Show even the czar is to travel by rail and the minister of railroads had to act as mis own engineer in leaving moscow st petersburg oct 25 over half pt european russia is in the grip of the striking railroad men and the strike continues to spread rapidly in all directions the roads in the volga reglia are at a standstill and today a general strike was proclaimed on the two remaining lines running out ot st petersburg before tomorrow the capital ts expected to be cut oft from aho outside world by way ol 01 the continent this will also involve abo suspension ot postal communication the league of leagues has seized the opportunity to come to the support ot the railroad men and has adopted a i in favor ot a general strike of all professions the telegraph operators in the movement and tho suspension ot railroad traffic it is feared will be followed by a complete obliteration of communication between interior points the situation Is critical and pregnant of all sorts of dire possibilities the factories in the 1 affected district have been forced to down for lack of fuel and moscow especially faces not only a food but a water famine fortunately st petersburg will have communication open through finland 1 The British ambassador sir charles P hardinge who bade farewell to em yesterday previous to leaving st petersburg on a mission in connection with the proposed anglo russian understanding was unable to start tor england this morning because no trains were running he will leave the capital on the first available steamer telegraphic communication between st petersburg and Khar kofl is broken the workmen ot the Pu akol boino Alexandr ovla and works struck this morning the social democrats believe they have the government at their mercy since with the railroads stopped the authorities are powerless to transport troops this is all the more serious as bloody collisions already have been reported at various places and a dangerous agrarian movement has again broken out in the government of samara the strength displayed by the social has amazed the authorities t who were taken quite as much by surf arise at the evidence of their power aly tas they were at of the capon rebellion the distress in the central provinces s greatly increased by the enforced suspension athe relief work prince filkoff Hil koff the minister ol 01 railroads whose appeals to the strikers at moscow were sd unavailing that he i get an engineer to bring him ilo st petersburg but who with a fireman stoking drove his own engine 1 ir riving here black and dust brimmed s not blamable tor the failure of the government to keep its promises made c a the spring to increase the wages ot the railroad men that responsibility bests on the minister ot finance prince filkoff expects to meet the railroad delegates here bu apparently they have already burned their bridges at anee tings helca last night and which continued until dawn this morning A dozen of those ot the most enthusiastic character were held the largest which waa held in the university was attended by about persons including students who are making common cause with the workmen and A whose leaders are making speeches in favor of a resolution of students to strike until they aro allowed to discuss political questions the students joined railroad r men in passing a resolution in favor of I 1 the immediate convocation ot a con 1 assembly from universal suf frage and demanding that the laws P governing labor be sanctioned by the representatives and the immediate grant ot political freedom and declaring that thus only can an armed revolution bo averted these resolutions were adopted after a deputation which called on count witte had reported S the count received the deputation as a private individual he spoke to them with his usual bluntness and told them i plainly that some ot their demands would be granted while the granting ot athers was impossible count s witte informed his visitors that a law permitting greater freedom of meet ings than allowed by the laws of italy II 11 and austria hungary and providing 1 for freedom ol 01 the press had already 3 been elaborated martial law on the railroads he eaid was an anachronism s which should bo abolished the demand for a constituent assembly the r count said could not be realized nor li could universal suffrage be admitted 1 as all the people were not prepared to exercise the right of franchise in this e connection the count spoke of the powie er wielded by capital in america ot where universal suffrage existed ho thought it possible to meet tha doi tf manda tor an eight hour day especial to ly for outdoor workers and warmly 1 l favored the general measures advocat an the view to improving the cons f anion of the working men especially in the way of schools hospitals etc Is count witte warned the deputation at thai a continuation of the strike could j only result am bloodshed cither by corn polling the interference of the military e or by tho famine stricken populace of ee turning upon the strikers remember be said the government may fal but with it you will as perish also by playing into the bands ot tn you are fighting count witte y the return to work but bis ad vice was howled don and the resolution to strike was adopted prince believes that the strike cannot bo prolonged as the men arc without funds besides this he declares it Is impossible for the men to realize their dream 0 tying up all the railroads simultaneously with the assistance of the railroad battalions some trains the prince says aiu be run some of the revolutionary leaders here declare the present strike Is simply a test of strength as a prelude to a complete strike of all the social groups there was considerable excitement today at all the railroad stations not a train departed the railroad battalions were called out and an attempt will be made to man a train to moscow and the frontier tomorrow collisions are feared great crowds assembled at the moscow station and gendarmes gen darmes interfered twice to restore order but there was no bloodshed the leaders of the strikers on the moscow and warsaw lines after a con sult atlon have planned a big meeting tor october 27 there are about railway em aloyes in the empire and their average wage is per annum the minister of railroads has ordered that an allowance of 1 l per day for food be made in the case 0 first class passengers gera who are detained en route and that 50 cents be allbut ed to second class and 25 cents to third class passengers this afternoons reports show an enormous extension of the strike all the poland lines are tied up and a strike has begun on the great southwestern system covering the territory southward from kieff toward odelsa the german red cross which has arrived here from the front is unable to leave st petersburg trains in the baltic provinces are not running and the situation is reported very bad at riga and libau the railroad stations here aro guarded by police and troops the soldiers in barracks are kept under arms and squads of cossacks are in evidence in the streets which are filled with idle men in addition to the strike of the workmen of the Put llott dovsky Nov sky Alexandrov ski and works all the employed emp loyes of the factories fact pries on the elburg chaussee walked out today in sympathy with the railroad strikers bloody conflicts have occurred at Ekaterin tha price of food ia increasing meat in the markets Is one third higher than yesterday the people arc becoming alarmed the refuse to accept registered letters parcels or money for transmission abroad the radical papers are in open sympathy with the strikers the nasha clovo liberal condemi the strike as a s a colos 1 sal blunder hitherto the paper says the struggle has been against the bureaucracy tho present movement injures the whole nation tho people and driving them to excesses lo 10 get food it will play into the hands ot the reactionaries as it will arouse against the strikers everybody in need of bread whether cab driver or peasant hospital trains having on board sick and wounded soldiers from manchuria are held up near moscow the condition of the men Is said to be pit labib |