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The Commoner
VOLUME 5, NUMBER 4j
J, fan Hi I ii i V.
"CURR6NT
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THE INITIATIVE of what is generally ac
cepted as one of the greatest revolutions in
history was taken with respect to Russian gov
ernment in the proclamation issued by the czar
on October 30. In this proclamation the czar
expresses his anxiety to terminate all existing
troubles and to make uprisings in the future un
necessary by "securing the unity and co-ordination
of the power of the central government, and
to assure the success of measures for pacifica
tion in all circles of public life which are essential
to the well being of our (the Russian) people."
THE CZAR THEN DIRECTS the government
to carry out what he calls his 'inflexible
will" in tile following manner: "First. To ex
tend to the people the immutable foundations of
civic liberty, based on the real inviolability of
person, freedom of conscience, spedch, union and
association. Second. Without suspending the
already ordered elections to the state Douma (na
tional assembly,) to invite to participation in
the douma, so far as the limited time before the
convocation of tho douma will permit, those
classes of the people now completely deprived of
electoral rights, leaving tho ultimate develop
ment of the principle of the electoral right in
general to tho newly established legislative order
of things. Third. To establish as an unchange
able rule that no law shall be enforceable with
out the approval of the state douma and that it
shall be possible for the elected (representatives)
of the people to exorcise real participation in tho
supervision of the legality of the acts of the au
thorities appointed by us."
THIS IMPORTANT PROCLAMATION con
cludes in these words: "The government
should abstain from any interference with elec
tion to the douma and keep in view my sincere
desire for the realization of my ukase of Decern--ber.,25,
1.90.4. It must maintain 'the prestige of
the douma and have confidence in its labors, and
in no way resist its decisions as long as they
are not inconsistent with Russia's historic great
ness. It is necessary to respect the ideals of
the great majority of society and not the echoes
of noisy groups and factions, too often unstable.
It Is especially important to secure the reform
of the council of the empire on an electoral prin
ciple. We appeal to all faithful sons of Russia to
remember their duty toward the fatherland, to
aid in terminating these unprecedented troubles
and to apply all their forces in co-operation with
us, to tho restoration of calm and peace upon
our natal soil."
COUNT WITTE now Russia's premier was, it
is said, chiefly instrumental in persuading
the czar to issue this proclamation. In a public
statement Count Witte says that he is sure
the American people will rejoke with the Rus
sian nation at this moment "when the Russian
people have received from his Imperial Majesty
promises and guarantees of freedom, and will join
in the hope that the Russian people will wisely
aid in tho realization of those liberties by co
operating with the government for their peace
ful introduction. Only thus will it be possible
to secure the full benefits of the freedom con
ferred upon tho people."
THE CZAR'S PROCLAMATION was received
with great manifestation of joy by the Rus
sian people generally, although tho extremists in
sisted that the reforms promised were not all that
they pretended to be. Disorders in many sec
tions continue, but the opinion seems to be grow
ing, even among some who at first doubted the
seriousness of the proposed reform, that Russian
autocracy is at an end. The opinion expressed by
the old minister of finance "the old order of
things is changed; Russia has a constitution" ap
pears to be accepted as a correct statement of
the situation. Doctor Dillon, the St. Petersburg
correspondent for the London Telegraph says
that the reforms'are real and irrevocable, and that
the people of Russia are now well on the way to
liberty and a constitution.
POBIEDONOSTSEFF, THE HEAD of the Rus
sian church and known as tl.e arch enemy
of reform in Russia, a man who has in tho past
wielded great influence over the czar, has re
signed his post and a cablegram to the Chicago
Record-Herald says: "The passing of this high
priest of autocracy is second in importance only
to the granting by Nicholas of a constitutional
form of government." Premier Witte has or
ganized a new cabinet and the czar has ordered
the abandonment of arbitrary rule in Finland and
a return to a constitutional form of Government.
Reports .from Finland say that this is "the first
strong evidence of a purposo to fulfill promises
of reform given by the emperor,"
ST. PETERSBURG CABLEGRAMS under date
of November 1, say: "The people, while
celebrating their new found freedom were in many
instances set upon by Cossacks and police while
sometimes the spirit of mob violence broke forth
among the lower "elements of the people, who
gave themselves to pillage and destruction. The
most serious disorders apparently occurred at
Odessa, where hundreds of persons are reported
to have been killed or wounded and where the
rioting is momentarily expected to flare out into
a repetition of the slaughter of last July, and at
Kazan, where a three day's reign of terror was
ended only by the retirement of all Cossacks to
their barracks. A deplorable feature of the news
from the interior is that anti-Jewish uprisings
have occurred in many places, especially in South
Russia, where tho populace vented its hatred of
the Jews by sacking their stores and clubbing
the members of the race, in some cases resorting
to the torch. The attacks on the crowds are re
ported to be in most cases the work of Cossacks,
who many times were apparently let loose, upon
the people without direction or authority."
