New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1900-09-09

level of desperate enmity TO the existing order OF
things that of their fellow Anarchists
c-uited from the less well to do classes.
1t is evident that the funds - the Anarchist
party, like those of the Nihl!ists and of the
Malta. are derived from crime pule and simple
terrorism. blackmail. robbery, fraud, arson and
murder being among the agencies employed to
fl the exchequer. Some twenty years ago
while engaged in a thorough Investigation of the
EniIist movement / was led to turn my atten-
ton To the question OF the origin OF TIE ample
funds Of which the Nihilist party appeared to
dispose At the time the Nihilist movement
maintained agencies in Berlin, Paris, London
and in various Swiss towns, where members of
the cult were fraternally received and provided
with money and the necessaries of life Vera
Sassoulitch and other equally noted Nhilists
whose acquaintance then made in Switzerland
lived the borders of Lake Geneva and at
Zurich in comparative affiuence, without any
app rent means Of livelihood The great trial
al Eoscow resulting from the confessions made
in prison by the notorious Nihilist leader Net
chaje1 brought to light some curious facts con-
corning this question Of funds.
One of the accused, a girl named Idalia Pol
heirn- acknowledged that she had received or
dars from the Executive Committee to entangle
the affections o. wealthy old landed proprietor
and hen TO poison him and rob him of his riches
for the sake Of the cause student named
Ituschin was forced TO admit in the face Of cor
rDburatIye evidence that he had been one of
several NihiIists who had persuaded a sixteen
year,eld boy al MOSCOW 20 murder and rob his
oyyn-5fathey and then TO hand the plumber over
to thse. Executive Committee Subsequently l
lkewisR asceTtajned that each recrudescence Of
the bsIh1Ist movement was invariably accom-
pa1ls6 by an extraordinary increase in the
nu-nla- OF fires in Russia Thus, in one sum
ner raun1h alone thirty-fiye hundred fires were
officially reported 10 have taken place in St
Petersburg Orenburg. KOsloW, hkutsk and
UrBlsk, destroying property valued at l2.otoOOo
ru1iles Only nine hundred OF these fires could
be properly accounted for. and the remaining
twEnty-E1x hundred were proved to be Of in
cendia1J and IN many cases Of Nihlist origin
T9le police were apparently unable to prevent
these FREE Small wonder. then, that when two
wealthy ST Petersburg merchants of my &C
uua1utanre received letters from the Nihilist
Executive Committee demanding sums Of 5000
and 5000 rubles respectively, and threatening
them with the destruction Of their property by
fire anc ere1l with death IN the case of refusal,
they FASTENED to pay the money They replied
to the fnqu7ry as to Hhy they had nOi sought the
r,.-,teetiUn Of the Government with the follow
ing pertinent and wholly unanswerable counter
question IF the Chief Of Police is unable to
protect his own person from attack, or to pre-
vent the arson tnat is the order Of the day. how
can We possibly expect efficient protecton?"
HOW BRESCI OBTAINED HIS MONEY
If lE Known thai the Italian Malta obtains by
arsJnzouz methods the ample funds Of which its
leaders are able tn dispose and through which,
cuu1uintIy with terrorism, they are able to con
t-ol the Parliamentary elections Of Sicily, send
ing ito the National Legislature at Rome Depu-
ties who represent not the interests Of the ISL
and but OF the Malta
The Anarchists resort to the same devices
They obtain their money in the main by ter
ror1srn and blackInail- curious illustration OF
this In furnished in Brescis own case Be
forB coming TO America he earning good
vsses as head weaver in the great Michel silk
y1sI,x at I.ucca The chief proprietor of these
mills was the Florentine banker. Martinelli
Breaa, who made no attempt to conceal his de-
Sosioa 10 the Anarchist cause. held the banker