Newspaper Page Text
THIRD PART.
THE PITTSBURG DISPATCH.
THE HTTSBTTEG DISPATCH, SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 6. 1892.
THE EYE OF THE LAW
Is on Every Man, Woman and
Child in the Wide Do
main of the Czar.
A GBEAT POLICE SYSTEM
Which Extends Out to the Verj
Hearthstones of the People.
XJ3ARPESTER HAD NO TROUBLE,
ut He and Fred Remington Enconntcred a
I"ive-Cent General.
FKISOXS AND TnE ORDERS TOE SIBERIA
tccr rrsrovmxcz or ths dispatch.!
St. Petersbcbg, Oct 25.
CAME to Busiia fully
armed for contact with the
police. I have letters from
jlr. Byrnes, the superintend
ent of the police of 2Tew
York City, recommending
me to the protection and
confidence of the policemen
of Russia, I have confi
dential notes of introduction
from the head of our secret
service of the Treasury De
, partment to the chief of the
Third Section of the Czar
and before I left the United
Slates I cot letters from the Pinkertoni to
the chiefs of police of the great Russian
cities.
These letters have been of value in giving
me an insight into the police systems of this
nation, which is said to have the best regu
lated and the most perfect police system of
the world. By it the Czar is said to know
Just where every one of his 100,000.000 sub
jects sleeps every night, and St. Petersburg
is practically governed by the police.
A Record of Every Suspect.
The head of the third section or the
detective service of this capital, together
with the Chief of Police, control all matters
relating to the sanitary and political condi
tions of the city. Sitting in their big offices
not far from the banks of the Xeva, they
have their fingers on the wires which reach
to every house and every room in St
525,000, a residence here in St Petersburg
and a pension of (1,500 a year.x General
Gresser died only a few months ago, and it
was claimed by some that he was assassi
nated. The truth of it seems to be that he
died from taking injections of Brown-So-
A Russian Fin Tower.
jfMmA
A Waiter of Moscoic
Petersburg. Filed away in the pigeon
holes of their offices is the record of every
luspected person in the empire and their
system is such that they can turn in an
instant the electric light of police investi
gation on the record of almost any man in
the world. They have their agents in every
capital of the world, and nothing is done
anywhere which the least effects Russia
which is not known to these egents and put
upon record.
And still one might travel all over Russia
and hardly know that the police exits.
Outside of complying with the passport
regulations, which are attended to by the
managers of the hotels, you do not meet
the police more here than in any other
European city, and I have not found them
as offensive in their bearing as the police of
?Tew York and London. I had no trouble
with them on the frontier. I have carried
in v camera with me and have taken pboto
craphs of them on foot and on horseback.
I have through them resisted the extortions
of the droschsky or cab drivers, and have
gotten information from them just as I
would from a policeman on a street corner
iu America.
Police So Not Molest Travelers.
I am convinced that the traveler who
minds his own business and goes about it
without fear may travel just as easily here
as in any part of Lurope. In fact, the onlv
trouble I have had with the police during
my three months here was in connection
with Mr. PrederickRemington, the famous
artist, who, in company with Mr. Poultney
Itigelow, made a very short visit to Russia
and left in haste. I came with Mr. Rem
ington and Mr. Bigelow on the same ship
fromXew York to Hamburg. I lived in
the same hotel with them at St Petersburg
and said goodby to them when they left I
took a photograph of them in the steamer
Normarmia, on which we crossed, and I
think their fears of Russian imprisonment
had more foundation in their minds than
any basis in fact
jlr. Remington and myself, while out
riding one day behind a fast droschsky
horse, ran a race with a military official
and this official was angered at our pre
sumption. It was on the fashionable drive
which goes from St Petersburg to the
islands of the Neva. The military man had
a better horse than we had and he succeeded
in passing us. Shortly after this we came
to a bridge, in the center of which was a
policeman. The official got there first and
he said a word to the policeman as he
parsed, and when we came np the policeman
told us we must go back to the city. We
protested, but we could not talk Russian,
and our droschsky driver was forced to turn
around and e drove back home. "Whether
the official was one of the police or whether
he was a 6-cent General I do not know. At
any rate he " big enough and small
enough to take this petty revenge and we
had to submit
A l"ainous Chief or Toller.
