Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-06-01

en- n,dngednt: we may be sure that before
long this first hesitation will be got over,
and ''The Cross will become a true human
shambles,
In the meantime, let me tell the reader
the story of one of its first inmates, girl
condemned to the longest term-two and
a half years-whose use will serve as sam
pie for the rest, and will throw some light
upon certain practices of the Russian
police. In 1888 q certain Bychkov, q
Siberian, escaped from his place Of
Punishment, and arrived at Moscow
in the autumn of the same year.
He had little money, no passport
and no acquaintances in the town. In this
extremity he went to a small coffee room
near the university, and, alter having OBJ
served for some time the people who were
there, be fixed upon a girl, q perfect
stranger to him, whom he followed in the
street when she left the coffee room. Here
he approached her, and told her who he was
and what was his position.
The girl proved to be Alexandra Kopy-
Iowa, student OF Liberal views. She be-
fieved Bychkov's story, and promised to do
for him what she could. But she could not
do much. In October Bychkov was rear
rested by the police, who made a domicil-
iary visit az the rooms of Kopylova as we'll.
Nothing compromising was discovered, ex.
cept one COPY of a Geneva revolutionary
(RadicaO paper, called Self Government.
She was, as q matter Of course, imprisoned.
TRAP SET BY THE POLICE.
But the police had nothing particular to
be proud Of; Bychkov himself was not very
great prize, tor he was simple exile, who
had nothing more important against him
than slight connection with peaceful pro-
| paganda among the st. Petersburg work
men. Then the police resolved to utilize
him in another way. After long interro-
cation, Bychfov was taken to the district
| prison (chast), but here 1t somehow occurred
that ali the cells were full, and there was
no room for the new inmate. The officer OF
gendarmerie showed himself much dis
pleased, but agreed to the directors pro-
posaI to lock up the prisoner for the night
in a room in the fire tower. The offer was
accepted, and Bvchkov was confined in an
ordinary room with a window looking upon
the street. It was rather high, but it was
near the water pipe running along the wall
outside, and there was a slanting roof of the
lower story, which could be utilized for the
descent. The prisoner could not lose such
an opportunity, and In the dead of the night,
when he thought the house plunged in sleep,
he opened the window and descended into
the street, congratulating himself upon a
happy escape.
But his position was still q very precar-
ious one, for he had to find at once hiding
place, which was not easy ut such time.
He thought OF q man OF good position, a
Liberal, professor of the Moscow Uni
Yersity, whom he had met once at Kopy-
lova's room, and he went to knock at his
door. He was recognized, told his story
and was admitted into the house. This is
precisely what the police expected, for all
| the affair was arranged on purpose, and
Bychkov was followed from the prison to
the house where he found refuge.
ALL WHO BEFRIENDED HIM.
But he could not stay all the time at the
same place, and changed his hiding place
several times during the few days the police
allowed him to roam about the town. Of
course all his movements were closely
watched. When he was arrested all who
gave him temporary refuge were arrested
| likewise. Golzeff, Nicolaev and Sokoloff
were in their number-all men of good social
position, professors, editors of influential
papers, members OF the Moscow Town Coun-
ell. All were put in prison-Sokolov TO-
gether with his wife. To the latter the
shock was so great that, unprepared as she
| was for this rather common experience, she
lost her reason after two months of solitary
confinement. The others were released after
few months detention.
AS to Miss Alexandra Kopylova, who was
the principal" offender in the great crime
of harboring an dmlnistrative exile escaping
from his place OF banishment, she had to
undergo year and half of preliminary
detention, anG then was condemned, without
ria1 h,yo a isfr live 10 ftro nd
half years OF imprisonment with hard labor
in 1.-THE Gross, where she is up to the pres
ent day. The other inmates OF the same
prison have nothing heavier at their charge
than Miss Kopylova. 1.-THE Cross" is not
the only place where the administrative
prisoners are immured. In 1881 the "House
of Terror" the Kharkov central prison,
where the early propagsndists were being
slowly killed, was abolished in order to ap-
pease Russian public opinion, which was
reused by the tale of horrors which went on
there. Its inmates were transferred in a
body to the Kara prison. Now the Kharkov
central prison is once again re-opened, this
time for administrative prisoners
A FAMOUS PRISON.
The husband ofsthe unfortunate Nadejda
Sihida, fogged to death at Kara in Novem-
ber, 1889, died there in 1889. Among those
who are pining there are Petrovsky, Alex
androff and Chernov, under the charge of
connection with the manufacturing of
bombs" though the connection" is very
distant; in fact, they are merely guilty of
not having turned lnformers at the first
favorable opportunity. One of them saw
where the aforementioned Orjikh was hid
ing three dynamite bombs. Another, Cher
nov, a man of position, and not revolution.
ist at all, is imprisoned because a revolution
ist, who expected to be arrested in the street,
lett two bombs in his house without Cher
noy's knowledge. When he discovered what
the dangerous parcel contained he threw
the bombs in the pond instead of going with
them to the police.
Modern Russia presents q sad, sicken-
ing sight-a wholesale slaughter of the
flower of our growing generation, in order
that an antiquated, ruinous, degrading,
bureaucratic dsspotism may be maintained.
That slaughter is done in two ways: By
means of exceptional tribunals, and by the
direct work OF the administration: exile,
and, since 1887, administrative imprison-
ment In the period from 1881 to 1889, "a
persons have been sentenced to death, III
have been immured in the for
tresses-most of them in Shlusselbeurg-
and 20 sent to the Siberian mines.
The latter we're the less compromised and
the most fortunate, for they alone have a
chance of suryiving-!or a certain period of
years at least The III condemned to long
terms of confinement in the fortresses may
be considered Ms virtually condemned TO
death. Most of them have already died or
become insane. The remainder are sure to
follow them before long. To this number
must be added the $50 who died or became
insane in this period during the long pre-
liminary detention, which in Russia ex-
tends on the average from one and a half to
two years.