The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1895-07-30

CO the censor" is withheld and never
reaches its destination, while the send
Crs OF it are reported! to the police for
punishment. Exceptions, however, are
ma lie when it suits the purposes of the
authorities to leave the addressee and
the sender both in the belief that they
have rcInaincd undiscovered. The
Russian laws on censorship are very
severe and comprehensive. They for
bid the mention of the ear and OF his
family il pirate correspondence as
well IS in the press. and they forbid
critical remarks Of religious, philo-
sophical or military character. The
black chamber is intrustcd with the
duty of watching that these prohibi-
tions are complied with.
Il is, OF course, impossible to open
ana examine every letter that is con-
veyed by Russian mails. But the
agents, inspectors and examiners of
the black chamber number in all sew
eral thousands, and they are slziilfully
distributed in ali those towns and
cities where dissatisfaction with the
prevailing order OF things is known to
exist, and very little escapes their lynx
eyes which IS worth seeing. BY the
government they are empowered to
commit any act OF indiScrctior what
ever which seems TO be necessary to
accomplish their purpose, and the en-
ploveS of the black chamber are no.
toriouslY callous, shrewd and cunning.
That instinct which is Il part of every
mans nature they bring into the serv-
ice when raw, but experience and
trained observation strengthens the
original amount OF instructive knowl-
edge rs to which letters to open and
which to leave alone TO that extent
that they become almost unerring in
their judgment
The number and percentage of let
tiers thus actually opened and read by
these agents differs. OF course, consid-
erablv. being much larger during Pc
riods of political excitement than dur
ing more quiet times, and the amount
of work done by them after some par
.:calarly atrocious political plot has
been Matched or executed is said to be
herculean. Generally speaking, though,
about every tenth letter sent in the
mails is opened by the men OF the black
chamber.
The particular fell worked 10y these
agents is. of course. the correspondence
that passes between Russian and for
eign parts. As about nine-tenths OF
this correspondence goes by way OF
Iydt- kuhuen and St Petersburg, a
specially trained corps OF agents Is al
WAYS on the express that runs in the
direction indicated, and during the
twen(y-four hours the mail Is IN tran
Sit between the German frontier and
the Russian capital. not piece OF 1t IS
not fingered or broken open and exam
ined as 10 its contents On arrival,
of course. there is no delay IN de-
liverin- this mail. unless withheld
for reasons stated above, for them an
.'yuia,l0ns rendered necessary for this
lass OF letters is rapidly attended
10 b. those expert hands. Now and
then il happens, however, that mis-
takes are made, as when Russian re-
siding in Berlin, NJ. Leskutoff, received
an envelope duly addressed to him.
but inclosing a letter evidently in
tended for French diplomat in Rome
Errors of this kind occur rarely, and |
Eherever it is possible to ferret out the |
tnssillful agent guilty of it he is sub
punished for it.
The black chamber methods of oman