The military and the police work together
in Russia and' the Chief of J'ol'rc can calllu
the Cossacks to help him. 'f he chief oi the
third nection here Is practically the Go er
ror of the city, lie can try suspected per
sons when it Is necesiary In secret and
shout 30,000 men were, it Is said, baulshed
from the capital every rar during the
reign ol Central Orester. Greiier was the
most famous Chief of Police the Ctar had
tor years, lie was a general of the army
when he discovered a plot to assassinate the
Char, and his services In this were so creat
that tlit Ctar made him the chief of the
third scctiou. He care Lima presenter
quard elixir to bolster tip his waning
health. The present Chief of Police is a
fierce-looking man of about 40, who is a
more pompous man than Gresser was and
who does matters in a business way. I
chatted with him in German for some time
the other day and found him a very intelli
gent though somewhat secretive official.
A man's life is as safe in St Petersburg
as it is in Hew York, and there is less vice
and crime here than there ii in the average
American city. There is a policeman on
every block both day and night, and there
is always a policeman in the center of
every street crossing. The laws of the
road are such that though a man may drive
at the rate of 12 miles an hour down the
Nevsky prospect and though the people
always' drive at a break-neck pace you
never see collisions. There are few bur
glaries and few murders here, and there are
less arrests than in London.
Two Thousand Men Guard St Petersburg.
The police force of St Petersburg con
sists of 2,000 men. The city is divided up
into 42 police districts and each district has
a police station, with which is connected a
sort ot police court, in each one oi tnese
stations records are kept of all the citizens
of the district, and these records are classi
fied so that the police can tell in a moment
the history and standing of any man in the
district. These records are made on papers
of different colors, and those who are sus
pected of political offenses have papers of
a separate color from those suspected of
crime, and dangerous characters have their
police biographies written on a paper of
still different color. In every one of these
police stations and in the police stations all
over the empire are kept lists of men who
are to be arrested wherever they are found,
and men who are considered dangerous to
Government Similar lists are sent to the
agents of Russia in the different capitals of
the world, and by reports from these police
agents the Government knows as far as
possible just where its enemies arc,
The 2,000 policemen of St Petersburg
wear uniforms. There are tens of thousands
of other men employed by the police who
dress in citizens' clothes, and every house
in St Petersburg has its police agent and
spy. Many of the people here live in flats
and the man who takes care of the flat is
known as the dvornik, and he is responsi
ble to the police for the people within it
He reports upon their doings; he sees that
their passports are correct and he keeps the
police informed as to what goes on in bis
house, and it is almost impossible to have a
secret meeting in Russia without it being
reported by one of these men.
The Streets Are IVeUKept.
These dvorniks have a sort of trades
union among themselves and they are gov
erned by a chief, and this chief is a mem
ber of the police and is, to a certain extent,
responsible for the actions of the dvorniks.
It is necessary for every householder to
have one of these men and often there are
several of them in a single flat They have
control of the sanitary arrangements ot the
house as well as the political and criminal
arrangements. They are expected by the
police to see that the streets in front of
their houses are swept and watered twice a
day, and St Petersburg has as .well-kept
streets as any city in the world. The dvor
niks are responsible for any dirt or filth in
side the house, and the man who does not
keep his house clean in St Petersburg can
be arrested. If the police see a business
man whose shoD is not nronerlv cared for
,they order him to clean it If he does not
not ao so he may receive an oraer to close
up his establishment for a certain number
of months, and he has to do it
It is the same with theaters. One here in
St Petersburg had not as many exits as the
police considered necessary. The manager
was playing a big engagement when he re
ceived an order from the police to remedy
this defect and make the house safe. He
paid no attention to it and went on with his
show. The result was that a few days later
his theater was closed by the order of the
police and what he might have repaired at
the loss of a lew nights of acting cost him
many thousands of dollars. It is the same
with the smallest matters. There is a law
here that the barber shops must bring a
clean piece of soap and a clean brush to
su7XsPsafsYroWflf!mfiS
Cosiacks.
every man they shave, and the barber who
would do otherwise would be arrested. The
result is that the order at St Petersburg is
very good indeed, and though there is much
drunkenness among the peonle there are few
brawls and practically no riots.
