Show Russia RUSSIA is a country with but one in institution institution institution in- in and that is a Czar He is the govern government men t. t He is even more than that he is the father of his people and everything even the forms which religion religion religion re re- ligion business commerce and society take depend upon him This absolute power in one man has resulted from the fact that civilization in Russia has not developed naturally as in most other nations It has not been the result of influence on the whole mass of people influencing government and people in inthe inthe inthe the same way and at the same time it has been a forced growth The birth of civilization in Russia dates from the time of Peter the Great He was not great enough to see that it is not in human human human hu hu- man power to change the character of a people in few short years by forcing upon them the ways of foreign nations He lived too soon to be able to know that the essential element in all modern progress is individual freedom He fell fellin fellin fellin in love with the practical arts and sciences of Germany and he tried to tomake tomake tomake make his people see thin things s as he did and do the things he liked That he succeeded at all is an astonishing proof of his force of character and also the power of Russia's one institution But Peters Peter's reforms did not go below the surface They affected the nobility only Unfortunately there 9 was no middle class in Russia in which these reforms might have found congenial soil for natural and healthy growth It Jt was the same way with Catherine The reforms reforms reforms re re- forms attempted by her failed from the same cause Peter did what he could to his empire Catherine introduced introduced introduced in in- French philosophy and French refinement Of course these took no root in the soil They affected the court and the nobility The nobility themselves themselves themselves them them- selves were not made free as they were masters of their slaves so in turn the Czar was their master Russia was getting the husk of modern civilization its arts and sciences manners and customs customs customs cus cus- toms without the kernel of freedom But all the time the modern leaven was Vas really working It was impossible to educate the nobles and let them travel without having them witness the changes which have agitated Europe during the past century Russia cannot always remain remain remain re re- main as she is Having come into the whirlpool she must inevitably be drawn into the vortex which is rapidly destroying destroy destroy- ing all remnants of arbitrary power in inthe inthe inthe the civilized world Late events show that for her it may be indeed a vortex as destructive as the Revolution was for France It was impossible for a truehearted truehearted truehearted true- true hearted noble to keep his education to himself and from this fact resulted the feelings or sentiment of democracy This feeling of liberty led to some revolts revolts revolts re re- volts among which the greatest is what we call the nihilist movement We hear a great deal about nihilism and the nihilists at the present time But it is difficult to tell who and what the they are and just what they are trying to do unless one belongs to their society When the nihilists' nihilists rebellion first burst forth it was among the students who have no means of completing their studies and who are annually thrown upon the world These students students students stu stu- dents have for the most part nothing to todo todo todo do but to spread their doctrine among their fellow The result of it all has been to inaugurate a reign of terror in Russia The government at once took alarm and created an additional police force to to to that already existing The fierce hunting of nihilists began throughout Russia At one time a wholesale wholesale wholesale whole whole- sale arrest of nihilists took place and some were hanged on the spot of the arrest Others were killed while defending defending defending defend defend- ing themselves against the of the brutal police while others still were banished to Siberia and placed in dungeons for life or chained to a wheel- wheel barrow At other times thousands of people both men men and wom women n en encountered encountered ered death death on the scaffold or at the stake It was for these causes and is now that other sC scores res of thousands underwent the horrible tortures of the knout the the rack or had their bodies mutilated their tongues cut their hands chopped off Saddening sickening sight unredeemed and un- un soothed by that mingled feeling of respect respect respect re re- and thankfulness which we bring to the shrines of the martyrs and champions champions champions cham cham- of the great cause of humanity ty It seems impossible to discover what human or national interest could have been served by the numberless victims and and heroes of the nihilists' nihilists struggles which read more like a bloody farce than thana a great historical tragedy As the cause of democracy grew the government government government govern govern- ment placed a great deal of power in the hands of the police I shall not endeavor endeavor endeavor en en- deavor to name the different orders of police but I shall just speak of the lower police the meaning con con- stable The duties of the are extensIve extensive extensive ex ex- and manifold They are the masters of the village communes in the same sense as th the e governors are called the masters of their respective provin provIn- ces Besides the function of chief of the communal police they unite in their persons those of sanitary inspectors of roads and buildings and statistical agents etc They poke oke their noses into everything prying into private households households households house house- holds and enforcing various arious prescriptions prescriptions prescriptions intended by the idl idle office-holder's office imagination for the benefit of the peasants Thus indeed they must see that the peasants peasant's house must be ventilated ventilated venti venti- la ted and the windows opened even during the stormy winter time when the people have hardly fuel enough to keep the hard frost out of the door To secure purity of air they are bound to prevent the keeping of manure in open courts courts- near the houses when in the whole of R Russia ss a not a single peasant has an artificial dung The same sam pretended interest leads them to forbid the peasants keeping cattle in their houses or dwellings although the young cattle would otherwise be frozen in the courts as the peasants have no warm stables The must see that the sidewalks are kept clean though in inthe inthe inthe the villages there is no trace of a pavement pavement pave te ment and the streets during the spring and and autumn are knee-deep knee in mud They can enter any house at any time of the day or of the night examine everything and question any anyone one as to o any actions and purposes which may seem to them suspicious They have havethe havethe havethe the right of arresting and imprisoning any anyone one without first obtaining a war war- rant To illustrate this authority of the I will mention a few instances such as are of daily occurrence II In In a came upon a woman making dough She was in a hurry to make the bread for her household and had left the floor Exasperated by this negligence negligence negligence gence the after giving the woman a severe scolding overthrew the trough trough g-trough before the womans woman's eyes and upset the dough on to the dirty floor In the on entering the house of a peasant to tomake tomake tomake make an inspection as to whether it was kept clean clea saw a young calf tied to a table-leg table in the kitchen At such slovenliness the lost his temper and after having reviled the women who were spinning in the other room as s best he lie could he drew his sabre and cut the calf to pieces II In In the district of or orthe the Provin Province Province Pro Pro- vin vince e of Daniel the of the village of Chemeris after having for a long time and with impunity dist distinguished himself by the extortion of money from the innocent and blackmail from such thieves as as were caught in the act whom he was in inthe inthe the habit of setting free by his authority author author- ity ity this this Dan indulged in the following joke By threats and blows he compelled t two o of his subordinates subordinates- peasants' peasants to to harness into a cart and drag him to the town of Bar distant about six miles He was wac simply dismissed 1 I will close this list which might be prolonged ad by mentioning another example In In one place the fired into a crowd of unarmed men in another charged a crowd busied in III quenching a afire afire fire tire on horseback with a sword and whip a third case a newly built house was Vas demolished under the pretext that it was not constructed according to the regulation in a fourth case the nik assaulted and inflicted severe bodily injuries on a warden church-warden for not having appeared before him with sufficient sufficient sufficient alac alacrity ity when sent for The patience of the people is great great great- too great indeed indeed but but not unlimited I And here let us leave them uttering the name of the one invisible eternal God entering their solemn protests against the idolatry of a church that calls itself Christian As we turn our faces from barbarous Russia towards America a aland aland land and of freedom we are more thoughtful thought thought- ful tul because we have more to think abo about t. t than before If St. St Petersburg w was s great Peters Peter's window to look into civilized Europe Moscow is our back window looking into heathen Russia The Czar may break the hearts of noble- noble hearted men men and women he may send them all to Siberia but he cannot break the he spirit of liberty which the invisible God o alone planted in ever every mans man's 1 he heart rt M. M Lip |