The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1906-09-23
PALACE Of CAR
GENUINE PRISON
Three COrdOnS of SentrieS
Stationed Ten Feet
Apart.
DANGER LIES IN LABORERS
All Working Men Who Enter Palace
Grounds Must Wear Plates
on Coats.

PETERHOF. Sept 22.-Nicholas II at
last dared 10 leave his palace and the
fortress park around il and 10 take a
cruise on the Finnish seas. Even a be-
sieged monarch prefers the risk of ven
turing abroad 10 perpetual confinement
In particularly ugly palace and par
ucularly gloomy park.
The comedy Of guarding the Car be-
gins at the railway depot Frequently
the baggage office is closed lest people
should deposit bombs i'm their portmau-
teaus.
Give your bag 20 the porter is the
request and the porter, taking it gin
gerly. asks: els it locked? 1 am not
allowed 10 take locked baggage
The railway station teens with police,
gendarmes. and with plain clothes agents
Of the secret police, who accost every
lettering passenger with the remark,
It's a fine day. Have you come 10 see
the fountains and conclude innocent
~, Il think I've seen you before
remark which is supposed 20 make ii
would-be terrorist start.
Travesty on Protection.
The same comedy is gone through at
the public park, where every one is told
that IL is fne day, and asked il he has
come 20 see the fountains.
Last year the name of every lease
holder Of a summer villa had 10 be
submitted 10 the palace commandment.
This year his name, address, and desCrip-
tiOn must also be submitted 10 the min
istry OF internal affairs. Owing 10 this
continual espionage and annoyance, villa
owners declare that their property has
deprecated 30 per cent And the utter
worthlessness of these precautions is
shown by the fact that three times lately
stores Of arms have been discovered in
the village. and that two important gem
erals have been killed within a mile OF
the palace walls.
But the guarding Of the Cars palace
and Of the dense park which surrounds
il is very different thing. The most
reckless, resolute conspirator could not
either by land or sea get within the
grounds.
Seaside Inyulnerable.
From the sea side Peterhon resembles
a blOCkaded fortress. In a crescent
stretching for six miles outside OF the
palace anchors continuous Gordon OF
guardships and torpedo boats, never
more than 800 yards apart. On the east
side is a converted yacht. the Babotnik.
which all night flashes its two electric
searchlights across the bay on CrOn-
stadt fortress and the waters around a
glare is always directed, and il Is said
here that in the glare of this searchIight
Nicholas II watched the fighting on the
outlying forts during the recent mutiny.
After 10 at night only official launches
which carry a special blue light are al
lowed 70 leave Cronstadt. IN daytime
the guardships fire warning shots If
even a pleasure boat attempts 10 pass
them.
Second Port Arthur.
From the land side the palace is an
other Port Arthur. The high. red-paint-
ed wall enclosing the park has a sentry
every ten yards. AT the main entrance
are sentries. gendarmes, and a troop
Of Caucasus Cossacks. whom idlers
come 10 stare at and ask themselves.
How many more are inside?" The fact
is that inside the outer park wall are
three COnCenUiC CFesCeHts OF seutTieg.
all within a stones throw Of one an
other They are mostly loyal Semen
ovtsi and IsmailOvtsi guardsmen. but
al never belong 20 the same regiment,
since the mutiny of the Preobrajenslzy
guards has shown that no single regi-
ment can be relied upon.
Between the second and third line Of
sentries is a high barbed-wire fence,
which runs along straight paths so that
. any one crossing it can be seen against
the sky line. Finally around the palace
itself are sentries belonging 70 the En-
psror's own Moslem guard.
Danger in Palace Workers.
But the terror Of Peterhof is the hon
est worklngman who comes in from the
numerous palace buildings outside the
park 20 plant flowers, weed paths. look
after the trees, and repair and paint the
damp. dllapidated palace in which for
the sake of safety Nicholas II has 10
live The workmen come in a body be
tween and in the morning. dine In
a pavilion i'm the grounds. and are not
allowed to leave until IN the evening,
when all depart together. Each man
has his photograph sewn in the inside
of his coat, and the general In charge
of the police personally compares these
photographs with copies at the lodge
Tradesmen's carts never enter the
PARK III j every uaS tAtE uidW up at
the east gate. Each box or parcel is
separately opened, examined and sol
EMMY transferred 10 handcarts, which.
in turn. are never sent outside the park
The whole system is so searching that
il would be difficult to smuggle in an
ounce OF tobacco,
The amusing thing about all these
precautions is that most terrorists deny
mat they desire 20 kan the Emperor.
"He is TOO valuable To us, they say.
1--WE much prefer him 10 his infant heir.
backed up by lie resolute Empress and
stuI more resolute dictator"