10
THE SUNDAY . OREGONIAX, PORTIAXD, JANUARY 12, 190S.
RUSSIA'S FIGHTTO
THROW OFF YOKE
Story of Imperial Dyplicity,
Perfidy and Violence in .
Land of Czars.
FREEDOM ONLY MOCKERY
Loans Necessitate Calling of Dou
mas, but Every Means Is Used
, to Abrogate. Constitution
and Restore Autocracy.
BY WILLIAM H. GALA ANI.
Ah. monarchal could ye taste the mirth y
mar.
Not In the tolls of Glory would ye fret:
The' hoarse, dull drum would sleep and Man
be happy yet.
Childe Harold. 1:47-
It is but a very short time since the
Russian autocracy astonished the.world
by an exhibition of- its duplicity In
foreign affairs. With its long: line of
perfidy and fraud, as practiced upon
the .oppressed millions constituting
Russia's enormous population. ' the
world at .larRe for some reason or
another remained .in the dark. Things,
however, have finally come to a pass
where it is no longer possible for the
Imperial government to conceal the
dark method by which the terrorism
of autocratic bayonets exercises the
divine right of governing by robbery,
oppression, medieval torture and mur
der. -
Forced to Make Grants. '
The story is briefly told. Following
the late unpleasantness lit the Far
East, Imperial Russia, reduced by an
unbroken series of staggering dis
asters to bankruptcy and ruin, ' con
cluded to grant the people some forrn
of representative government. From
this there was no escape, as. the au
tocracy found itself face, to fate with
either a complete overthrdw of the
"existing order" oi" a pacification of
the long-suffering' people by a grant
of full civil liberty. Hence dur
ing the month of Augnst. 1905, while
Count Wltte had his engagement with
Baron Komura at Portsmouth, N.- H-,
the mournful orocodile, the Czar of
all the Russlas, "invoking the blessings
of the Lord," but "preserving the fund
amental law regarding the autocratic
power," announced the concession of a
luuma, or representative Assembly, for
the Russian Empire. The form and
phraseology of that celebrated docu
ment were, however, quite characteris
tic of all imperial manifestoes stripped
of Its appeals to God and other glitter
ing generalities. It contained little or
nothing to the purpose. Vfnder such
circumstances, and with an abiding
faith in the general awakening, the
people throughout the whole, emptre
proclaimed that they would accept
nothing less than a. constitution
modeled after Anglo-Saxon principles
of civil liberty, and with unparalleled
heroism and self-sacrifice continued
the programme to which there ' could
have been but one result for the au
tocracy. -
Fears Fate of Others.
Once more the Czar of all the Russlas
paused the fate of tyrant kings rose be
fore him like a dream: he issued another
manifesto, a new fundamental law. The
document was framed in unmistakable
phraseology, plainly expressing and un
reservedly granting "the Immutable foun
dations of civil liberty." It has since be
come known as the October Manifesto,
having been proclaimed on October 30,
1916. It was granted by Nicholas II be
cause, in his own words, "from the
present disorders may arise great na
tional disruption they menace the Integ
rity and unity of our empire." He there
fore resolved that "the supreme duty Im
posed upon us by our sovereign Office
requires us to efface ourself," and pro
claimed it as his "inflexible will first,
to extend to the population the immuta
ble foundations of eivil liberty, based on
the real Inviolability of person, freedom
of conscience, speech, union and associa
tion; second, . . . to invite the partici
pation in the Douma ... or those
clauses of the population now completely
deprived of electoral rights, leaving the
ultimate development of the principle of
electoral right in general to the newly
established legislative order of things;
third, to establish as an unchangeable
rule that no law shall, be enforceable
without the approval of the State Douma,
and that it shall be possible for the
elected of the people to exercise real par
ticipation in the supervision of the legal
ity of the acts of the authorities appoint
ed by us."
By this remarkable document, supple
mented by the "Fundamental Law,"
published May 7. 1906, the ancient autoc
racy has come to an end,' and the new.
order of things inaugurated.
First Ponnia Called.
The First Douma elected to carry out
the provisions of the above documents
was opened In the Winter Palace with
much pomp and ceremony on May 10,
IS!. Nicholas II, in a three-minute
speech, renewed his pledges to the mem
bers of the first Douma, and appealed to
them, as he did In. the above documents,
to unite In the effort of securing the re
generation of the empire, and a regenera
tion it certainly needed."
