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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 27, 1887)
THE OMAHA DAILY BEE : SUNDAY , NOVEMBER 27 , 1887. SIXTEEN PAGES. Tholr Last Appotvl The Justlco of Tholr Protest. THE INTRODUCTION OP NIHILISM. Him * , tin ; MhiMiil * Were Hindered In Tlirli' Allfinpl " ' I'm iiSloii to Violent-- mill niixid-licd Tim "TiTiorNt * , . " In th : November Century tlicro np- IHJIII" nn nrlii'lo entitled ' 'I'lii ! I.iiHt Ap- pcnl of tlieHii Mii'i LO > oni".M."byGeoi'f'o Kenmiii , who is without doubt otioodho iniut thoroughly posted men In Arnor- HM on UurHimi ulTaii'H , Mr. Kciiumi , who win originally a telegraph opur- iilor , him vinitod Hussm Mjvurnl times and ho * spout suvonil yuar-t in Hint rnuntry. Tlio labt time. ho wont to Rus sia ho had an intcrvu w v. itli Count 'I'ol-loi. and ho nl.-o interviewed over Jive hundi'od por.-niiH who had been ex iled to Siboi'iii. Mr. Konnun is ono of the very ( < : Vi American- who liavii mas- ti'rt'il tlio Kii" < ian liii ( Ui ! < { e , Hia iii'tl- ok1 in tlio C't'iitui'v i "ft follows. Among the II ril questions which nriso in the. mind of any di pa.-hionato. student of contemporary Kusiian history when ho rovicw.s the events of the last twenty jciii'f. stro the following : "What is tlio real nature and Hlgullirantv "f tlio pro test against authority whieh has re- I'ontly taken PO oxtrenie and violent a form in Kuisia : what arc its original cauxi's and what are the opinions , hopes and aims of the party or class which manifests mii'li an unconquerable spirit of rebellion and which actn with such tierce and ilostnu-tivc energy ? IH the proleHtin/r / jiiirty or class a liomogone- iniii body , nil of who-e mcinberb.s are in- bpircd by the same ideus. or is there a dillorenee of opinion among it constitu ent units an toprinciple and methods of action1 Is what lhi > world calls nihilism a mere philosophy of n < Cation and des truction , which does not look beyond. the overthrow of exiting institutions , 01 has it in view some ideal of Mx.'ial order which it hones ultimately to roa- HwV If the Is'ihilisis are ' ooiiil reform ers sincerely detiirous of improving tlio ( ONIHTIUN or TIM : rrni'u : by ehiitigiiigllie social and political order of things iii th direction of Creator fn e- iloin.how did it happen that they began their protest lit the very time wh'en such change * wore being made with great radidity , and wliy did they llercelyand vindictively pursue and finally murder Alexander li. , the man who was grant ing , as fast as it schemed prudent or pratHii'able to grant , the very reforms which they themselves domandodV In hhni't , what do the phenomena of con temporary Russian history moanV" These questions must be answered 1)ofore any intelligent idea can bo formed of the exii-ting situation in llns- hia , and before any prediction can bo made as to the probable outcome of the falruggK' which is there going on. ( It has been my fortune , in the course of the last t\yo years , to make the in- tinmle neqimintance of more than live hundred members of this Itus-imi pro testing party , including not less than Ihree hundred so-called "nihilibln" living in exile at the convict mines and n the penal settlement-- Siberia. [ 'hin perhaj- ) . throw some light , there fore , upon the problems presented by . .recent Kmsian history , and answer JBtime of the qncstionn which necessarily biiggo.-4 themselves to the attentive fetwlentof Uussiaii atlairTho sub ject , however , is one of great extent and complexity , and it is not mj purpose in the pre-enl paper tocvon make an attempt to dual with it , ns a whole. 1 desire merely to correct Borne widely prevalent errors and then 4to present ono pha o. of the Kiissian "protest against authority ; namely , the .peiiccful . legal argumentative phase vhii'h jirocedeil the appeal to force , and out of which ultimately the appeal to Jori'ti ranie , as the nece--ary and inevi table result of the failure of the peace ful protest. Tnero is a Ayidely prevalent impres sion in America that the protesting party or class in Kusnia is essentially homogeneous ; that its members are all Vnihilists ; " that they prefer violence to any other means of redressing [ wrongs ; that they aim simply lit the destruction of existing institutions , and that there is ill this so-called 'nihilistic" form of protest against authority something peculiar and mysterious something jwliich the occidental mind cannot fully Comprehend , owing to its ignorance of the Russian character. This impres sion , as 1 hope to show , is almost wholly an erroneous one. In the lir.st place , jtho protecting party in KusMa is not , in any sense of the word , homogeneous. Its' members belong to all ranks , classes , 'and conditions of the Itui-sian people ; they hold all sorts of opinions with re- L'ard to social and political orgnni/.n- f ion , and the methods by which they propose to improve the exist ing condi tion of thing * extend through all poani- blo gradations from peaceful romon- iilrance , in the form of collective peti- .lion , to ' 'terroristic" activity , in the { ihape of bomb-throwing and assassina- .tkin" 'J'ho one common bond which mules them is the feeling which they till have that the o.