The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1905-03-05
Special Foreign Service

Special Foreign Service
n ONDON, March 4-No doubt much
IL has been printed in the United
States by this time about Gen.
Trepoff, the newly appointed governor
general of st. Petersburg, but some
stories of him which have just come
to hand are worth giving because of
the Illuminating light they shed on his
character and the indications they af-
ford of the INSCRIPTIONS use he will
make of his despotic powers.
That Trepoff is a ruthless tyrant his
sanguinaryssrecor as chief of police of
Moscow has proclaimed to the world,
but the underhand methods which he
there employed to attain his ends are
known only to a few. Students and
other revolutionary agents had sue
ceeded in forming several secret socie-
ties among the workmen of the White
City, and occasionally melted them to
engage in strikes of a semi political
character. To counteract this move
ment, regardless Of the loss inflicted on
his dupes, Gen. Trepoff undertook to
organize strikes and secret societies on
his own account. Numerous police
spies obtained employment In various
factories and started a workmen'S
union making specious promises of
procuring for its members a large in
crease in wages and compensation for
any temporary loss of employment
they might suffer. The ignorant oper-
ativeS were induced to give credence to
these assurances by the statement that
the movement was favored by the au-
therities, who were bent on helping the
poor against capitalistic oppression.
The rival agitators were denounced as
paid emissarieS Of the employers.
For a time Trepoff's scheme had the
effect he desired. Workmen in large
numbers seeded from the societies
which had been formed for political
purposes, pledges of a speedy increase
ofcpay proving more alluring to them
than remote prospects of obtaining
constitutional government. Then Ire
poff struck a snag. The manager of d
foreign firm long established in Mos
coW-a capable and energetic man with
a backbone, too - saw through his
game and dismissed couple of police
spies who had found employment in the
factory in the guise of workmen. A
delegation of the police organized
''workmens'' union thereupon demand
ed an audience with the management.
But the manager was not to be caught
ina>that trap. Such organization being
Illegal, had he entered into negotiations
with one of them he would have rem
dered himself and the firm liable to
severe penalties. Therefore he refused
to see the delegation.
Tn next move was a visit from Ire
pOff's aide-de-c camp, who insisted that
the dismissed men should be taken
back and the delegation received. The
manager refused. Next followed a
message from Trepoff summoning a
member of the firm to police headquar-
tiers. Thepoff told him that if the firm
did not obey his orders he would shut
down the works and expel the man.
ager and chief partner from Russia.
To that threat the manager replied
that he would yield to compulsion and
admit the delegation, but that he would
take steps to protect him in his legal
rights. The delegation demanded the
reinstatement Of the dismissed men,,
$55,000 as compensation, and a huge in
crease of wages. OF course the de-
mands were refused, and all the men
in the works struck.
The manager thereupon informed
Gen. Trepoff that he should seek re-
dress through his embassy. The chief
of police began to suspect that he had
gone too far, for a foreigner cannot be
suppressed in the same summary
fashion in Russia that a native can.
He called at the works, but the man.
ager declined to see him, and slipped
off by the o'clock train that night for
st. Petersburg. Trepoff followed by
the next train he could catch-the mid
night one-to work his pull with the
central government. But the manager
had made the most of his four hours
start. At the capital he hunted up his
ambassador Immediately, and got him
to intimate in the proper quarters that