Be It reniembred that the personnel of
the First Russian Parliament consisted
of the ablest and most Intellectual men
In the land of the Czars. They proceeded
at once, to transform the old and corrupt
bureaticracy into a well ordered govern
ment based upon the principles of human
rights. These men proceeded to Investi
gate the affairs of state, and to recon
struct matters to accord with the new
order of things. From the startling dis
closures of the part played by the, gov
erning patriots in massacres, assassina-
tions, looting of public funds, etc., the
bureaucrats became panic stricken. But
they managed to enlist the cooperation
of the grand 'ducal cabal, and, with
its assistance, prevailed upon Nicholas
II to dismiss Premier Goremykin. to dis
perse tlie Douma. and to appoint Stolypin
as Prime Minister. Thus the first Douma
. came to an untimely end on July 22, 1906.
The members of the outlawed First
Douma quietly proceeded to Viborg.' Fin
land, about 72 miles nory west of St.
Petersburg, where, on July 23, they issued
a signed statement to the people of Rus
sia and urged them, in defense Of their
constitutional rights, to refuse to pay
taxes or send conscripts to the army un
til the powers granted to parliament are
restored. By some strange coincidence,
on the day of the adoption of the Viborg
manifesto. Sir Henry Campbell-Banner-man.
at the International Parliamentary
Conference, at Westminister, greeted the
delegation representing Russia's outlawed
first Douma "La Douma est mort. Vive
la Douma!"
Vrgent Need of Loan.
A second Douma was soon called. Not.
Indeed, because the governing cabal
wanted it. but simply because the bu
reaucracy was looking for a loan--a very
common thing in. the land of the Czars.
Though not as able a representative body
as Russia's First Parliament, It shared,
nevertheless, the same fate: on June. 3,
1907, ft, too, was outlawed and dispersed,
and. before the loan that great object of
all of the bureaucracy's desires could
be accomplished. The representative
members of the Second Douma, no less
than their predecessors, have, however,
left upon the financial world the .im
pression' that the people will consider no
national or foreign loan to the bureaucratic-government
as binding upon them
unless such loan be sanctioned -by a le
gally elected representative assembly In
regular session. To. -overcome this, the
bureaucracy began to devise the neces
sary means. '
First of all the governing plunderbund
recognized the immediate necessity of
preparing public opinion abroad on - the
mortal sins of the representatives of the
first two legislative bodies outlawed by
His Majesty. Accordingly, a 17-page
article was prepared, and no, doubt with
the direct assistance of the governing
council, under the title of "The Real Men
ace to Tsardom;" and published in the
May issue. of the London National Re
view, 'over, the modest signature of "St.
Petersburg." The writer. .or writers,; of
that , celebrated contribution opens the
brief for Tsardom by- expressions of .keen
disappointment that "some man of strong
will . . . . by sheer dint of his. person
ality" "did' not - materialize upon those
troublous scenes to "solve the most burn
ing '.questions without t even discussing
them."- . ... . : :
" Would Mold Opinion. '
We are then quietly informed that It is
but a "conflict between the cause of a
strong monarchy and that of a parlia
mentary democracy," and "a self-respecting
nation would have chosen" continuity
Jl B K
Nicholas II. Caar of All the
Russia..
posed tax levy and loan, the government
has begun a systematic scheme of intimi- !
dation by prosecuting and convicting Jhe
members of former Parliaments.. ..Hence
it is that the leading members of the
Second Douma were charged and con
victed by the judicial servants of-, the
bureaucracy -withtl) agitation of mutiny
in the army and -rebellion among the
people: (2) conspiracy .against -the "auto
cratic" government by promoting ideas In
favor of a democratic republic: 3) refusal
to support legislation proposed by ; the
government and (4) failure ' to - approve
the government budget. The judges, as
usual In such -cases; have-'found them
guilty and sentenced every one of them
to. various punishments.1 including - depri
vation of all civil rights, which means
that hone of them can .be elected 'to' any
public position, as in law they are, under
such circumstances,--regarded as common
outlaws.
Why Bombs Are Used. ' .