\i-t ing state of alTair * niH become insupportable and must be changed. j In the second place , there is no pro testing party in 1'unsin to which . ! Tur.Tnni. "Mim.isTir , " Jean bo projierly applied. This may , perhaps seem like a paradoxical state ment m view of the fiu-t that wo have not heard of any other protesting party Jn Kussia ; but it is n true statement , Jievertheless. There is no party in the empire which deliberatelj chooses violence lence and bloodshed as the best possl- ) ) le means of attaining its ends ; there is jio party \\hich aims merely at the over throw of the existing institutions , anil there is no party which preaches 01 practices a pliilosphy of negation anil destruction. I make thc-o assertion : conlhlently , bci-an-o lay acuaintanci ( | \\ith so-chilled "nihilists" i > , | ) rohabl\ inuru extensive and thorough than tha'l of any other fyivigncr. and I have discu-sed tlicso fjue-t ion \\ith them foi main 'nuudreds of hours. hiber 's , reformersociuiistie the prists , revolutionists , and ' 'ter rorists" 1 have met in all vnritiop , boll in Kuropcnn Uu la and among the ox | les in Siberia ; but a nihilist in UK proper or even in the popular signill tsation of that word never. Of course ff you use the term "nihilist" as yoi ivould the "l ' use torin iiow-nothin'g , merely to denote a certain social or po litical party and without reference t < the original signiliranco of tin lippcllaliunou may apply i to any body of men to UK Kiught.sol .Labor , for example ; but i you use the word will , a consciousnes of its grimarysignilleationns you \\ouh u-o thu word yellow to do-cribo an or ngo , you cannot properly apply it ti Uny branch of the protesting party ii Russia. There is in the empire ni parly , organi/'ilion. ' or boil j of mon ti which it is applicable. , TIIIJ WOIID "XUIII.JST' ' ictrpducea in l y Tuv geilcf , who u ed It in hia novel "I-'athors and Children" to de scribe it certain ( yi > o of ehftrnctei' which had then recently made its appearance in the ranks of the rising generation nnd which ho contracted sharply and elToctively with the prevailing types in the generation which wan pas-ting from the stage. AH applied to Ha/.arolT. the skeptical , materialistic , iconoclastic surgeon's son in Turgonef's novel , the word "Nihilist" had n natural appro priateness which the KuHsinn public tit once rocogni/ed. There were differ ences of opinion as to the question whether any such class as that repre sented by iJa/arolT really ex isted , but there was no dif ference of opinion with regard to the appropriateness of the term as ail- plied to that particular character. It was accurately descriptive of the type. The word "Nihilist , " however , was peen caught up by the conservatives and bv the government , and was applied in- dWriminatoly by them as an oppro brious and discrediting niokmuno to all persons who were not satislied with the existing order of things and who sought b\ any active method whatever , tobriii' ' ' aiio'tt'changes ' In Hitssian social and political organization. To many of the reformers , iconoclasts , and extreme the orists of that time the term "Nihilist'1 was perhaps fairly applicable as it certainly was , for example , to ISnUimin and his followers and by some of them it was oven accepted in a spirit of pride and defiance as on appellation which , although n nickname , expressed con- jUoly their opnosition to all forms of Authority bated on force. To the great mass of the Russian mal- jontents , however , it had then , mil has now. no appropriate reference whatever. It would bo quite as fairand quite as1 reasonable to say that tlio peo- ile in the United Slates who were once Killed ' 'know-nothings' ' wore persons who really did not know anything as to ny that the people in Russia who are low called "nihilists" persons who cally do not believe in anything , nor cHiiecl anything , nor do anything ex- cpt destroy. By persistent iteration mil reiteration , however , the Russian government and the Russian conserva tive classgj ave succeeded in making the world accept this opprobrious nickname is really descriptive of the eharuc- or and opinions of all their jpponents , from tins "terrorist" ' who thrown an explosive bomb under ho carriage of the c/ar , down to the leneeful and law-abing member Of a provincial as-embly who respectfully LsKs leiixe to petition the crown for the edress of grievances. It would 1m hard o Had another instance in history ivhcre an incongruous and inappropri- ite appellation has thus boon fastened .ipon u hctrogoneous mass of people to ivho o beliefs and actions it has no sort > f applicability , or a case in which an ipprobrious nickname has had so con fusing ami so misleading nu inlkicnce upon public opinion throughout the world. The people most misrepresented and ivronged by this nickname are unqiics.