The third day since the appearance of the “constitutional manifesto” has gone by. The last traces of enthusiasm aroused by the manifesto, as played up by the official telegraph dispatches, have been drowned in the streams of bloodshed by citizens attacked by the wild beasts of tsarism. Distrust has once again proved itself to be the true democratic virtue, and the tactic of Social Democracy [expressed in the phrase] “arms at the ready!” has proved to be the only correct tactic. Even the liberal “folk” who yesterday “were so wonderfully intoxicated” have changed their mood and are now saying, “Ouch, what a hangover.”
And no wonder! From all the cities, all the regions, from every corner of the empire come news reports of murder and looting, anti-Jewish rampages, and other bestial excesses by the police, the Cossacks, and the soldiers. Tsarism has resorted once again to its “tried-and-true,” favorite method of fighting against the revolutionary movement of the proletariat. It has stirred up the dregs of society, the “fifth estate,” the lumpenproletariat, to try to drown the vanguard of the working class in a sea of blood. Against the general strike, generalized murder!—that is the tactic of tsarism, as has become undeniably clear in the last three days.
And the massacres, the anti-Jewish pogroms, the “patriotic” demonstrations by police agents aimed as provocations against the population—all of this broke out so immediately after the publication of the manifesto, so suddenly, with such vehemence, so universally and so simultaneously that it is simply impossible that all this was merely “pure coincidence.” It cannot be seen as anything but the implementation of a carefully worked out plan. The bloody news coming in from all parts of the empire leads with compelling logic to the inescapable conclusion:
Mass murder, pogroms, and the constitutional manifesto are all details of a single fiendish plan worked out by tsarism in its death agony. The liberal elements and those in the broader circles of the population who remain confused have fallen for this plan of making use of the manifesto, which costs nothing to the regime except empty promises and is aimed at winning over those elements and quieting them down. But the intention was at the same time to suppress and hold down the revolutionary workers’ movement by means of a general attack bringing to bear the holy trinity—cavalry, infantry, artillery—and employing the active assistance of the dregs of the population. This, then, is the finely tuned plan of the tsarist regime, to judge from all the evidence. It is a repetition of the June Days [of 1848 in France] à la Cossaque—in the true Russian manner—that was undoubtedly the aim of the tsar’s “constitutional manifesto.”
And now we see that the correctness of the word of warning issued by Social Democracy—“Do not disarm! Keep fighting all along the line and as hard as we can!”—has been brilliantly confirmed. The workers, with their combat readiness and decisive rejection of the manifesto swindle succeeded immediately in dampening the enthusiasm [for it] in broader circles of the population. They prevented all wavering, and thus strengthened their own fighting positions. Dead and wounded cover the pavements by the hundreds in the tsarist “constitutional state,” but politically, victory is on the side of the proletariat. It has placed itself at the head of the discontented population as a whole, the battle goes on, and the latest bloody attempt by absolutism to save itself has fallen flat. This certainly is the last “manifesto” of the last tsar, which only for a few hours awoke confidence and hope among certain layers of the population. But its final effect has merely been that in the face of its own bankruptcy it managed to bury an earlier swindle operation put forward by the same tsarist regime—[that is,] the so-called constitutional proposal for the Bułygin Duma.* The method of “calming people down”† used against the revolution has merely awakened a new powerful upturn of the revolution—that is the old familiar logic of final desperate attempts at saving itself employed by every dying form of government and society.
ALL-RUSSIA MASS MURDER
Petersburg, November 2 (report from the Petersburg Telegraph Agency). As was reported from Poltava on November 1, Cossacks attacked a number of people who had peacefully gathered in front of the prison, where the police chief had allowed them to call a gathering, so that they could be present at the promised release of political detainees. A number of persons were severely wounded, some of them fatally, with twenty-eight wounded being taken to the hospital, others to their homes. Great fear and profound embitterment prevail among the population. From several other cities, namely Bialystok, Kiev, and Pskov, it was reported that disturbances and unrest were bloodily suppressed by the troops.
Petersburg, November 2. The Petersburg Telegraph Agency reports the following from Minsk, under yesterday’s date: A crowd numbering about 10,000 people held a demonstration today in front of the prison and demanded, along with a threat to storm the prison, that political prisoners be freed. When the crowd subsequently began new demonstrations in front of the railroad station and demanded that the soldiers leave and fired revolver shots at them, the crowd was dispersed by a salvo. As a result, a number of persons were killed or wounded.