Having disposed' and - forever disfran
chised the members of the Second Douma,
the government -at once proceeded against
tho qf the First Douma. The Viborg
manifesto' Issued by them on the day fol-r
lowing their dispersion, is the basis for
charges 'of high treason against each of
them. No doubt, the judges received their
Instructions long before the trial began,
and these will share the same fate. as the
members of the Second Douma. These
with the drumhead courts-martial which
are dally taking place all over the land,
are the means by which the Third
Douma is to be forced to do the bidding
of Russia's bureaucracy." -
All this is. however, but a small' frag
ment of a most terrible tragedy --that Is
taking place in . the land of the Czars.
This is why the people of th land of
Imperial duplicity have resolved on mak
ing war on the organized lawlessness and
brutality of the autocratic government.
Deprived of they possibility -of using the
repeating rifle and bayonet in regular
military formation, they have concluded
to resort to the hand grenade . (bomb) and
dagger. For a justification of this the
best of men and women of-.Russia--have
pledged their lives, their fortunes and
their honor. 1
with the past." : A mournful lament then
follows over "the general limitation of
the Monarch's prerogatives" to such an
extent that "no law may be permanently
entered In .the Statute Book that has not
been previously- agreed to by the
Douma";. no, not even so unimportant -an
Item as "to. modify the electoral regula
tions without the consent of the Douma."
Humiliating , as ' all this is to the de
fender of the old medieval despotism, it
Is by far more bitter to contemplate that
the "fundamental law" requires that "all
taxes, duties and dues shall be first sub
mitted to the two Houses of Parliament,
and that it shall :be illegal to levy -any
whlah have not been approved by the na
tion's representatives": aye, even "a loan
and the conditions under which it may
be concluded" must likewise be submitted
to and' approved by them! . All this leads
our' contributor to the terrible realiza
tion" that' "there would seem to be some
withering " curse hanging over the mon
archical cause that was once almost wor- '
shipped in Muscovy," else no such a thing
were possible in Holy Russia as 'the
weakening of the - monarchical and ' the
strengthening 'of the . democratic prin
ciple.". Finally, when: through with moan
ing;' and groaning, whining and 'weeping,
the documents establishing the new order
of 'things, are proclaimed, "but an essay
and that', it ought 'to be nothing more"!
And yet, and yet, "if the monarchical
principle is to be preserved, it must be
defended, and defended stoutly," la the
parting admonition that ' comes "from St.
Petersburg! ' Verily, it sounds like the
late AksakofTs frantic cry, "Pora Do
moi!" which, translated Into plain Eng
lish means. " Tis time to relapse Into old
politico-ecclesiastical barbarism !' -
Gives Object Lessons.
Let . us ' see - now what ' has taken' place
in Russia-since the clumsy effort' to pre
pare ..public .opinion abroad -in favor of
restoring the autocracy. A third Douma
had .been hurriedly summoned, and, after
disfranchising the "enemies of the exist
ing order,"' the , bureaucracy, . "by actual
violence . and . brutal - intimidation, secured
a legislative body which In its opinion
would obey orders. ' Among the 380 mem
bers constituting the Third Douma; there
are two . bishop's and '45; priests." a "goodly
number of active . and' retired office-holders,
members of the '"Black Hundreds"
and. similar, '"patriotic" organizations.
Among 'tliese.. however, there are 72 Octo
berists, ' while. '47 members of the whole
body-, served In the. First and Second
Douma; these, with the few scattering
Liberals,, though . considerably outnum
bered by the bureaucratic representatives,
have so, far successfully blocked the pro
gramme Of -the' servants of - the. old-time
autocracy. Indeed, such is their Influ
ence that, in framing a reply to the Czar's
address, the large majority . were obliged
to strike out the word "Autocrat," which
to - the . governing machine would have
been -a "complete -. recognition . by . the
Douma Itself that the Czar is still "Auto
crat of all the Russlas." In fact, Kho
myakoff . the president of the. Douma,
boldly .announced that the Czar- Is no
longer Autocrat, ' but - a constitutional
monarch, that the Douma is ' the . law
making power; that the two chief Items
before that body were the agrarian ques
tion and tlje budget. ' '.
To understand the great importance of
the agrarian and financial questions, as
these prevail in ' Russia under the man
agement of the "existing order," it Is
only- necessary to remind the reader that
these are the questions which have driven
the mass .of Russia's population, to the
general revolt resulting In ' the October
manifesto: - that the First and Second
Dounias were outlawed .ami dispersed be
cause the members of these . two bodies
have manfully labored to solve these
problems 'm accordance with the. letter
and spirit of the conditions that brought
them together. Almost one-half of Rus
sia's white papulation Is made up of
peasants, and In the language of John
Foster Fraser, a recent traveler, not en
tirely in sympathy with the revolution
ists, "no one can come away from in
vestigating their lives . without tears: the
only sensation at the end of it all is to
feel drenched with despair. "
Must'tevy Heavy Tax.