- ionnblv the Russian liberals the mom- KTs of" the protesting party who seek to obtain reforms by peaceable and le gal methods. From the point ofiow ) f the government there might perhaps > o borne propriety in the application of ' 'nihilist" like ho term to a conspirator Nnclmief or to a regicide like RyssakolT ; but there can be no possible reason or excuse for calling by that name a pro- "essor who opposes the inquisitorial provisions of the now university laws , in editor who disputes the right of the ; overnmcnt to banish it man to Siberia ivithout a trial , or a member of a pro vincial assembly \yho persuades his fol- "ow-deleguies to join in 11 petition to lie crown asking for a constitution. These people are not 'inihilists , " they : vro not even revolutionists ; they are peaceable , law-abiding citizens who : ire striving by reasonable methods to secure a belter form of government ; and yet these men are removed from their illicial places , silenced by ministerial prohibition , arrested without adequate au-e , exiled without a judicial hear ing , and finally misrepresented to the world as "nihilists" and enemies of ail socm , oumit. * 1 do not mean to say that the govern ment formally and olllcially brands this class of its opponents with this nick name , or seriously regards it as prop erly applicable to them. I mean only Unit the Russian conservative party and the government press have used the word "nihilist' ' so persistently and so indiscriminately to oharneteri/.o all sorts of malcontents , that llio world has come to regard it as more or less descriptive of the whole protesting class , and has lost sight of the radical ditlerences between the various groups of which that class is made up. It is my purpose in the present paper to briellj de-'cribo the attitude taken to ward the government by this peaceable , branch of the Russian law-abiding pro testing party , and then to allow the lib eral members of that party to express in their own words the opinions which they hold with regard to the existing state of affairs in Russia , and the menus which , in their judgment , should be adopted to stop oppression on ono side and \iolent and unnatural forms of pro test on the other. He fore proceeding , however , to an examination of the opinions and actions of the Russian liberals , it is necessary to sketch hastily the conditions under which the piolcating class came into existence , and the nature of the wrongs and evils against which the protest was made. The sketch must necesserily bo a brief ami inadequate ono , and the reader will , I trust , understand that it does not pretend to cover full.v the ground , or even to outline the h'istory of Russia , during the period. It is in tended merely to suggest the facts which are imli-pcnsable to a elouu- com prehension of the liberal position. Between the jc.u's ISlil nud 1 SCO the Russian government , doubtless ani mated b.s a sincere desire to promote the welfare of the people , undertook a series of sweeping and far-reaching re forms , which included the emancipa tion of the serfs , the grant of compara tive freedom to the press , the reorgani zation of the courts , and the establish ment of a system of local self-govern ment , by means of elective assemblies , /.enistvo-i. . If these reforms had been carried out in the liberal spirit in which they were apparently conceived , they would have iilToetcd beneficially every department of Ku-sinn social and political life ; they would have lightened in a hundred ways the burdens whicli rested upon all classes of citi/ens ; the would luuesalisllcdtemporarilyat least the growing demand for greater free dom of thought , speech , and actionant would have saved the country from a long , disastrous , and exhausting revolu tionary struggle. Unfortunately , how ever , the government either lost faitl * It Is linrilly necessary , porhupa , to sij ; that this is not u VUKUO , general assertion luiulo nt mutton ! . I liavo particularly li jiiiiul the ciiso of a well-known professor o the Moscow university wlioso