Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 40, Number 44, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 7 February 1908 — Russian Reformer Reports, [ARTICLE]

Russian Reformer Reports,

Before the York Civic and a great audience at Carnegie Hall, over which Bishop Potter presided, Prof Paul Milyukoff delivered a message to the American people from the Constitutional Democratic party of Russia. Prof. Milyukoff, who is a leader of that party and -a St. Petersburg in the present DHifia’T gave it as his candid opinion that instead of the eat"' ishroeut of a Dourna having been the beginning of a rapid, movement toward free forms of government, it had been in reality the high tide, and that there had been actual retrogression ever since. The Radicals had tried to rush matters only to meet crushing defeat from the government by the use of the military power. His party aimed at parliamentary power to limit that of the Czar. The liberties of the manifesto had never been recognized by the government, and in the two years sinee it was issued 18,274 persons had been condemned for political offenses, of which 2,217 were sentenced to death. The revolution had now become a battle of classes —the landholding classes against the peasants and workmen. A majority of the present Douma were elected by 19,000 landlords. Prof. Milyu-

koff came all the way from the Russian capital to make this one speech and had to start back in two days. lie made a hasty trip to Washington to meet prominent Congressmen at a dinner given by Mr. Parsons of New York.