Women Must Get Husbands' Permission.
The passport bureaus are all under the
police. Every man and every woman in
Russia must have a passport, and if they
move from one place to another or from one
house to another this passport must be
vised by the police. If a husband goes out
of the country and wishes his wife to follow
him be must arrange so that she can get a
passport from the police, and this will be
framed her onlv on the application of her
usband and will not be given without his
permission. Every large hotel of Russia
has its passport bureau, and you hnufl in
yonr pvport the moment you arrive and
the hntnl Laeper has It vised tor you nnd
gives it back to von within an hour or so.
In leaving the hotel you will not need to
have It again vised without you are going
out of the country, but the landlord always
asks you where you are going, asd the mo
ment you leave word is sent to the police ai
to the date of your departure and the place
of your destination. Landlords are com
pelled to attend to such mailers and they
are flntd If they do not send In the pass
ports nronipllr. I have head of llie neees
sltr of oae alwars lutein a iisiinnrt with
bin, and lUte I lisve been In Kuiilal hare
carried mine constantly in mv left breast
pocket I have never had it called for,
however, but it Is, I am told, necessary if
one would get checks cashed at the banks
or letters at the postoffice.
The Policemen So Not Get Klch.
The policemen of Russia are not very well
paid and salaries are very low throughout
the Russian Empire. It is the same with
the soldiers. The Czar has something like
1,000,000 men in his army, but these do not
receive as much as a postage stamp a day
for their work, and the ordinary policeman
only'gets (12 a month. The Chief of the
Police dlstriets here receive only $1,259 a
year, and in the interior policemen often
receive no more than $2 50 a month and pay
their own expenses.
Every man in Russia is expected to help
the police. All householders must keep
records of the servants they employ. There
are blank books made for the purpose, and
in one eolnmn you must put down the date
of engagement of a servants, his religion
and where he comes from. You must give
his age and must have a record of
his height, size, color, and, in fact, a regu
lar passport description of him. You must
send a notice to the police that you have
employed him and they look from time to
time over your servant book and-put their
stamp upon it It is the same with hired girls
as with hired men and the same with clerks
as with house servants, when the servant
leaves you you must again notlfv the police
and state where he has gone. Yon have to
pay fees and stamps for his service and the
police here enforce the collection of stamp
taxes.
Not long ago there was an order passed
that every receipt and business paper
should have a stamp, and the police were
about to collect this tax from a gas company
in South Russia. This company had thou
sands of contracts which were merely mat
ters of record and the police called and
tried to collect stamp duties upon each of
these. The owner, who was a shrewd En
glishman, saw that the thing was going to
oost him about $30,000, and he burned up
his contracts and thus evaded the tax. He
had a book account, which enabled him to
supply the loss, and he told me gleefully
how he got ahead of the Government
I chatted about the police with another
Enclishman who lives in one of the big
towns of the black plain, and who was very
angry at the police surveillance which was
kept over him. Said he: "You can't do
anything here that is not known to the
police, and there are spies everywhere.
Your servants watch you, and even a beg
gar may be a spy. If a man does anything
that is out of the way he is put under
police supervision, and he has to report
every month or every week to the police.
I had a clerk with me not long ago who was
supposed to be a free thinker. He had to
report to the police every month. One
night ire missed him, and we did not hear
of him for about two months. He had
been taken off in irons to St Petersburg,
and he was kept in prison there a month.
Then his accusers were brought to the city,
and this man was brought out with 30 oth
ers, but his accusers could not pick him ont
of the lot, and the result was that the
authorities released him. As soon as he
was released he was told that he could have
a free ticket home If he would wait a week
for it, but he said that he preferred to pay
his fare and go at once, and he did so.