PLUNDERING BY SOLDIERS AND POLICE
Petersburg, November 1. The Petersburg Telegraph Agency reports the following from Kazan: Plundering and bloodletting prevailed today on Mozvenskaya Street. Shots were fired at the district court and the chess club buildings, on which occasion a number of persons were wounded and many high school students were injured. Pools of blood covered the snow, and this was mainly in front of the seminary. Wild excesses, to which the stores especially fell victim, took place late in the evening when only police and Cossacks were still on the streets. Telephone calls for help from the owners of the stores to the police administration remained without any results. An eyewitness confirms that the soldiers were plundering and that the assistant police chief threatened to shoot at them when he intervened to put an end to this misconduct. Many stores, private homes, and even public buildings were riddled with bullet holes. It is impossible to determine who led this activity, but it is certain that the police and Cossacks were unleashed without any plan or definite orders. They were shooting blindly without any provocation at peaceful pedestrians in the streets. In the zemstvo hospital twenty-five wounded persons were lying there, being cared for. The indignation of the public is universal, even among convinced conservatives, who condemn the behavior of the police in the sharpest manner. They had misbehaved when no higher authority was present. The members of the municipal council appealed to the governor. The latter explained that the police chief had exceeded his authority and that a judicial investigation against him had begun. The troops and the Cossacks were ordered not to come out of the barracks, and the municipal administration may organize a militia. Those who had been arrested had their freedom restored. A large crowd of people marched on the police station, and there they took away whatever weapons they could find and brought them to the municipal council building.
“CONSERVATIVE” PROVOCATIONS
Moscow, November 1 (report from the Petersburg Telegraph Agency). Social Democratic orators [explained that they] would recognize complete victory only if all political demands were met. Gatherings for the purpose of arming a people’s militia are underway. In the city, the liberals(?)* are organizing marches with red banners, during which revolutionary songs are sung. The conservatives (that is the Black Hundred gangs of the police), carrying banners with the colors of the national flag along with a portrait of the tsar, are also organizing demonstrations at which the national anthem is sung. Yesterday a conflict broke out between two such marches at the Iverskaya Gate. The conservatives were put to flight by the liberals who fired shots at them. A confrontation also occurred on Myasnitskaya Street between a number of printers on the one hand and some dragoons and Cossacks on the other. Ten of the demonstrators were wounded by the unsheathed weapons of the troops. The crowd organized demonstrations further on in front of the Technical School, where the widow of the veterinarian [Nikolai] Bauman was killed by shots that were aimed at the crowd gathered around the coffin of Bauman.†
AN “AMNESTY” AMID STREAMS OF BLOOD
Warsaw, November 2 (from a private dispatch to Vorwärts). Yesterday morning large assemblies of people gathered and at first were suppressed by the police. In the process seven persons were shot and killed and several wounded. In the afternoon, the patrols were withdrawn. At once large crowds of people marched through the streets singing. Amid universal jubilation, Social Democratic speeches were made and appeals were distributed. The people and the military seemed to be united in brotherhood. In the evening the streets were brightly lighted. Large crowds of marchers appeared on Theatre Square. The theatrical performance was interrupted, and the orchestra played for the crowd from the balcony of the theater building. The crowd demanded of the police chief Myers that all those arrested for political “crimes” should be freed, and 400 persons were set free. But the crowd demanded that all prisoners be freed, and assumed a threatening attitude. Suddenly Cossacks appeared, and also dragoons. They attacked the crowd with weapons bared. Six people were killed, twenty-three badly wounded, and several slightly wounded. Scenes of repulsive horror ensued.
IN SOUTHERN RUSSIA AND IN RUSSIAN CENTRAL ASIA
Petersburg, November 2 (W.T.O.).‡ From Rostov-on-Don it was reported that an attempt made yesterday by the clergy to calm down the good people by holding a church procession remained unsuccessful. Excesses became ever-more serious; plundering continued, and the city found itself in the hands of the people. Shooting began immediately. The hospitals became filled with dead and wounded. It is dangerous to go out into the streets; several houses are in flames. From Kazan it was reported that a militia consisting of 400 workers and students has been formed, bearing weapons that were taken from the police. During the night, the troops of this militia patrolled the streets. Nowhere was there any disturbance of the peace.
From Kurgan and Tashkent it was reported that the military used armed force to disperse peaceful demonstrations, and many persons were wounded in the process.
MASSACRES OF JEWS
Petersburg, November 2 (report from the Petersburg Telegraph Agency). From several provincial cities, in particular Rostov-on-Don, Kiev, Novgorod, and Kherson, news dispatches have arrived here, reporting that among the population a growing bitterness against the Jews is making itself evident. The Jews were blamed for behaving in an antipatriotic manner, for causing disturbances of the peace by political agitation, and for instigating and leading the revolutionary movement. In the cities mentioned above, houses and stores belonging to Jews were plundered and some of them were set on fire. Many persons were killed or wounded.
