THE MENNONITE BROTHERHOOD IN RUSSIA (1789 - 1910), P. M. Friesen, 1911

July 24 Claassen returned to the office and requested a travel permit to the Kuban. This time, however, he was asked to appear at the Area Administrative Office on August 1 along with five other brethren. On August 1 these men were asked by the Area Administrative Office whether they wanted to return to their original congregations or not [!!!]. They declared that for the sake of their conscience they could not do so. After that Claassen requested (for the third time) a travel permit to the Kuban. To this he received a firm negative reply. On August 4 Claassen made the fourth journey to the same office, this time equipped with a supporting document (under #107) from the village office of Liebenau, which stated that as far as the village of Liebenau was concerned nothing stood in the way of granting Claassen a two-month travel permit. He also had a statement from the minister of our church [Heinrich Huebert] addressed to the Area Administrative Office requesting a two-month pass. But in spite of both documents, a travel permit was summarily denied. He was now advised that if the elders of the church would give their permission to the request for a travel permit, then he would be given one. At the close of the meeting the administrative officer mentioned that Claassen could also attend the Conference of the Elders which was to take place on the following Thursday, August 9, in Alexanderwohl. When Claassen presented a written request to the elders at the Conference on August 9, that they not place any difficulties in the way of his receiving a travel permit, they returned the request with the explanation that the granting of passes and travel permits did not come under their jurisdiction but rather that of the Area Administrative Office. The elders from the Ohrloff congregation and the Kleine Gemeinde, Harder and Friesen, however, declared that they could see no reason why the elders as such should have anything against the granting of such passes or permits. On hearing this, the other elders remained silent. The administrative officer, however, now feeling compelled to issue monthly travel passes for the 404 THE MENNONITE BRETHREN CHURCH trip of the delegates to the Kuban, nevertheless declared in a very abrupt fashion that permits would be available for 28 days only. On August 11 Claassen made his fifth journey to the Area Administrative Office in order to pick up the promised permits from the officer. He was now told, however, that it would be better for him to pick up the permits just before the time of departure. Every time Claassen had to make a round trip of 44 versts [22 versts from Liebenau to Halbstadt]. Thereupon Claassen left for home once more, still without the travel permits. On August 15 Claassen finally received a permit for a month. At the same time and for the same purpose two other brethren were to receive permits: Abraham Wiens from Elizabethal and Simon Harms from Liebenau. T