The San Francisco call., 1896-01-16

as translated; that the contracts were duly
sealed and bore the Russian arms. He
also says that The original contractor is
one Galetski; that his contract is for 100
kilometers, or about 100 miles, and that it
is direct from the Russian Government.
From Galetski the Count took a contract
of twenty-four kilometers, or twenty miles,
OF grading and has also bought Galetski' S
plant. For the contract he is to give
Galetski 13 per cent of what the original
contract called for. Mr.. Ruef also adds
that the Count says he has an income of
$4,000 year, but as he bought Galetski's s
grading outfit it has left him about out of
cash. He cannot get his income in ad-
vance, and he has therefore come over to
this country from Siberia to organize SYM
dicates to complete his own twenty miles
and take Galetskls contract off his hands.
Mr.. Ruef also says that, according to the
alleged Counts story, he has already or
ganized one syndicate at Seattle, and has
lot of good men in it, and that one or all
OF them are going over to Siberia. One of
the documents is signed by the Commits
sioner of Police, GroSdoff of Harbarowsk,
the town at the end of the road from
Vladivostok. Mr.. Ruef also tells that the
supposed Count had also a certificate saw
ing he owned real estate in the district of
Tomsk, Siberia, to the value of $4,000 per
annum. 1t said he was a citizen of Nargen
and a freeholder of the Government of
Kalouga. Mr.. Ruef also learned from the
document that the bearers father was at
one time Governor of Kalouga.
All this on the surface had a rather
plausible look, especially to those not in
formed as to the things behind the scenes
in the way of acquiring such documents in
Siberia but G.. M. Grunwaldt, the agent of
the Russian Fur Company, had merry
look in his eye when all this was set forth
to him.
Mr.. Grunwaldt is at the Occidental Ho-
TEL having Just returned from Siberia. He
was formerly practicing attorney of Mos
cow, and for five or six years has been
journeying back and forth to Siberia in
connection with the business Of his COM
pany.
He knows most of the people mentioned
in the alleged contracts, and also De Savin,
who is alleged to be posing as the Count
de Toulouse Loutrec, though he has not met
him here. Fifteen years ago in Russia,
when Savin was getting well initiated in
the art of swindiing, he came to him with
one of his promoting enterprises, of which
he always had lot In stoak, for he is fer
tile Of invention and am nidextrous as to
intellect.
The world-famous chevalier de l'indu ustrie
called on him couple of times, and had
also got a not overscrupulous Russian
hopeful that they could make landing of
Mr.. Grunwaldt's cash. He was not to be
caught, and right on the heels of this both
were arrested and convicted.
Somewhere near the same period De
Savin met Mr.. Grunwaldt's brother, and
tried to manipulate another scheme, but
in this also he was unsuccessful, for Mr..
Grunwaldt was warned in time
Agent Grunwaldt was in Russia when
the famous confidence man. who had bee n
a pretender to the throne of Bulgaria, was
finally tried, convicted and deported to
one of the Siberian penal colonies.
II well remember his trial." said Agent
Grunwaldt, Though / did not attend it..
For the three or five days it lasted the
courtroom was like a theater and it was
packed to the utmost capacity. There was
the most intense interest in it.
There were nineteen indictments in all
against him, and they all came up at once.
Russian laws, you know are different from
the laws here. Three Judges sat on the