The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1890-12-14
A WOMAN'S ENTHUSIASM
That of Sophie Guenzburg Leads Her
to Sacrifices Before I'm
heard Of
She Renounces Fer Religion and
Takes On the Mantle OF
Impurity.
All for tile Sake of Spreading the Propa-
4. Cantla of Sihiiism-scntenced
-. to Death.

NihiIism has had no more fanatical and
heroic deyotes than Sophie Guenzburg, the
vonno Rnssian y, oman who was condemned
in st. Petersburg three weeks ago to be
hanged, and for whose lie Ensslans IN the
United States and all over Europe are inter
ceding. She is girl OF rare beauty, Keen
mind caraful educat!o,, unbounded pride,
and amazing enthusiasm, all of which she
sacrificed GLADLY to the caua, of enlighten-
inc the poor and ignorant OF her native
land, SAYS the New York Sun. With her
fair face she attracted adorers bvthe dozen,
who tried to give her their nam es, their
honors and their fortunes. but she rejected
NIL to work under the disguise of a dlshon
ored woman of the town for her ideal Of a
Russians mission.
Sophie Guenzburg was born IN south
Russian village twenty-one years ago. Hell
father was considerable landowner of edu-
cation and social position. she received
elementary instruction in the village school.
and at the age of II was graduated from a
high school in neishboring city. She was
then slender, vet we'll developed, of medium
height, vet giving an impression OF unusual
DIGNITY. with wavy brown hair, deep brown
ewes. a lightly-tinted skin of surprising
smoothness and softness, and springing
gait. She was the belle of the city where
Abe studied, and had before hex at home the
prospect of choosing whom she would tor
husband, She aspired. however, to be
student, and, if possible, physician. Her
unusual cleverness in her books led her "a
Their to consent to educate her III modlclne,
az her two sisters had been educated IN st.
Petersburg. She was all ready to go to she
capital to begin work when the unlversitv
was closed against women. Her resolution
to learn WAS not shaken. She decided at
once to 90 abroad for the knowledge her
native land refused to give her. she ar
rived in Berne, Switzerland, late i'll 1856,
with the purpose of carrying on IN free
Switzerland her studies in medicine and
civil government. She lived economically
in one room. ats at restaurants and cafes,
as do all Russian students abroad. and as
ISOLATED only with her own countrymen and
women, although her mastery of French
and German. her beauty, and her brilliancy
offered her repeated opportunities Of living
on the sunny side of society. Her Russian
friends were radicals; some were revolu-
and aspirations, touched her heart with
their stories of the sutferings of
the poor and oppressed. of condi-
tions of Russian life she had never seen,
and finally diverted her thoughts entirely
from herself and her own career to the u1f-
fortunate lot of Russia's masses. She gave
up her life's ambition, returned to Russia,
and got school teachers certificate in
order that she might teach growing Kussi-
ans what they ought to be and what they
should be In the empire of the czar. The
government police learned of the radical
ness of her instruction before she had been
home many months and began harassing
has ,,eyn, Sh, -,
town as often as possible for the purpose of
escaping their vigilance. In vain. She was
watched at every turn. was interrupted in
her work, and WAS threatened with arrest.
She became discouraged eventually by the
smallness of the results to which her work
had been reduced. She decided to go
ebroad again. The government re-
aid to her radical friends and they
smuggled her by night over the western
frontier. She hurried across Germany
to Paris and thence to Switzerland.
The bitterness of her experience at
home has transformed her political ideas.
She was a nihilist without nihilist's be-
lief in forcible revolution. This flaw in her
complete conversion to the extreme of po-
litical radicalism was removed by Wilhelm
Liebknecht, leader of tho social democratic
party in Germany. After a series of CONVEX
sations with Liebkneoht concerning the po-
litical agitatlons that shake the continent.
she asked him whether he advised the use
of force in political emergencies.
I'm Germany and similar countries, where
bloodless revolution is possible. no." was the
answer. I'm Russia, where ali is so black,
it is the only hope"
Early in 1889 she returned to Russia with
a mass OF revolutionary literature in her
clothes and baggage. She went because
she felt that she must do her utmost to
work out her convictions, and that in a
foreign land she must always remain a
skirmisher rather than a fighter. She
travelled to st. Petersburg via CONSTANT
nople with an English passport, in order
that she might hoodwink the Russian po-
lice. To prevent her cause from suffering
for her religion, she gave up her Jewish
creed and Joined the orthodox Greek Cath
Ollie church. But that was little or nothing
with her final sacrifice. When
of her mission was becoming
daily more difficult. when the whole work
in which she had infused her strong nature
began to tremble on the verge of discovery,
she fastened to the police, asked to be reg
lstered rs woman of the town, and re-
ceived the certificate supposed to prove hel
dishonor. She remained pure: but in the
disguise of impurity she was enabled to dc
unsuspected the work of spreading the pro-
paganda and organizing the revolutionary
forces. As Jewess her residence in st.
Petersburg would have been difficult to
maintain: as an honest woman she would
have been suspected at every turn by the
police. As Christian and 4 woman of the
town, however, she was fairly safe from
suspicion and interruption.
The discovery of her identity and worl
WAS pure accident. She was shopping
che afternoon in st. Petersburg while or
her way to the house of nihilistic friend
With her she carried little hand bag full
of revolutionary pamphlets. As she left
by the proprietor, and turned oyer as los
property to the police. They opened it
found the literature and Sophie Guenz
burg's address within. and when she re
turned home at night had searched he
apartments successfully for other evidence
Of her completely in nihilistic plots. Sew
eSal men suspected Of being her accom-
plices were also thrown i'll prison at th
same time.
The trial OF Sophie Guenzburg. Stoilan
o3sky and Friefeld, civilians. and Dooshet
sky and Crotchko, artillery officers, all @
whom were suspected of working to tn
same end with her, began behind close
doors ON Nov. 10. 1t was before a speciu
complaint was that Sophie Guenzburg ha
been found to have in her possessio
placards announcing the death Of Alexan
DIR I'LL, and that one or more bomb
had been discovered in her apartment
She was. therefore, accused of being chic
actor in a plot to murder the car. Sh,
Stoilanofsky and Friefeld were found guilt
on Nov. II. Dooshefsky and Crotchko. th
artillery officers. were acquitted. All thre
guilty ones have been condemned to b
hanGed, although Stoilanofsky and Friefel
q