Liberal Hypocrites
April 15, 1912
Works, Vol. 2, 1907 - 1913
Rech has "erred" again! It appears that it "did not expect" from "the government" "tactless" explanations of the Lena atrocities. You see, it had "hoped" that Minister Makarov would "take legal proceedings" against the Treshchenkos. But suddenly came Makarov's statement that Treshchenko was right and that in future too the workers would be shot down !
"We erred," observes the liberal Rech with false contrition, commenting on this matter (see Rech of April 12).
Poor Cadets! How many times they have "erred" in their expectations concerning the government!
Not so very long ago they "thought" that we had a constitution in Russia, and they assured Europe, in all languages, that "our united government" is "quite constitutional." That was in London, far away from Russia. But it was enough for them to return to Russia, to the land of "discretion" and "prevention," for them to admit their "error" and to "become disillusioned."
Only very recently they "believed" that Stolypin had succeeded in putting the country on the road to parliamentary "renovation." But it was enough for Stolypin to put the notorious 87 clause 1 into operation for the Cadets to start singing again about "errors" and "misunderstandings,"
Was it so long ago that the Cadets drew a parallel between the Russian government (recall the dock workers' strike) and the British government in their attitude towards strikes? But it was enough for the Lena tragedy to be enacted for the Cadets to begin again to chant their hypocritical "we erred."
The remarkable thing is that while "errors" and "disillusionments" continue to multiply, the Cadet tactics of making advances to the government remain unchanged!
Poor, poor Cadets! Evidently they "count on" naive readers who believe in their sincerity.
They "think" that people do not notice their obsequious grovelling before the enemies of Russia's emancipation.
They do not yet realise that, while until now they have "erred" again and again in their expectations of the government, they are now going to be "disillusioned" with the masses of the people, who, at last, will discern their counter-revolutionary character and turn their backs on them.
Whom will Messrs. the Cadets deceive then?
Grovelling before the government and hypocrisy towards the country—why are they called the "Party of Popular Freedom"?
The St. Petersburg Zvezda, No. 30, April 15, 1912
Notes
1.Clause 87 of the Fundamental Law of the State authorised the Council of Ministers to submit Bills directly to the tsar for his signature when the State Duma was not in session. This enabled Stolypin to issue a number of important laws, on the agrarian question in particular, without the consent of the Duma.
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