The morning call., 1892-11-06

your passport the moment you arrive and
the hotelkeeper has 1t vised for you and
gives ii back to you within an hour or so.
In leaving the hotel you will not need to
have it again vised without you ara going
out of the country, bnt the landlord always
asks you where YOU are going, and the mo-
ment you leave word is sent TO the police as to
the date of your departure and the place of
your destination. Landlords are compelled
10 attend To such matters and they are fined
If they do not send in the passports
promptly. l have heard of the necessity of
one always having a passport with him,
and since have been in Russia L have car
ried mine constantly in my left breast
pocket. L have never had it called for,
however, put it is, am told. necessary il
one would get checks cashed at the banks
or letters at the pOstoffice. The policemen
of Russia are not very well paid, and
salaries are very low throughout the Rus
sian empire. 1t Is the same with the SOL
dieIs. The Gar has something like a mil
lion men In his army, but these do not
receive as much as postage-stamp a day
Tor their work, and the ordinary policeman
only gets Sl2 month. The chief of the
police districts here receives only $3.50 a
year. and la the interior policemen often
receive no more than 81 80 4 month and
pay their own expenses.
Every mau in Russia is expected To help
the police. Ali householders must keep
records of the servants they employ. There
are blank books made for the purpose. and
In one column you must put down the date
OF engagement OF servant, his religion and
where he cOmes from. You must give his
age and must have record of his height.
sz', color and. IN fact, regular passport
description of him. You must send n office
TO the police that you have employed him
and they look from time to time over your
servant book and put their stamp upon il.
1t Is the same with hired girls as with hired
men and the same with clerks as with housa
servants NDRn the Ia
must again notify the police and state where
he has gone. You have to pay fees and
stamps for his service and The police here
enforce the collection of stamp taxes. Not
long ago there was an order passed that
every receipt and business paper should
have stamp, and the police were about TO
collect this tax from gas company in South
Russia.
This company had Thousands of contracts
when were merely matters OF record and
the police called and tried to collect siamn
duties upon each of these. The owner. who
was shrswd Englishman, saw that the
thing was going TO cost him about $50 600
aud he burned up his contracts ana thus
evaded the tax. lie had a book account
which enabled him TO supply the loss, and
he told me gleefully how he got ahead of
the Government.
/ chatted about the police with another
Englshman who lives in one of the big
towns of the black plain and who was very
dn5A9 ~ hhO pObSo WHICH WAS
kept over him,
Said he: You can't do anything here that
is not known TO the police and there
are spies everywhere. Your servants
watch you. and even a beggar may be
a spy. If man does anything that "a ont
of the way he is put under police super
vision and be has to report every month
or every week TO the police. l had n
clerk with me not long ago who was sup
posed to be free-thinker. He had to re-
m fhn Vanfn
we missed him aud we did not hear of him
for about two months. He had been taken
off in irons to ST. Petersburg and ne was
kept IN prison there month. Then his ac-
cusers were brought to the city and this
man was brought out with thirty Others,
but his accusers could not pick him out of the
lot and the result was that the authorities
released him. AS soon as he was released
he was told that he could have free ticket
home II be would wait week for it, but he
said that he preferred to pay his fare and go
at once. and be did SO. 1t is not uncommon for
men to be sentfrOm here TO Siberia. MANY of
them do not 60 In prison gangs. They merely
receive orders from st. Petersburg to re portto
the police at certain stations In Siberia and
TO remain there until they receive perms-
sion 10 leave. Once there they can engage
in any business they please provided they
make their reports properly, and some
times they stay for years. When they come
back they say but little about their expert
enees In Siberia, and they are very careful
of their utterances in the future. The ma
jority of the persons sent to Siberia are for
criminal and not political offenses. When
bank fails here the directors get wolf
passports or tickets for Siberia, and If a
man commits murder he is sent to Siberia
for life. There Is not great deal of fog
ing done In the prisons, but banishment
takes its place."
Speaking of the spy-system of Russia.
while was at Mini Novgorod the Governor
detailed his private secretary to go with me,
and this man was very particular to know
just what i was doing and for what purpose.
He pretended that be wanted it for news
paper publication, but / afterward learned
that he was spy and / doubt not the story
l told him was sent right on to st. Peters
burg. During my stay there / took din
ner at a gentleman's house at which
this private secretary was present, and
at this one Of the ladies at the table re-
marked in English that there were
spies everywhere and there was one
at this very table. bus owing to his not un-
derstanding English he would net be able to
report our conversation. l have been sur
prised ID fact to find out how freely people
talk IN Russia about the Govern ment. They
discuss the Gar and the officials openly.
and it seems to me that they are quite as
free In this respect rs we are in the United
States. find less red tape about the Offices
here in st. Petersburg than / have found
in any of the other capitals of Europe, and
though nihilists and socialists are undoubt-
edly watched carefully the people do not
seem to be afraid OF the police as much as
is supposed, and they have their coed
points as we'll as their bad Ones
have paid some attention to the prisons
OF European Russia. / find some of them
very much Qvarcrowded and tha nrisono ~