The situation was so serious they sent a delegation to St. Petersburg to plead their case. Three such trips were made in an unsuccessful effort to have the edict reversed. There were still many differences of opinion expressed by various groups within the colonies. Some argued that they should accept some form of substitutional military service, as long as it was not directly involved with combat units. Those who had traveled widely in Russia, and witnessed gross injustices, advocated strongly for immediate emigration to another country. Others, secure in a prophecy that Christ would return in the East in 1881, argued against emigration.

In 1871 the first of several Mennonite delegate groups traveled to St. Petersburg to lobby the government regarding the exact nature of the new laws. They were encouraged. Conscription for Mennonites would be modified to exclude bearing arms. By now many had lost faith in the Russians and pressed on with plans for emigration.

In September of 1872 the Alexanderwohl (a little northwest of Alexanderthal) church decided that a delegation of twelve leaders should go to America for first hand facts about the land, and the risks in settling there. The delegates explored different areas of North America from Canada to the Midwestern United States. Some even met with President Grant and members of Congress.

Tobias Unruh was one of the twelve Molotschna Delegates. He kept a detailed diary (found on the accompanying DakotaDirksens CD) in which he describes his preference for the Dakota Territories. He brought his own family there in 1874, but became ill and died only a year later. He had been very influential regarding the emigration and it is probable our Dirksen ancestors considered his preference in their own decisions.