muno I wll not Hive , lu'c.iuso ho Is not yet mi exllo ; thi cuso of C'onstluo M. Staniukovitcli , forraorl ; editor of the Unsslim inngazino "Dlcllo.1 who is now an exile In tlio town of Tomsk western blbcrlii ; ami the c.xio of Ivan I. 1'e trunljovltcli , formerly u Justleo of the nenei inul u ini'inber of the provincial assembly o Uliernigof , who J now an cxllo in one of ihi northern provinces of Kuroi > enii Kubsin They are all iiioiicrnto liberals , mid they huv < all been punished without u trial or oven i in Us own projected reforms , took alarm tit UK * attitude of independence assumed by ome of the provincial , sasc'mhlies. or became ceriously apprehensive that the liberal movement , if not checked and repressed , would gobejond the limits marked out for it. and perhaps get en tirely beyond control. Instead , there fore , of carrying out Us reforms pro- serverlnglj and consistently , and with a feeling of confidence in the good sense , patriotism , and self-control of the people ple , the government began almost at once to restrict , qualify , and abrogate right " and privileges which it had just granted. By means of ministerial cir culars nnd s'eeret Instructions to pro vincial governors , it limited freedom of discussion in the provincial assemblies gagged nynin the partial enfronchisod prcws. withdrew whole classes of impor tant cases from the jurisdiction of the recogni/ed courts , restricted the right of private meeting to discuss questions of political economy , arrested persons who as-tomblod for the purpose of con sidering the problems pre-ontod by Russian life under the novel conditions which the reforms had created , and in a hundred ways harried and exasper ated the libeinl element , which sought merely to do its part in the work of re form , reorganization , and regeneration whicli the government it-elf had under taken. The result of this reactionary policy was of course intense popular dis satisfaction , which at llrst manifested itself in outspoken protests , then took the form of dctermiuad opposition , and finally ended in open insubordination. This called forth repressive measures of still greater severity , which only in creased the feeling of exasperation ; and at last the younger and more im pulsive members of the liberal parly , finding themselves powerless to attain by open and legal methods the objects which they had in view , and believing that the government had never been sincere in its liberal professions , under took to act for themselves , and in their own way , by organizing in all of the larger towns secret circles which they called "Circles for Self-Instruction. ' ' Those were originally little more than associations for ardent young liberals , who met frequently at private houses to talk over their grievances , and discuss methods of improving the condition of the peasants ; but they were gradually transformed by repressive measures into secret centers of revolutionnry nctivily. About this time began that remarka ble , impulsive , generous but quixotic liberal crusade which was known as "going to the people. " Thousands of duented young men , tired with an sir- dent desire to do something to atone for ho sins of their fathers toward the re- enlly emancipated serfs.and filled with > ity for the hitter's ignorance and nisery , went into the iifssi \ \rii.r\ois : , nto the suburbs of the greatcities , into nclories , into workshops , into sill places ivhero the peasants toiled sinil suffered , : md sought , by sympathy , by co-opern- 'ion. and by personal instruction , to lolp and ele'vato the men and women ivliom their fathers had bought , sold , mil Hogged. Hundreds of cultivated : uid refined young women , with that singular capacity for self-sacrifice whieh is inherent in the Russian character. Abandoned their homes and families , , ) ut on coarse peasant dress , went into the remotest , loneliest , siud dreariest villages of the empire , smil , in the csi- iKicity of school teachers , midwivcs , or nurses , shared the hard , pro-ale life of the common people , labored with them , suffered with them , and bore their bur dens , merely in order to learn how they could best be helped. Sophia 1'erofs- kayn , one of the live regicides who were bunged at St. Petersburg in 1SS1'began her career with this sort , of missionary work ; Yorsi Phillipova , who planned the assassination of General Strelnikof and who died of prison consumption in the "ortress of Schlu-selburg last year , was uioth" ! ' of the heroicyoung women who thus WLi.'t ' 'to the people ; ' ' Madame Ravalefskaya , who is now serving out a hard-labor sentence in Knslorn Siberia , was a teacher in a peasant school ; Anna Pavlovna Korba , who is dying