Petersburg, November 2 (report from the Petersburg Telegraph Agency). The plundering of the houses and stores of Israelites on the main streets of Novgorod happened because some of the Jews (i.e., the Social Democratic workers) organized a demonstration. The Jews were marching around the city with red banners and giving revolutionary speeches.
Kiev, November 1. The attacks on Jews [Judenhetze] began here at midnight on Tuesday.* The houses around the market were burned down. Not a single Jewish store was spared. The riffraff stole goods from the stores, with the police themselves participating. The plundering began again on Wednesday evening. The Jews fired from the balconies of their houses, shooting at the troops and the so-called loyals (i.e., the plundering mob), who returned the fire. The riffraff forcibly broke into several houses and threw the Jews out onto the street. The latter threatened bloody vengeance against the Christians on Thursday. The dwelling places of a number of wealthy Jews were demolished, among them those of Baron [Horace] Günzburg and the well-known industrialists Brodsky, Zaitsev, and Epstein.
THE STRUGGLE GOES FURTHER ALL ALONG THE LINE
Moscow, November 2 (report from the Petersburg Telegraph Agency). Numerous gatherings, or assemblies, were held here today at which the tsar’s manifesto was criticized and the point was made that it offered no satisfactory guarantees. Without exception, people hold the view that it is necessary to win the guarantees, which are being demanded unconditionally, and especially that they can be won through the pressure of walkouts and strikes. Social Democratic speakers perceived that they had won a complete victory above all by demanding full satisfaction of all political demands. Gatherings for the purpose of arming a people’s militia are also underway.
Riga, November 2. Yesterday’s huge rally, which was anticipated with such great alarm, was attended by about 50,000 persons, but it proceeded peacefully. A resolution was adopted to continue the general strike, with the exception of businesses supplying food, until such time as the promises made by the manifesto were successfully guaranteed. Yesterday there arrived the first railroad train from Petersburg [since the end of the rail strike].
Moscow, November 2. At a meeting of lawyers, a decision was made to demand the dismissal of Trepov and legal prosecution against the Metropolitan of Moscow for preaching anti-canonical sermons calling for attacks against the opposition. Further, a resolution was adopted to approach the State Duma with a request that it form a people’s militia and, if the Duma refused, to take steps in that direction themselves. Today traffic resumed on rail lines from Moscow to Kursk–Kiev–Voronezh, to Ryazan and the Urals, and to Vyazma.
FIRST GENERAL STRIKE IN FINLAND
Helsinki, November 2. The situation continues to be very serious. The universal walkout has spread even to the police. Public services for the preservation of order generally will be maintained by a militia consisting of students and workers. Coffeehouses have been transformed into meeting places. Yesterday the governor and the senate, in the presence of a huge crowd, officially submitted their resignations.
Copenhagen, November 2. The telegraph administration reports as follows: Telegraphic communications between Fredericia [in Denmark] and Petersburg have been broken off by the strikers. The connection between Fredericia and Libau still exists. Libau is connected with Petersburg.
Stockholm, November 2. [The Swedish paper] Svenska Dagbladet reports as follows: According to telegrams to shipping companies here, maritime communications with Finland have been broken off because of the general strike.
Helsinki, November 2. In all the cities of Finland, for the maintenance of order, citizens’ guards will be organized. The voice of the people has been raised up high.
Helsinki, November 2. A deputation has demanded that the governor-general [of Finland] resign from his post. He replied that as a soldier he could not do so without permission from the monarch, but he vowed to submit his request for permission to the emperor immediately.
A telegram from Wolff’s Telegraph Office brings the following “reassuring” news: Petersburg, November 2. The strike committee has decided to end the strike at twelve noon tomorrow. This is a questionable report, which, without further confirmation, is not to be believed.
ABSOLUTISM IS ASKING FOR CONFIDENCE, AND MAKING THREATS
Petersburg, November 2 (report from the Petersburg Telegraph Agency). Today there appeared a government communiqué in which the regime appealed to that section of the Russian population which loves law and order and expressed the hope that society would support the government in its effort to introduce a new system of public order, which society had long been demanding and which would be possible only after the full restoration of order. The communiqué stated further on that certain elements were attempting to undermine confidence in the regime and cause popular unrest. If, nevertheless, a majority of the people come to the aid of the government, a rapid improvement of the situation will occur. However, if that does not happen, the government does not take responsibility for any negative consequences, and [in that case] the tasks that stand before us would be carried out less quickly than would be desirable.