The Lebanon express. (Lebanon, Linn County, Or.) 1887-1898, 1888-07-13
a MosuoM PRls On.
dr. Lansdeu isPaws u Rather PLEASING
Picture OF RussIan AffRlrA.

Nicturc OF RuAsAah AnttrNs
When in Moscow In 1885 | drove
out with my travelling companion and
an American. a former Governor OF
Virginia. TO see the new Central
prison. recently built In the suburbs.
We arrived. however latter the fair"
for IL was at the end of August, and
most of the companies of exiles had
started, five hundred only remaining.
Of various categories, including, l
think. wives and children. We went
over the building. which was great
Improvement ON the old one. The
wards were very large and lofty. re-
minding one of extensive city ware
houses. and detached from the main
building were towers with small rooms
for political prisoners,
The rooms certainly were not large.
but they appeared reasonably COM
Portable. or at all events had nothing
about them 20 recall the sensational
"damp," "fugus-eolered cells into
which certain writer's on Russian
prisons are fond of thrusting their
political prisoners, especially in the
Alcxeiefslxy ravelin of the fortress ui
Peter and Paul in 81, Petersburg
did not secure photograph of the
Central prison at Moscow. but had
unexpectedly become possessed of
sketch of cell In the Aleyeiefskv ravel-
in made by political prisoner who
occupied II. This prisoner ON my
second visit 10 Siberia. heard me mar
rating To "A friend that had been per-
mitted to visit the Peter aud Paul
fortress, whereupon he drew me
aside aud told mo that he had been
prisoner therein. and would tell me
his experience IL ! would call upon him
privately. did so. but was rather be-
hind the time appoint, q. and whilst he
was waiting he made for me n pen and
ink sketch Of his cell or room, which
measured eighteen feet eight inches
long by sixteen feet four inches broad
and nine feet four inches high. lt was
furnished with table. chair. commode
and bed with two feather pillows. a
pair of sheets, blanket and wooden
coverlet Mezentseff. chief of the se-
cret police. who WAS assassinated by
the Nihilists in 1879. asked him on one
occasion whether he would like 20
smoke. in which case he should be sup
piled with = quarter of pound of to-
bacco FOR cigarettes every other day.
He was also asked if he would like 20
paint or write. aud drawing materials
were brought TO him, as also books
from the library. Ii was in this fort
re- = prison. he said. that he read Glib
bon decline and Fall of the Roman
Empire.
How far this state of things prevails
in the new prison ut Moscow | am IN
able TO say. but l should imagine not
to n great extent. because the Mos
cow cells are intended for ''politicals"
on their journeys At the time OF my
visit there We're but two political pris-
oners among the five hundred others.
They were in separate cells. one hav-
ing. | noticed. quite a little library of
books. and among other things a scent
bottle. but whether containing eau-de-
Cologne or vodka was not sure.
The small proportion Of political
prisoners to criminals just mentioned
viii not coincide with the popular
itGA " bAN it
fact much nonsense has been writ
ten and more believed respect
ing the number of Russian POI
litical offenders sent into exile. One
writer talks about n calculation that
i'm Eastern Siberia alone there were
from 50. 900 to 40. 600 Polish political
exiles. whereas in 1879, for instance,
SSS was the total number Of Polish
criminals cxiled. and criminals out
number the politicals by more than ten
20 one. Others, when they heard
prison statistics quoted that from
IL. 600 to 20 600 Russians were exiled
yearly. jumped 10 the conclusion that
these. or large portion Of them, were
>, l.tical offenders. whereas the depor-
latiSn of political offenders, until re-
cent years. did not come under the or
binary prison administration at all.
but was separately managed. The
"political travelled alone, and was
usually kept in prison alone, specially
guarded; and under these circum-
stances from time to time l saw them
in the prisons of Russia and Siberi !,
but it was always in ones and twoS,
and as rare birds among whole flock
of others. do not think met with
fifty in going through near,y all the
principal prisons of Siberia; and this
impression receives support from such
information rs | could obtain from an
official l know. high in the prison adj
ministration, who told me in Novem-
ber. 1881, that the total number of po-
litical offenders of all kinds sent to ST.
IBERIA that year was seventy-two, OF
which number, however. about half
had been condemned to the mines in
four previous years, but detained in
Russia. DR. LdnSdeH. IN Harper
| Magazine.