"It is not uncommon for men to be sent
from here to Siberia,
go in prison gangs.
Many of them do not
Thev merelv receive
orders from St Petersburg to report to the
police at certain stations in Siberia and to
remain there until thev receive permission
to leave. Once there thev can engage in
any business they please, provided they
make their reports properly, and sometimes
they stay for years. When they come back
they say but little about their experiences
in Siberia, and they are very careful of
their utterances in the future. The ma
jority of the persons sent to Siberia are for
criminal and not political offenses. When
a bank fails here the directors get 'wolf
passports' or tickets for Siberia, and if a
man commits murder he is sent to Siberia
for life. There is not a great deal of flog
ging done in the prisons, but banishment
takes it place."
Speaking of the spy system of Russia,
while I was at Nijnl Novgorod the Gov
ernor detailed his private secretary to go
with me, and this man was very particular
to know just what I was doing ana for what
purpose. He pretended that he wanted it
for newspaper publication, but I afterward
learned that he was a spy, and I doubt not
the story I told him was sent right on to
St Petersburg. During my stay there I
took dinner at a gentleman's house, at which
this private secretary was present, and at
this one of the ladies at the table remarked
in English that there were spies every
where and there was one at this very table,
but owing to his not understanding English
he would not be able to report our conver
sation. Free Talk About the Government
I have been surprised, in fact, to find out
how freely people talk in Russia about the
Government, They discuss the Czar and
the officials openly, and it seems to me that
they are quite as free in this respect as we
are in the United States. I find less red
tape about the offices here in St Petersburg
than I have found iu any oi the other capi
tals of Europe, and though Nihilists and
Socialists are undoubtedly watched care
fully, the people do not seem to be afraid of
the police as much as is supposed, and they
have their good points as well as their bad
ones.
I have paid some attention to ihe prisons
of European Russia. I find some of them
very much overcrowded and the prisons of
the empire need a general reformation.
Abont those of Siberia I know nothing.
They are probably as bad as Mr. Kennan
pictures them. One of the finest peniten
tiaries in the world is here at St Peters
burg. Each cell in it has cost about $500
and the cells are fitted up with Bibles and
educational works and with materials for
industrial work. The prisoners are well
fed for Russia. "We shave the whole head,
but the Russian convict has onlv one-half
of his head shaved and the remainder is
left to grow long. They are fully as clean
as our prisoners, and the Russian prisoner
is given a bath as good as a Turkish bath
every week. The profits of contract labor
in the prisons of Russia amount to only
$150,000 a year, or jest one-twentieth of-the
$7,000,000 a year which it costs the country
for its prisons.
Feank G. Carpenter.
ORGANIZED TO KILL.
Foreign Secret Societies That Have
Gained a Foothold Here.
THE MURDERS OF THE 0MLADINA.
Wnen a Pennsylvania Mine Boss Offends Ho
Is Quietly Removed.
BLOOD CHARGED TO TOE ECYTHE1IEN
rWBITTXX FOB THI DISPATCH.I
A hidden, but nevertheless powerful fac
tion 'in Pennsylvania mining troubles is
the Omladina secret society among the ex
patriated Hungarian and Slav workers. I
could prove that many murders are charge
able to this organization. Its methods are
as follows:
A oertain boss workman is obnoxious to a
large number of his men and they resolve
to "remove" him. The next question is
how shall it be done. The conspirators
being loyal members of the Omladina, pro
ceed systematically, and after the secret
session which has decreed the "removal"
dissolves, a piece of red paper is sent to
another village, where members of the
order are numerous. This contains the
name of the victim, and is addressed to one
13?" Our own special wires and special news
service will render The Dispatch election returns
Invaluable Wednesday morning. Ord:r in ad
vance to avoid disappointment.
, i
II issssssssssPRHtjisHessssssssssI
"TX asHVWmsssisssssssssssssI
MB. MEANTWELL'S EFFORT TO'FINB II PITTSBURG STREET.