by inches sit the convict mines of Kara , was a Red Cross nurse , and treasurer of a local benevolent society , before she became a member of the dreaded "Nihilisfoxec- utivo committee ; and hundreds of other young women threw themselves with pas-ionate self-abnegation and self-de votion into the work of educating , ele vating and helping the lower classes. Somothinganalogousto this took plnco in our own country soon after the. close of the civil war , when educated nnd re fined young women from the Now Eng land states wont south to teach in negro ehools ; but the movement in the United States never became- epidemic , as it did in Russia , nor was it over characterised by the reckless , heroic self-sacrifice which illumines so many dark pages of Russian history. Ofcourso the "Circles for Self-In struction" i'ldtho uiiprocode.ucd : move ment of the youth of Russia "to the people" did not c = fnpo the vigilant at- tintioa of tlio goverinent. Both were repifird.eii.anrt perhaps with good reason , as seditious in their character.nnd steps were at once taken to put a stop to what was believed to bo nothing more than a secret revolutionary propoganda. The ' 'Circles for Self-Instruction * ' worn broken up ; all persons suspected of dis loyalty wore put under strict police supervision or banished to distant provinces ; educated young men and women found in peasant villages were required to satisfac torily explain their presence tlje-rC ; the more active opponents of the govern ment were exiled to , Siberia by ' 'admin ' istrative process" and arrests wore made by tlio hundred in St. Petersburg. Moscow , Kiev , Odessa and all the larger towns of the empire. The fooling of exasperation meanwhile grew more nnd more intense and the revolutionary movement moro smd more formidable , notwithstanding the increasing severity of tlio government's repressive measures until at hist tlio prisons wore liter ally crammed with political offenders , most of them young people from the ed ucated class. The cruel treatment of these prisoners and of the exiles in Si beria , who wore- regarded by their fol low revolutionists sis martyrs in the cause of freedom , finally provoked re prisals and in 1S7S ( lonernl Mo//cntxel the chief of gendarmes , was assassin ated in the street in St. Petersburgauil ( jencral Trepoll , the chief of police , ol the city , was shot by Zussiililch , foi ordering the flogging of a political pris oner mimed llogoeuholV. During all this lime the l\usinn lib erals , as distinguished from the revolu tionists , had been endeavoring to dis courage the resort to violence on the ono side , anil to secure justice , consist ency , and ndherency on the other Their efforts , however , were not suc cessful in either direction. The revo lutionists believed that the time foi pesieoful remonstrance had passed , am regarded further discussion us useless while the government resented the in termediation of the liberals as an im pertinence , if not a manifestation o sympathy with the duclured enemies o the stale. Such was the situation of affairs ii IbTh anil IS" ! ) , when the llrst politica assassinations announced the adoptioi by the revolutionary party of thq policj of "terror. " The liberals , forseolnt , that this policy would almost certainly lead sooner or later to the as assinatioi of the czar , nnd bQ-lioving Urn , the reaction which must follow fltieh n orimo wouhl bo ills- nstrouji , if not lahil , to the cause of lib erty t ilotoriulnod to nifiko nnothorolTort to obtain from the governinont souie ro- cogiiitioa of the evils nud wrongs against whicli the revolutionist * wore so tlorcely protesting , and some promise of u ro- tiirn to the liberal programme outlined in the reform measure of 1MI1-1MM' . In order , however , to tnaUo this attempt with liny prospect of successit was mani festly nocess/ryto ! / secure n temporary suspension , at least , of the destrui'tlvo aetlvity of tlio extreme revolutionary party. Nothing could bo accomplished by poaeofnl luolhods if the "terroists" continued to/tlai'iii / and exasperate the government with throats and deeds of murderous violeJtee. In the early purl of IST'J ' , therefore , some of TIM : t'ltojiiNKsr I.IIIKII.M.S. Chornigof and Khnrkofi , inoluding Prof. Gordoenko itlio mayor of the latter eity ) and Mr. I'etriinkoUtcli ( the presiding justice of one of the now courts , and a member of the t'hernigof provincial assembly ] , decided to open eommunioatioa with the "terrorists , " urge uiion them the danger.s of the path on which they had entered , point out to them the calamities \\hich they might bring upon1 Knssia by this des perate , unreasonable , murderous ! policy , and iibcortniti upon what conditions they