
death:
=. "Here. mother. te
Ny girdle for nc. and bind up this hair
In any simple knot: sy. that does well.
And yours. 7 see. IS coming down. How
often
Have we done this for one another. Nov
We shall not DO il anv more
We arc cutie ready. Well Is ycrv vel :"
New-York tribune., 1918-01-06

Danish Prince William, who adopted
the name Of George when he was chosen
for the throne of Greece. had similarly
become Il convert to the Greek religion,
and Prince Constantine, as we'll as his
other children. were baptized in that
faith. King George never became a
Wholehearted HELENE. Ceasing to be
a Dane, he became something Of a cos
mopolitan, and passed many months
each year in quiet residence in Paris.
Similarly. Queen Sophia has never
been Greek, except for political pur-
poses, and the interests of the people
OF Greece have never been considered
ny her except in SO far as they coin
cided, or seemed to her to coincide.
with the interests Of Prussia.
Queen Sophia is chief of the Third
frusslan Grenadier Guard Regiment.
ana her JOY is to don the regmentals
and accoutrements of the guard and
TO ride at the head of her men on the
parade grounds at Potsdam. Her hus
band. King Constantine, received the
patton OF field marshal of the German
army
II Greece has suffered in prestige.
russian queen of Greece is re-
sponsible. But, little, however. did thc
injury she was inAictinc on Greece G e,re
concern her while she was ]abor;np for
the cause of Prussian world domina-
ton. ''0'"''''
Sophia of Prussia considers hersel,
still Queen Of Greece. Her exile sho
regards as only temporary. Her i'm
perlal brother sees to it that all his
allies treat her still as the actual occu-
pant of throne, and indeed her
throne - at present in the keeping of
one or her own children.
It happens that this aunt Of the
halser and Of Queen Sophia is also the
mother of Queen Victoria of Sweden
and the lessons taught to the niece
were not forgotten in the case Of the
daughter. The consequence has been
tnat the Queen of Sweden now RANK,
second in the list Of the trouble
ers queens OF Europe.
All Scandinavia is in turmoil as
result OF the pernicious activities of
TINS woman, and. indeed, all the nen-
tral nations OF Northern Europe are
suffering from the penalties which the
AIiies have been forced to impose for
her misdeeds. The court partv and
TIC higher army command in Sweden
are dominated by her and she has been
their leader in the effort to throw
Sweden into the war on the side Of
Germany.
New-York tribune., 1918-01-06
Felt First Urge
For Political Freedom

By 1905, when the Russian j apanese
War started, millions OF the workers
of Russia had come to realize that the
only relief from oppressive living con-
oitions which they could secure
through their own initiative must come
through cooperation and organization.
They had learned the value of the
power of cooperative activity. and they
kept on organizing in the hope that
some favorable occasion would arise
when the aggregate force of such or
ganization. .he potentially it had ac-
quired. could be made to work to their
advantage. In the Russian-Japanese Sc
War they senscd this occasion. The
workers stirred and there was an out
burst of revolutionary feeling. 1t was
time. they argued. to utilize their col
lective force in an effort to secure
more political freedom. and they organ
ized strikes with this end in view.
Americans will remember the great
New-York tribune., 1918-01-06
By Ralph D. Paine
From the Record, Of the N.vv pepar,u


TIME men Of the armed gun crew
service are now numbered by
thousands. 1t has swiftly eN-
panded as q department Of the naval
organization, important and distinct
New merchant ships are building,
fleets Of them, in the most tremendous
increase of tonnage ever known. They
will carry guns and crews trained to
use them. Unless the war ends within
the next year the navy expects to
or almost half it's enlisted strength in
former days of peace.
These fine young navy lads come
from the fleet in drafts Of two or three
hundred. Give them room to stow
their canvas bags and sling ham
mocks and they are ready for the
special and cXacting routine Of school
ing the armed guard. Chief petty Of
1lcers who have crossed the Atlantic
and fought the deadly submarine take
them in hand as gun crews, to bo held
together until the word comes to go
to sea. Stern experience has taught
longer untried and novel to these sea-
soned gunners.
There Is No Time
For Hesitation
In the ward are mounted guns Of
the type which will be used in action.
Most of the youngsters have been
drilled in the feet, but they must learn
more of it-lcarn that this is a differ
ent business from shooting at canvas
target. Hunting the submarine is snap
shooting, enormously difficult Inces-
SAINT practice is required to master
the art Of training, sighting and firing
four or five inch rifle in few sec
onds. There must be automatic CO.
ordination from the spotter OH the
bridge with the telephone strapped to
his head to the trainer, sightsetter
pointer. plugman and shell handlers,
who have no time for nerves or hesi-
tation.
More than this, the trade demands
eyesight drilled to detect pcriscope or
coming tower, a sureness of vision
which may in all instant decide the
issue Of life and death. Here the spot
ting board comes into play. device
so entertaining that the lads flock
around it out Of school hours 1t is a
long table upon which the ranges are
marked by lines running both ways. at
intervals representing a hundred yards.
AT one end is square of tin set on
edge, with a narrow slit cut in it, and
a shutter which can be dropped across
it.
Upon the board is tiny model Of
submarine as seen when awash, its size
scaled to lit this miniature bit OF ocean.
A little dab OF cotton glued to wooden
base is called "the splash,' and looks
very much like the foam kicked up
when q shell strikes the water, The
navy youth who is learning to "spot"
takes his stand at the end Of the board
and looks through the slit in the square
of tin. A comrade lifts the shutter and
lets 1t drop-merely a glimpse of the
surface and the dot of a submarine.
The pupil estimates the distance and
the detection right or left and calls
out the shot.
Another member of the class places
the splash" where the lad at the shut
ter indicates in his guess at the range.
1t may fall 500 yards short or go over
the submarine. At the next glimpse
the gunner" tries to correct his error.
New-York tribune., 1918-01-06
Were Lined Up
Behind kerensky