' " I PAGsIS 17 TO 24. P9
ii ! i i s , a ZSamm
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SCENE I. "Mr. PoUcemxn,ra'i you tell SCENE Tit "Can you tell tni the name
me what street this is?".
'CornahSixt' an' Fojlets."
of this street, strf
"First Airnue."
Tlic Omlaaina secret Sign.
of the faithful, selected by a majority vote
to carry out the sentence. The latter
knows the scarlet missive means bloodshed,
so he forthwith arms himself with knife and
revolver and proceeds to the village whence
it came. Arriving there he goei to the
residence of the local head of the order,
and as he enters places the index finger of
the right hand upon the Adam's apple of
his throat thus giving the secret sign of
identification following this up by the
password.
They Kely on tho Alibi.
Then the two proceed to business; the
MM M It
SCENE II "Do you knoa the name of
this t-treet, pleaset"
"Wyltanl Chatham."
SCENE IV. "Postman, can you tell mi
what street this ill"
"Don't know. We guess at it. They haxe
no street signs in Pittsburg."
chief arranges for the commission of the
deed, and dispatches the murderous emis
sary upon his fatal errand. Nothing more
is lenown until the community is aroused to
the contemplation of the assassin's work.
Suspicion may reit upon any one of the
Hungarians or Croats dwelling in the im
mediate vicinity, but It is, of course, im
possible to establish a case against them,
because not only are none of them directly
guilty, but, knowing beforehand the pre
cise time the attempt would be made, they
each and all have taken excellent care to be
afrtbat moment in otherplaces and in the
presence of persons whose evidence would
suffice to clear them if accused. The alibi
is thus their irrefutable defense.
Does the shadow of a doubt exist, I would
fain ask the thoughtful reader, but that the
severalmurders so lately committed in Penn
sylvania, when American foremen in charge
of Hungarian laborers were hurried into
eternity, and the responsibility for which
could never be placed, were actually accom
plished by the method I have described?
The Scythemen of Poland.
No less dangerous is the organization ex
isting among the Poles, who are found in
large numbers in the environs of Chicago,
In Michigan and other Northwestern States.
They are called Scythemen because under
Martin Langiewicz they defied with their
scythes the sabers of Russia. This patriotic
spirit bore the secret organization as
its fruit, and it is now established In Ameri
ca. "Well-to-do Poles have disappeared in
several parts of the West within recent
years with comparative frequency, and
were, say many people who have the op
portunity for Jnside observation, simply
'removed" by the Scythemen. I do no!
absolutely guarantee the correctness of this
assumption, bnt it is certainly prevalent
among ths better classes of Poles with
whom I have come in contact The organi
zation is radical throughout radical in
the most extreme sense of the word, includ
ing murder, boycotting and the destruction
of the property of obnoxious persons.
Thus these Knights of the Scythe were
prominent in the church troubles in De
troit, which are sufficiently recent to ha
easily called to mind, and it is even
claimed tfiat the turbulent pastor ot ths
Polish church, in Brooklyn, N. Y., Father
Yodyszus belonged to the order, as well as
Mrs. Kraemer, the beautiful Pole, who at
tracted so much attention early in ths
present year through the newspaper notor
iety, in connection with the famine relief
expedition to Russia. Women, it should
be explained, ore eligible for admission to
the society's ranks.
The Society Grip and Cipher.
According to the statement of a Scythe
man now in hiding, who is in dread of assas
sination, having given ofTensejto the leader
of a certain lodge, the methods and signs in
use among these desperadoes are somewhat
Masonic tn character. The grasp of fello
ship is given as follows: Two members
meet and, desiring to make their identity
known to each other, they clasp their hands
apparently in the ordinary fashion, hut
when so doing z rapid, circular motion is
described by each party with his forefinger
upon his friend's palm. This had its origin
in the sweeping motion of a scythe wielded
by the husbandman cutting grass or grain.
'Business at the lodge meetings is trans
acted through a regular code of phonetio
ciphers, so that even a concealed witness
could not understand the proceeding. Thus
should the question of assassination bs
under discussion the conversation is like
this: "Send A or B a package of tobacco."