The expenditures have grown to the
enormous, sum of 2,515.000.000 roubles, ac
cording to. the budget for 1908. Of this vast
sum It. Is only possible to collect from all
sources, including 636,000,000 roubles- from
the government monopoly of the sales of
liquor, J.318.000.000 roubles, leaving thus &
deficit of 197.000,000 'roubles, which it hi
proposed to raise by a loon much larger
than the deficit. Be It remembered that
oll'this vast'amount'has to come from a
land impoverished toy, famine, pestilence
and war. .'-" - .
. To force the Third Douma to drop the
agrarian question and to sanction the'pn-
LAND VALUES QUESTIONED
Complaint as to Method of Assess
'mcnt in Columbia-County.
RAINiER,. Or., Jan. il (To the
Editor.) I see' by a' local newspaper
that eight timber owners in' Columbia
County have appealed to' the Circuit
Court to- have- their assessments re
duced. It is also stated that all but
one of them would have been cited to
appear before the Board of Equaliza
tion to show cause why their assess
ment should not be ' Increased, but for
the intervention of the. holidays;
I know- nothing about these particu
lar cases, but .1 do know that- some
timber lands are grossly overvalued. 1
myself .have nearly -4,000,000- feet, ac
cording to the cruiser's estimate, that l
am anxious to sell at 25 per cent below
the assessor's valuation. - -It looks as
though the - powers holding forth ' at
the courthouse -had. decided to - collect
an undue proportion of taxes from- the
timber owners, -, not only - by over
valuation of timber, but by the In
direct means of . - under-valuation .of
other property. - And . If evidence of
under-valuatlon will be of any use In
the suit to be brought In the Circuit
Court, plenty of- -such evidence can be
found hereabouts. . - , ' i. -'
'I could call to notice several smalf
properties that are assessed some for
one-half value, others ane-thlrd or less,
but the-, most: flagrant case tnat - has
come to my notice ls".a tract of land
In Rainier,, along the county road lead-"
ing out by . Cowlits.street and fronting
about four block's from the river, con
taining 32 acres. There has recently
been sold from this, tract 12 lots 50 -by
100 feet In one block, altogether 220
by 300 feet, containing about one-and-one-third
acres, fo $2700. " and the
OUR
CL
EARANGE SALE
Continues to demonstrate the advisability of your supplying your year's wants in the line of Ladies' .Wearing
Apparel here, and now, by of fering values that are emphatically the very best to be found in the City of Portland
Best because prices are lowest. Best because qualities are dependable.
Best because styles and varieties are the largest on the Coast .
Coats
50 inches long,
loose fitted, and ;
semi-fitted, Kersey
Coats; $20, $22.50
and $25 values,
$10
CLEARANCE
SALE
EXTRA
SPECIAL
JACKETS
In velvet, caracul, crushed
velvet, broadcloth, covert,
and kersey; military, fit
ted and semi-fitted styles.
Values or to $32.50
$12.50
See Window Display.
Your unrestricted
choice of any suit,
costume or gown
in this house
marked $50 or less
Monday
S20
ft
Skirts
-.
100 Skirts to
select from, in (
Panama, . voiles'
and some fancy .
mixtures, $25.00
and $27.50
values '
Children's Suits
A few Tailored Suits for misses, in
fancy mixtures, all (St A QEJ
wool, $15.00 values." JV.7J
Ladies'
Silk Plated Hose
Stainless Black Stock- $10.00
ings, reg. 75c values. .. . 0t
Waists
Waists in net,
silk, linen, wool .
and lingerie,
values up to
$11.75 Golf Gloves $2.95
Regular 65c
values
25c
WHOLESALE
AND RETAIL
J.M.AC
HESON CO.