Hitherto, they had been content to
function in the economic field alone,
but with many members Of tho ALL
Russian Cooperative Congress and of
the Moscow Bank taking an active part
in plans for the overthrow Of the old
regime, the co0perators lined up square
~ behind the Kerensky programme and
officially threw in their lot with the
revolution. In the Petrograd Confer
ence Of Radicals, held last September,
it was the votes of the co0perators that
saved Kerensky At that conference the
I Council Of Soldiers and Workers. Dele
gates numbered 100; the local dele
gates of soldiers and workers, 80, while
the cooperative societies seated 150 del
cgates. This fact alone should prove
the rising power Of the cooperative So
cieties.
Mr.. Fainbcrg thinks that Russia is
not yes ready for tho radical interna-
tionaism Of Lenine and his political
adherents.
what part has been taken by the
coopcrators in the present Bolshevist
movement" he says, II do not know.
No authentic information has reached
me. AS far as | am able to forecast. I
should say that the Bolsheyjst nro-
gramme is too radical to be accepted
by the people of Russia, and I antici-
pate return to the less radical pro-
grammc Of the social revolutionary
party.
"The rapidity with which cooopera-
tive activity has spread in Russia since
the outbreak Of the revolution is an
index Of the confidence felt in it bv
the common people. Under the old
regime permission for only two
branches Of the cooperative banks in
all Russia could be secured. During
the three or four months directly fol-
lowing the Cars overthrow fifteen
branches of the Moscow Peoples Bank
were opened in different parts Of Rus
s'a; There are also agencies in London
and in the United States Credit
unions sprang up all over the country.
1T should be remembered that the CO.
operative banks have most stable
membership. There are no individual
clients and no loans are made to pri-
vatc individuals. The members and
shareholders in this great banking
cham are all federations Of cooperators
and loans are made only to sharehold
New-York tribune., 1918-01-06
She Knew How
The Serfs Suffered

Oppression is powerful in feeding
enthusiasm, and Sophie from her ten
der infancy had seen the one being
she most loved, her mother, sadly op-
pressed by her father. By intuition,
she understood through this tyranny
what the serfs who surrounded her
on her fathers estate suffered. Her
heart opened out to them. the sacred
fire Of compassion entered into the
child's soul, never to leave it.
! fancy her in 1859. girl of sixteen,
propaganda was at its height, when
reaping what the Nihilist movement
had won-sex enfranchisement and
that the higher schools and profess
sions should be open to woman in Rus
sia. Sophie longed to embrace these
new opportunities for learning, but her
father was a reactionary and absolute
ly refused his consent. In the end she
ran away from home, not to enter into
a marriage blanc. marriage in name
only, as many student girl did in
those days, thus gaining liberty with a
husband, student like herself, and
both devoting themselves to the cause.
IL am the bride Of Death" Sophie
Perovskaya said one day to my friend
Anna Avramotf. "Not in name even can
join my life to that Of any man."
Once free to follow the bent of her
mind, her mother sending her small
sums to support her. Sophie drank
knowledge eagerly. She stepped her
soul in the great Socialist ideas which.
born in France. had been made accessi-
ble to Russia by the writer's Cernsccv-
sky and Drobolinbov. Soon the long
ing for knowledge was superseded by
the yearning to devote herself to others,
mt +e
and aspirations which filed her soul.
In this way began the pilgrimage which
might we'll have daunted the courage Of
strong heart: but her feet never fal-
tered, because set on the path which led
to the happiness Of others