(Kill A or B.) "Send him a cigar."
(Maim or mutilate him.) "Send him a
package of tobacco snuS." (Burn down
his house), and so forth and so on.
There is yet another class of foreigners
who, like the Poles, consider themselves an
oppressed and down-trodden people. These
are the Bohemians, who, never willing to
be absorbed into the homegeneity of ths
Austrian Empire, have always fretted under
toe Hapsburg yoke. This unwilling sub
jection on their part to an alien rule has
produced the result familiar in all such
cases it has fostered the development of
secret societies. The better class of Bo
hemians who come here are saved through
their sturdy, staid qualities and the bene
ficent influence of American civilization
from drifting astray, and it is only those of
blunted moral perceptions who are found in
the ranks of the pariahs.
Secret organization among the latter may
be called Bohemian brigandage, as far as
its operations here are involved. In somo
ways it is less devilish than that existing
among the other nationalities described
above, for it does not include murder, rest
ing content with a peculiar system of swin
dling and robbery, into which it has drifted
from its former phase of blackmail.
The organization is strongest in New
York and Chicago, and its c t 'I.iiir
strange to say, are newly arriyed immi
grants from their own country. Robbery
is easy when the victim is lulled into a seme
of security by the sound of his native
tongue. Serge Stjschesk.
Our stdtk, our prices, our
terms and our fair treat
ment make us the great
housefurnishers for this sec
tion of the country. :: ::
As the autumn leaves are
dropping and enriching the
earth, so in many spots
our prices are dropping
and enriching our cus
tomers, rt ::
THE GREAT END OF ADVERTISING
IS TO MAKE CUSTOMERS OUT OF READERS.
OUR MOTTO
ONCE A CUSTOMER
ALWAYS A CUSTOMER.
IDEBOARDS
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And to this we attribute the remarkable increase in
business this season. We've kept the old customers and
constantly added new ones.
Our advertising has sold no goods for us; it has
brought the people here and the goods have sold them
selves. The advertising has been truthful; the goods reliable.
1 Or
Pa,rpbts(oJ
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Nothing' adds eo much to the appearance of the Dining Boom as an artlstio
Sideboard. You'll find a liberal amount of art and beauty crowded into the
ones we are showing, even those at extremely low prices. A mammoth,
stock to selectfrom of newest and best styles In the market. We can serve
you to advantage from
A LIBERAL CREDIT SYSTEM W2
whatever you need, even though you lack all the funds necessary.
Come and make your selection. We'll make the terms to suit.
ttlT IS SURPRISING S
How many people have looked at and bought one of the
' "IRKS" RECLINING CHAIR
Since we commenced to advertise them but a few
weeks since.
Its strong points seem to become at once apparent to
all who Jook at it
dfeMEIN AND SEE ONE.
It costs nothing to look, arjd we'll be glad to show
it tcr you at any time. You make the price high or low, ac
cording to the richness and elegance of finish.
CARPETS Will Advance.
CARPETS Are Advancing.
CARPETS Have Advanced.,
Here are three facts for the intending purchaser of Car
pets to think about Where or when the advance in prices;
will be checked we cannot say, but unless you mean to pay J-
the advanced prices the point of wisdom is to
r.
PURCHASE NOW.-,
Not a larger, nor a finer, nor a better selected stock: ;
from which to choose than we present this fall is within
500 miles of you.
Every quality is here from the cheapest to the finest
and in a quality for the price that you can't fail to appre-
date, if you know anything about Carpets.
Our 40c Oilcloth
1
Offered at 25c, as a special bargain, went like hot cakes
last week. Of the 5,000 yards there is a limited quantity
left If you want some of it you must be spry.
The political campaign has
been one of education. So
has our fall trade proved
an education to the public
of what constitutes really
cheap furniture. : : :
923, 925. 927
. PENN
AVENUE.
M So HK Wk JlWIi il H 923
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liliili
,827
PENN
AVENUE.
"Be sure you are right and
then go ahead." You'll
go ahead and buy whei
you see our stock an
learn our prices, t 1
S-4.
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,a
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""