FIFTH AND
ALDER STS.
whole 32 acres are assessed at $600.
r To further illustrate our able asses
sor's method of "whipping . the. devlf
around a stump," I call attention to a
property located on the "river, about
two mile above Rainier. There are
110 acres of '. timber bonsrht by the
owner ' about Ave years agro - for' $800,
also 215 acres mostly roug"ht land (no
timber), '.for which he paid 3850 14
years ago.- --According to the cruiser,
there are- 4,000,000 feet of timber on
the 110 acres first mentioned.' which at
$2- per" thousand Xthe assessor's valu
ation on the adjoining quarter section)
would be $8000, leaving $800 to apply
on the 215 acres bought for $3850 14
years ago. And to show its enhanced
value. 1 will say that the owner has
recently contracted to Bell a narrow
strip 2600 feet along the river for a
greater price than the 215 acree or
iginally cost.
That is the kfnd of a "square deal'
the timber owners are getting In Co
lumbia County. JOHN BACKUS.
Perfect fitting glasses $1 atMctzger's.
BIG EAS
Little Rents Make Small Profits
SIDE
The
New
TOR
Our conception of real value -is
something mora than quality, some
thing more than price, something
more than selection. It is the three
In common an excellent scope for
selection, .from a stock of highest
grade modern furniture at a price
in keeping with our small rentals
" and comparatively, small . expense.
To the better furnishing -of the
East Side we devote our most con
stant endeavors and our every en
ergy- i We've devel
Loped
a wonder-
ful system of better value-giving
a remarkably clear ' solution of
"Why It's Worth While" trading
'at this' fast growing store.
Corner Union Avenue and East Burnside Street
EXTRA SPECIALS FOR THE THREE DAYS-MONDAY, TUESDAY AND
WEDNESDAY SAVINGS THAT MEAN MUCH TO SHREWD PATRONS
Metal Beds in Three Colors, Blue, Green
and White, Worth $7.50, at $4.85 '
Cross the river and pay $10 '
for the same beds and even'
then, -they're well worth the;
rnqney. ' They come in the
very neatest . sort of brass;
trim's,' The" beds are of ex
tra' strong tubing, and pre
sent 'the attractive appear
ance of, much higher-priced
beds. - Kor three days, a spe
cial that -will bring hosts of;
it!!??!'.. $4.85
Ask- to be shown; our. complete and excellent showing of
'"" Brass Beds- priced inost reasonably.; '
Note:
Mission Parlor Stands in Two Styles
$3.15 and $2.85
These came with the latest shipments
to the new store. Our manager thought
them excellent for sale leaders at $5
j .
.and $4. They are in the weathered
oak finish strong and . serviceable.
No. 464 Stand with the oval top;
worth $7.00 marked for a special
$3.00, and now offered 5
No. 461 Same stand, only the square
top; worth .f6.00-rinarked for a spe-
'S.$fd.:.u.$2.83
ffm
Two Very Exceptional Din
::: tag; Table specials at
$14.75 and $16.95 V
A right worthy Dining Table Sale
. never fails to be popular.' . We've .
chosen the two best numbers from a selling
standpoint two tables that meet the great
demand for an extra good table at a mod
erate price. Y , ' . . '
No. 631-6-77-Extension Dining Table, in', ex
cellent quartered finish, fine grain and pol
.ish; oar price $25 worth tfjl ? QC
anywhere, else $35 now. ; . . P O.SiJ
No. 493-6-r-Extension Table in. the weath
ered r oak . finish ; our price $20.00 any
where else $25.00 $14 75
One of Our Most Popular : Combina
tion Bookcases. Regular ;
. $20 at $14.90 '
There '8 a complete and systematic air about the
library that includes a combination desk anoV case.
They are convenient to a degree ' of ; excellence.
; The one here presented comes in an extra fine
mahogany finish, with every modern equipment,
plate mirror, etc. West Side stores would ask and
receive $27.50 for a case the equal of this. -
Combination Case and Writing Desk h Qf
No. 247 our reg. $20 value ; now . . . .
' W
Men's Suits, Top Coats,
Cravenettes and , Over
coats, worth to $22.50 ; . the
choice 1 . . . ... $12.65
. . . ... I. '
$2.50 Solid Oak Umbrella Racks. . . . . . . . , ....
No. 344 Oak Parlor Rocker, regular $5.00 value.
No.. 203 Regular $8.00 Hall or. Parlor Chair. ...
Regular $6.00 Weathered Oak Hall Chairs... . .:. .
.$1.25
.$3.35
.$5.15
.$2.90
Take a trial run on our
great "Special" Sewing
- Machine . ..$25.00
Pavments of 50c a week.