TALLEYRAND SAID "every one of Louis XVI's
concessions came a day too late." Quoting
this, from Talleyrand the St. Louis Globe Demo
crat s"ays tTiat1Si"cholas"ir ls'wiser-thanu washis ,.
unfortunate forerunner. The Globe-Democrat
points out that there was small reason that re
liance should be placed on former proclamations,
issued by the czar, but it contends that his
latest manifesto "reiterates most of the conces
sions previously promised, makes the important
further concession that 'no law shall be enforced
without the approval of the state douma and
that the members of that body shr.ll 'exercise
real participation in the supervision of the legal
ity of the acts of the authorities appointed -by
us.' "
THE GLOBE DEMOCRAT adds: "The national
assembly, which would have been only con
sultative under the previous grants of pbwer,
will now have some, at least, of the attributes 'of
a real parliament. The basis of the electorate
is broadened, too, so that more classes can take
part in the choice of members of the assembly,
though even now the grant is far from the man
hood suffrage which the liberals had been demand
ing. Moreover, Count Witte has, under the au
thority conferred on him, formed a ministry,
though this will be dependent on the monarch,
as in Germany, and not on parliament, as in Eng
land and France. As already framed, the minis
try has some strong men, but the dominant per
sonality in itwho, at least, will be dominant
unless the czar, in one of his paroxysms of vacil
lation, turns against him and gets under the sway
of the bureaucracy again is Count Witte."
ACCORDING TO THIS SAME authority: "Mira
beau would have saved Louis XVI and his
monarchy if Louis had submitted early enough
to the moderately liberal program which Mira
beau, Lafayette and other reformers had pro
posed. At least on the surface of things Nicho
las has surrendered to Witte. He has thrown
overboard his absolutism to save his head and
his dynasty. To an extent not expected so soon
or so peaceably by the friends of freedom in the
outside worM, the liberal propaganda in Russia
has succeeded. Many will still be skeptical about
tho permanency of the reforms which have been
promised, but most of the men on the ground
seem to accept the concessions as genuine, so far
as they go. It was fear and not affection that in
cited Nicholas' pledges, but the power of the
populace for inspiring terror into a Russian ty
rant, should Nicholas or some of his successors
attempt this role, will be greater hereafter in
stead of less. Education is gaining ground in
Russia, The impact of the world's opinion has
at last shaken the autocrat's faith in his ability
to raise his quarantine barriers high enough on
his frontiers to keep out the twentietli century
In St. Petersburg, Moscow, Odessa and the rest
of Nicholas' centers of agitation the liberals are
acclaiming the new day. It is possible that Oc
tober 30, 1905, will be hailed in the after time as
day 1 of year 1 of the calendar of free Russia."
The czar's proclamation has been accepted in tlio
same spirit by American newspapers generally,
and 'while it seems to be generally agreed that
the czar is a weakling, it is likewise agreed that
the fcew premier,- Count Witte, is a strong man,
really desirpus of bringing out practical and last
ing reforms'.
A GLOOMY VIEW OF THE situation is taken
by the St. Petersburg correspondent for the
.London Times. This correspondent under dato
of October 31 says that the situation is "more
serious than ever," and adds: "The constitu
tion granted yesterday has come too late. It
satisfied nobody except the very moderate ele
ment, which is devoid of any influence upon tho
political evolution of Russia. The events of to
day fully justified the predictions in my last tele
gram. The imperial manifesto has served as a
signal for a renewed conflict, and the conflict has
been even aggravated by the introduction of a
strife between the moderates on one side and tho
revolutionists on the other. This development
has already given rise to sanguinary collisions.
The reds anl whites, as they are respectively
styled, have shed each other's blood in the namo
of political freedom. St. Petersburg on this oc
casion can boast of far exceeding the provinces
in the intensity of its political passions. Tele
grams from other cities, except the larger cen
ters, indicate a predominance of contented ele
ment. The people there have hailed the mani
festo with patriotic processions and thronged tho
churches in devout thanksgiving. But, alas,
churchgoers no longer have the guiding voice
in the affairs of this country. The delays and
blunders of the government and long heart-breaking
oppression have created a resolute army,
which refuses to parley with the oppressors,
scorns their terms and demands nothing less than
unconditional surrender. The inhabitants of St.
Petersburg, whose political education is vastly
more advanced than the great majorit. of the pro
vincials, remain passively, if not actively, on tho
side of the revolutionaries. The manifesto is re
garded as an avowal of weakness and an incite
ment of further agitation."
THE IMPLEMENT AGE, published at Philadel
phia, has for a long time been waging vigor
ous war against the Harvester trust. The au
thorities of the state of Arkansas have filed com
plaints against the Harvester trust and we are
told that similar complaints are contemplated in
other states.' The Implement Age tells an in
teresting story coricerning the origin and the
methods of the harvester trust. It says that tho
International Harvester company was former in
the offices of J. Pierpont Morgan, with a capital
stock of $120,000,000 and was incorporated in
New Jersey, August 12, 1902. It took over im
mediately, the plants and businesses of five of
the largest manufacturers of harvesting ma
chinery in the country. A month or so later,
September 18, 1902, they organized the Interna
tional Harvester company of America in Wis
consln, with a capital stock of $1,000,000. This
was for the purpose of having a selling organiza
tion to take care of the output of the manufac
turing company, the International Harvester com
pany, and to sell the products in the various
States, and also to escape the taxation on tne
capital of $120,000,000 in some of the states where
concerns doing an interstate commerce, are taxeu
on their capital.
SOMETIME LATER THEInternational Harves
ter company bought the plant and business
of Aultman, Miller & Co., at Akron, Ohio, wr
about $650,000 at a receiver's -ale, through a
couple of gentlemen who were not supposed i i
bo-connected with the International Harvester
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