Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1890-05-15
HOW SCHMlEDE WAS BETRAYED.
The Attempt to See the Plans of Cronstadt.

London Telegraph
have received the following further de-
tails respecting the attempted purchase Of
the plans Of the defepces of CrOnstadt.
one day woman presented herself al the
Ministry OF War, imagining il 10 be the
Ministry of Marine (they are about three
minutcs' walk from each other, asked
for the fourth department.. and when
there expressed a wish TO see a
VI. Sobolef, petty official who
does much OF the writing Of the depart
ment. As good or III luck would have il.
there CHANGED TO be an official Of that name
III the Ministry of War as well as IN the
fourth department of the Ministry of Ma
rlne. lie came when asked for, and the
visitor requested him 10 confde 20 her the
plans. What plansi" he asked. You
know" she replied, and then rccollect-
ing the watchword. Telegraph" pro-
nounced it. Suspecting something
wrong, the official said, "Oh. yes. just
wait a moment and I'll get them" He
then requested her to he seated and,
leaving tho reom. ordered the two sol
diers on guard 10 keep a vigilant watch
on her movements. and not to allow her TO
leave the premises on any account. He at
once went to the head Of the department
and Informed HIM of what had taken
place. This official Immediately tele-
phOned 10 the Under Secretary for War,
General Obrutscheii who communicated
with the Project of Police. General Ores
ser. The result Of all this telephoning and
message-sending was that two detectives
were sent around TO the War Ministry and
some worthless documents were handed
TO the woman. who. carefully put
ting them away IN her reticule, left
the establishment, followed at dis
lance by the detectives. She was
thus logged TO q house not very far
away. and to a room in which were two
gentlemen, official representatives of for
cign Powers, seated before "a table look
ing ut the documents lust brought TO them.
A. the detectives had no power TO arrest
any one but the female. they requested the
gentlemen to sign paper TO the effectthat
on certain day, at a certain hour, in such
and such house. they were present under
certain circumstances described. This, OF
course. they could have no objection TO do.
The woman was at once taken to prison
and Intercepted. She stated that she was
TO have gone TO the Marine Ministry and
to have given the watchword, "Tele-
graph to an official named Sobolef, from
whom she was TO have received certain
plans. This confession led 10 the arrest of
S0boleff, who i'll turn made a confession
discriminating n naval captain of second
rauk-Schmiede by name and not Schmltt
This person was arrested at the Naval Club
Casino, i'll Cronstadt, taken to st. Peters
burg. and inferred in the fortress. The
money paid down for the plans was only
/, 500 roubles about G13O), but on delivery
ten times that sum was to have been paid.
The Emperor, to whom a detailed report
was made, is reported to have said that the
delivery of the genuine plans TO the gen
tlemen who were so DESTROYS of obtaining
them would not have given him or his
Government the slightest concern, but
that he was grlevously panied to think
that Russian naval officers would be guilty
of snch treason.