Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1884-06-18
KRASEWsKu's CRIME.
The TreaCherous Plot for which IN
Polish Patriot 10 Cond e med,
INTERESTING DEVELOPMENTS OF THE TRIAL JUsr
CONCLUDED AT LEIPsIC.
From the Philadelphia Times.

INTERESTING DEVELOPMENTS OF THE TRIAL JUSr
CONCLUDED AT LEIPSIc.
From the Philadelphia Times !.
The French. Austrian and Russian govern
ments are all singularly compromised In the
recent trial and conviction AZ Leipsic Of the
famous Polish poet Krasewsk and Of CAPT,
Heutsch, an eN-ofricer i'm the Prussan army. who
were accused OF furnishing information concern
ing the state OF efficiency. organization and an
mament of the Prussian army to the French
government. The proceedings at the trial fur
nish Americans with curious insight into the
methods employed by European powers TO OBJ
tain knowledge II each others diplomatic cor
respondence and army organization. Ii is a no.
torious fact that in 1870 the PIsSian general stat
/ possessed excellent plans of the principal French
1 tortresses; through the treachery of whom the
/ French have never been able TO Gnd out and thu
russians are IN some mysterious way aware ~
( the fact that the French possess hy some secret
means. plans of all the Prussan foitresses along
the Rhenish frontier
The sensation OF the trial was n letter Of
Prince Bismarck 10 the PrusSian pullic nrnsacn
. tor. Won Scckendorff read in open court ana
settingforth the facts I'm the case with his rus-
! tomary brutal frankness 1t appears that in
/ 1854 Polish society OF thirty members was
formed among the very numerous Polish resi-
dents Of Paris. TWAS a military organization
/ and its object was to study the statistics ~
European armies. to carry on a correspondence
a
and lrussian services, to keep alive Polish ma
! tional feeling among them and TO profit hy a
| great war in Europe 10 restore the Polish
! monarchy The members Of the society took
an active part with Garbaldi in 1866 served in
/ the French army with Lpowsk and the Polish
/ volunteers in 1870 and organized the Polish
/ Legion Of the Turkish army in the war OF
1S11-S.
A CONSPIRACY.
! When Col. Samuel organized the department
/ oF-s
1873 they were the means of supplying him with
some very valuable information and formed the
acquaintance OF Russian, Austrian, Prussian and
Italian officers. who visited Paris in order 10 Oh
tainit. Samuel was made governor of the fort
ress OF Nerdun In 1876, the department of stais-
/ tics came under the control of Mater Campion-
net and In 1877 1t was abolished. To supply its
/ place Gambetta commissioned one Ladslas Wa
! lowski, Pole. residing in Paris TO organize a
bureau OF Information" and to choose CORE
| spondents in Germany, Austria and Italy The
/ central office WAS at Dresden. krasewsd was
at its head, and his duties were to receive com
/ muncations, pay the correspondents and for
/ ward their letters to the French government
BY these means certain secret papers were
distracted from the minister OF war in Berlin
and sold, some to the French and some to the
| Russian government. They related to the plan
| of mobilization of the German army and it's
| concentration by means OF the railway system
along the French frontier. The Russian gov
!
/ the cadres of the Prussian army were being nut
| on war footing and bought the plans of sew
| eral Of the German foTtresses. situated not
along the Russian frontier, strange TO say, but
on the Rhine. The Austrians received early
! information Of the proposed change ofarmament
OF the RUSSIAN infantry. krasewski visited
France from time to time and received 11oOO
/ francs for his services in 1880 He was pre-
sented to Minister Ferry and Bismarck alleges
that the latter promised Krasewski the cross Of
the legion, but this Jules Ferry emphatically
| denies.
| THE ACCOMPIICES.
| krasewski's principal agent was Heutsch the
Prussan captain on half-pay. who had great
many friends In the Prussian army and worked"
them to the best advantage. He it was who. on
/ his own account, sold the information about the
fortresses to Gen. Feldman, of the Russian SER
vice. For this he received 2. 800 francs
| man named Adler. probably Prussian gov
| eminent spy. found out what was going on and
! Immediately began to cultivate the acquaint-
/ ance OF Heutsch. He soon saw that Heutsch
and hraSewshi were in communication with
! several foreign governments and told his story
to the prince OF Reuss. the Prussan ambassador
at st. Petersburg. krasewsk was arrested
As soon as the fact Of his arrest was known
/ at Paris. General Thibaudin. the minister of
/ war; caused domiciliary visit TO be made at the
/ house OF Baron Granger the German financier
/ who lives in Paris and married the daughter of
/ the confederate commissioner John SlideIl The
/ preteXt To seize his papers was that he con-
cerned in the sneculations OF the Union general,
out the real reason was that he was suspected
| OF being secret agent Of the German govern
/ ment.
The fact fcertain secret papers having been
/ distracted from the German war Office was
| abundantly proved by the testimony of Colonel
| Wodice, Majors Erpling, Won Borcke and others
/ This in spite Of a clever defense, which sought
! TO prove that most OF the information conveyed
| to the French and Russian governments was
not secret. but had been published in the news
/ papers, and that Ii would be unlikely that
| Krasewski, man Of great social standing and
seventy-two years OF age, would imperil the
peace of his declining years for such paltry sum
as fifteen or twenty thousand francs. The poet
was sentenced to three years and a half of i'm
! prisonment In fortress. The captain was held
to have disgraced the uniform that he wore and
was sentenced to nine years in the penitentary.
HONOR TO A CRANK.
! The disparity in the punishment OF the two
men is very great The fortress is not dis
/ honoring punishment, but the penitentiary is
| Allowance was made for the fact that Krazewsh
| is visionary, whose dream is the restoration OF
| Poland to her place among the nations, and his
| offense committed with the view OF further
| ing that object. His crime was more political
| than mercenary. Such was not the case with
/ the captain. All he aimed at was money.
! hTasewsh has great reputation In the word
| of letters. Besides being poet he has written
4 gOodly number of important prose works on
| politics, education and political economy Hs
! is very popular in Poland. and when he cele-
! brated the fiftieth anniversary Of his birthday
! at Cracow In 1862 was received with almost
royal hOnors Ii is likely that the German
emperor will. in view of his great age commute
a portion Of his sentence.
Notes for Dog Days.