would agree to stop committing acts of violence. In pursuance of this resolution a committee of liberals.repre senting several of the /.omsUos. or pro vincial ns-emblies , of central and south ern Kuisin , made journcy.i to various parts of the empire , and'had personal interviews with a number of the lead ers of the "terroristic' ' or extreme re volutionary party. The committee said to the latter : "Wo believe tlmt we can bring about re forms by pi'iiccublo ami lopal motliods , and wo desire now to nmko anotlicr uttompt to dose so , but wo shall of course fall if you continue these political murders. Our object in com ing to see you is to ask you to suspend jour operations for a while and give us an oppor tunity to act. If we fail to attain our ends by reasonable and pisaccful methods , and if you tlien think that you can accomplish .some thing b.v jour policy of 'terror , ' proceed at your own peril ; we shall disapprove and de plore your mistaken action , but wo shall have nothing more to say ; first , however , give us a chance. " Tin' "terrorists'1 declared that their policy was not ono of choice ; that the government had forced them to adopt it by closing to them all other avonnes of escape from an absolutely intolerable position. They wore willing , however , to listen to reason , and would solomly promise notto commit any more acts of violence if the government jvould even show a disposition to do * three things namely , lirst. remove the oxistintr re strictions upon freedom of speech and of the press ; second , guarantee personal rights against capricious , illegal , irre sponsible action on the part oftho execu tive authorities ; and , third , allow the people to participate in some way in the national government. These , they said , were the things , for which they were lighting , and if they could bo satisfied that the government would grant these demands , they as it parly would refrain wholly from acts of violence and "main tain an attitude ot , expectancy. " The mombarsof the liberal committee returned to their homo- ! and held a con sultation witli their fellow-delegate as to the best methods of carrying their plans into execution. The only basis upon which they could proceed in legal form was tha Iuiyiishe ( ( byemstvos , or provincial as-emblies. These were le gally authorized bodies , representative of the pooploandreeogni/ed by the gov ernment , and itj.was decided to have these /emstvos Jiflojit and simultane ously forward inojriorials or petitions to the crown wetting'forth the grievances of llio people anrt'tisking for a constitu tional form of government. The first petition which went in was that of the provincial assembly of ICharkolT , whicli convened earlier than the others , and therefore took the lead. Tliis address was not as clear in state ment nor as definite in its demands as might , have been desired , but neverthe less produced a profound impression. The minister of the interior at once sent a circular letter to the marshals of the nobility , who presided over the provincial assemblies , directing them not to permit any memorials to bo laid before the assemblies without previous submission to them ( the marshals ) for approval , and not to penult action of any kind upon such petitions as thai , from the assembly of ICharkolT. The next y.einstvo to draw up a memorial was that of C'hornigof. its address to the crown was respectful in form and tone , but extremely bold in expression. It declared that the go\ eminent itself WHS responsible for the revolu tionary movement which it asked the people to oppose , because it hud never executed faithfully its own laws ; thi'.i by constantly violating these laws and re'sorting to administrative force to attain its illegal ends it had destroyed the people's respect for law , and has thus prepared the way for all sorts of anarchistic teaching ; that it had not granted a single reform which on the very next day it had not tried to muti late or nulify by administrative regu lations and' restrictions ; that it had deprived the llussian pooploot the right to express its opinion' : , not only through the press and through public meetings , but even through the provincial ns-eni- blies ; and , finally , that the only way to successfully combat revolution and nn- arcjiy was to create now national forms and adopt a constitution whieh would restrain illegal action not only on the part of individual eitix.ons , but on the part of the government. Alan informal meetingof nil tlio dele gates of the Chornigof provincial as sembly this bold address was adopted with only two dissenting votes , and was then given to Mr.Ivnn I. I'otrunkovitch for formal presentation to the assembly at its regular