In January, 1906, one of the persons occupying a subordinate position in the ministry ... began to receive a large quantity of specimen appeals ... and also anxious protests against the organizing of massacres in Vilna, Bielostok, Kieff, Nikolaieff, Alexandrovsk, and other towns.... He used every means to avert any further massacres, which he also succeeded in doing.... At this time some light, though still of an imperfect nature, was thrown on the ... work of the artificers of massacres. A group of persons, composing a kind of fighting organization of one of our “patriotic clubs,” together with some who were in close touch with the editors of a newspaper--not in St. Petersburg--undertook to combat revolution.... The Russian population (of the frontiers), and in particular Russian soldiers, were invited to settle accounts with the traitors in tens of thousands of appeals with the most agitating contents.... There were strange results if one thinks of the preservation of the unity of authority. An assistant police-master (I merely give an example) circulates the appeals without the knowledge of his chief; ... or again, a police-captain, let us say, of the first ward, was considered worthy of a confidence which was denied to the police-captain of the second ward. Some one serving in the gendarmes’ office, or in the defense section, proved to be supplied with special sums of money. To him certain of the lower people began to resort.... Frightened inhabitants went to see the governor.... Telegrams from the ministry spoke of measures to be taken to secure tranquillity; and such measures were often taken.... In some cases the police quite earnestly supposed that the measures were taken simply for show, for decency, but that they were already acquainted with the real intention of the government; they read between the lines, and thought that they heard, beyond the order of the governor, some voice from far off in which they had greater belief. In a word ... the authorities became completely demoralized.