session on the following day. In the meantime Mr. I'otrunko vitch submitted it the presiding ollicer for approval as required by the recent ministerial circular. Tlie marshal after reading it said , "I cannot allow you to lay tliis paporbofro | ) the assembly. " "Why1" ; dumiwidod Mr. i'otrunke- viteh. "Ueeauso it is forbidden. " "fan you sbowmo ( any law of the em pire whieh forbids a delegate to lay be fore the assembly , of which ho is a mom- bora ' perfectly ' respectful petition to the C'rownV "No , " ' replied'tho marshal , "but I have mi order from the minister of the interior whicli Iwf * all the force of law so far as 1 am concerned , and I must obey it. " "If , " said Mr. iPotrunkovitch , "you cannot show mo u law which forbids such action as tlmt which I propose to take , 1 am acting within my legal rights , and I shall lay this petition bolero - lore the assembly to-morrow unless I am prevented by force. " "Very well , " replied the marshal , ' 'I must ttiko my measures. " ' When , on 'the following morning Mr. Petrunkcvitch went to the assembly hall ho found the public for the first time excluded. There were gendarmes at the door to keep out all persons except - cept delegates , and there were gon- durmea intho luill itself. At. boon as tlio assembly had been called to order , several members sprang to their feet and protested against the presence of the gendarmes , which they declared was a menace and an insult to a deliberative assembly. The presiding otjlccr replied that the gendarmes were there by order of the governor. Amid a scene of great ex- fitenienl nnd confusion , Mr. Potrunko- vltch rose to present the/ address to the rown. wnlch hud been almost unani- uously adopted by the delegates at the n formal session of the previous da.\ . The presiding officer refused to allow it 0 be read or considered , and when Mr. etrunkeviteh persisted in his utumpt o obtain formal action upon it , the mirilml peremptorily declared the sis- sion of the assembly closed .a ml the li'ill vns cleared by the geiuhn'mes. The lelegates , however , prepared copies of their address , and sent them to all the /.eni'-tvo' . of the empire , and ninny olhi r issemblies eight or tin. if I etnember rightly followed the example set by the yem&lvos of 'hernigof and KhurkolT. and Irawing up memorials , smd trying to ret them acted upon. Their oflorts , iowe\er. were rendered fruitless by ninisteriul prohibitions onfomd by rendarnics. sindon the 1 llh of April , 87 ! ) , this form of agitation was slopped > y the attempt of SoliviolT to a asinalo ho c/.ar. Another spasm of alarm , re- iction and repression followed ; martial aw was declared throughout the greater > art of Kuropesin Russia , nndixecu- ions , arrests and the indiscriminate exile of all persons who dared to re- nonstrale or protest , silenced once nore the voice of the lUtssian people. Mr. Potrunkevitch smd other members > f the provincial assemblies of Chernigof mil Klmrkoff were arrested and ban- shcd by administrtivo process1 , and , to tdopt the language of the olltcinl re- > orts , "order was re-established in the lisutleotod provinces. " Thus ended another attempt of the Jussinn liberals to put a stop to violence mil bloodshed , imd to obtain for the icoplo of the empire by pi a "cable ncthods the reforms whicli the whole n-otesting class demanded. Of the eaders in this temperate , courageous , latriotic movement only two sire now- lying ; one of them is in exile and the other is insane. ( To be continual next THE A La Persephone French Hand-made Highest standard of Corbet ever intro duced into this market. They impart that graceful figure nnd line foi in which any well dressed lady would be justly proud , especially when obtainable without injur ious light lacing , etc. Indorsed as the Peerless Corset By leading dressmakers of Paris , London and New York , and for sale in Omaha by N. B. Falconer , Thompson , Belden & Co. And other mereunits' ! . Tlio Olil ISpliJiblcpprliilln of ninny TOUTS' r\m > rl- K'iyl.rl,1"ts. ! 5'1'1 ' ' wimlorliil incn" . * , nil lLNi ( , ( AJM Kit , l'll.l > , ris-n I.A DIIQTIIL [ 'H''I ' ' without inln or lilmlinnro li II F I II II L r" " " I'H'liii" ' " " . AH Chronic Dln'ini't , wi w h * jllr | (1 ( , , jHiii'i' of nuj liintutiun in Hilt country. Th 'P ho cuiituniplatH ito\na \ t" Hot i-iirliiKS Inr llio tiiatment nt nny Prlv.ili- llloiM itliiM-o cm i > o cured lor uno-tlnid the cost nt our I'rlXHtu lilipvnino I AD I [ 1C Hy lintrfitmcnlu r.itv , lovely Com- LA'JlLtl I'l'11' ' ' " ' ! . Iroo from Millovtm" " , frrrklo-i , unuibU | , iukiiMiii" , , | .ritim | , , , , eu. . , iirlllhint | it > rr < ' < t U , uilli t'lin Lo lunl. If'Ilmt "lirwl U'i'lii ! ! : > iml nil fomntrt wciikiirssoi troinnty ; i uioil. Illnntlnc Ih-uJjulM" * . Nervous 1'rov "Titon , denerni lel ) > lllt > , Mreiilo mMs , l > < 'proItm i ml InillKCStliiti Otiiriiin troudles , Iniliuiuitllon anil nlelepillon. KallliiKiiml llipl.icoiiivnt ) , spinal weak- > 'pss , Klilnej coiuplntnts anil ClianKU ul J.I re , Consult tliuOM Doctor CVC AUn CAD Ac nlo or Clironlc Inltnmma- r T C . HIIU LHll nnil 'Ion ' I'lirorNwirMKlitedncM nt tinK > cllls or itlnlid , Inversion nf the I.lil , Scrolulous Kves , Lli-eratlons , liiUiiininanon11 , Ah cets. Dimness ul Vtsltm ut uncor lioth e > es , and rruni"rs ol Mil. Ciy'lntlamtuiitioii 1,1 the hnr , Vice-ration or Catarrh , Interim ! or llxternul Deafness , or I'aralyMs , tliiRltirf or Ito.irliiL' noises. Thickunetl Driitn , etc. Delilllty.ossof ] Vital Tower , Sleeplessness - lessness , le ponilency , IKISS of ViMiior > .r < inriiloiior Menlllitrs heloro tlio Kjes , l.afltucli' , I.iiiinuor , ( ilootnlness , Deiiros i , , , , nlnlrlls , A > or lon loNidoty. Kasy llh- I'liiirniii'il , lack nt Conllili'iioo , Dull , Listless Unlit for Mmly or lluslness. anil tlnilslltuii bunlcii.bnful ) , I'ennatiently anrt I'rlvntely CuroU. QI nnn Aftin ci/iw i - w. scromm , nLIIIIll . ANII tSMN ii : > slpela3rerer orei UL.UUU HIIU UIXIII Hiotcfies , i'lmples. Ul- cois , I'nlnsln the Heart ami Hones , hvplillltlot-oro Throat. .Mouth unit Tonuuc , ( ilantlul'ir l.nlar i.'inunt ol tin1 Neck , iiMiniatlsi-i.s'Dtarrh , Kla. , IVriimnvnt- I ) Cureil When others Have Kalleil. t'onsultnticn fro and strictly contlilnuMal. Meillciny sent free from oli'-ervatlou ' to nil paits of the f nltcd States , roiieipmitli'lieft receives ; > roiiiit | nttuntloii. Xo letters uiisrtereil unless acroiniianlod liy four cents lu stamps. Hend ton cents In stamps for iiftiiiplil"t and list oC ques tions upon pilvnte. special nnd nervous dis eases. Terms Mtictly ra li. Call on ov ndilross , DR. POWELL REEVES , No. ail Soutli 13th Bt. . Omaha. Neb " oprietor Omaha Business College , IN WHICH 13 TAUOHT Book-Keeping , Penmanship , Commercial Law , Shorthand , Telegraphing and Typewriting. Send for College Journal. S. E. Cor. irith and Canltal Ave. Mention the Oiniilia llco. Can lie had in Over 700 Different Sfyles and Sizes , a ! the same price as the counterfeits Insist upon seeing the Trade Mark or you may be deceived THE MICHIGAN STOVE COMPANY , Detroit , Chicago , Buffalo , . KOI I S'AI.U IIV Milton Rogers & Sons , Omaha , Neb. llcwnrt-of m.iri'liniil nlio romiiiiMul ntlic > r liivo In prororonco U -"I. Mil.AMTin' ) IIIIMI I'ltlmr fnlloil lit m-puro UK ) . "linrliunV or urn IMt ln-1KI : > In n'lllnit li' i ili" < lriililo Klnvco. & S.W. . JONES , ( Successors to A. T. KENYON & CO. ) Street. A LARGE LINE OF BIBLES and PRAYER BOOKS Stationery Novelties , and all the Latest Publications. HE& 1211 and 1213 Farnam Street 1 Carpets , Stoves , ii ! WEEKLY AND MONTHLY PAY MENTS , HIMEBAUGH & TAYLOR , . m i ' - ICE TOOLS. Wire Rope , Buffalo Scales Plows , , Markers , Scale Repair Shop. Hooks , Grapples , OMAHA. Slide Iron. . T. N PARKER FLORIST I'lncst Collection of Rare & Ornamental Plants West of Now York City. Office , 1422 FAniTAM STREET , . Ollli n Telephone , CO. Orion Mou J' . O. e'le'ejilioiie JioxttS. , 1000 , ( Iloyd'ji Opera House. ) OF DOLLARS Are now held by the Life Insurance Companies of llio United Slates as bunling or investment portion of prominma paid by the policy holders o these institutions. A largo part ofhieh sum , says Commissioner Turbos , o Massa- cluiftetts , in report forlSSi'hasno just relations to life insiir.iuc. , " and further say * , ' 'if insurance and investment , are the object , each can better be got in its separate place than by a combination which impoverishes the inveslmcnf and does not IMPROVE or niKAI'KX the insurance. THE PROVIDENT SAVINGS LIFE ! NSURfi4GE ! CO. , OF * W YQ51K. SHEPABD HOMANS , President. C/i///ifccu Years Actuary of'tlic Mutual Lift : Jtisnniiica L'o , , of Xew York. ) Is the only regularly incorporated company in the United Stales that does u strictly life insurance business unraixtd with investment features ; it is thus enabled nnd does furnish lifo insurance at moro than 50 per cent loa-s limn it competitors. The security is unequalled , no company in the world showing as large ratio of assets to liabilities. The company is endorsed by the leading actuaries in the country , and its popularity is attested by the fact that only four of its competitors wrote as large a business in 18SO , three of these do not confine their business to the United Stulei. For further particulars call on or address , E. B. HALL General ' . . , Agent , 12 Arlington Block , Onialm , A few good agents wanted for city nud country work ,
