Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-03-22
Special Correspondence Of The Star.


0"O THE clever acting of young
girl the sweetheart of one of
their number and the assist
ance of baby borrowed for
the occasion. thirteen precious
young Russian sccundrels owe their es-
cape from the hangmans moose The
men were members OF one OF the worst
and most daring gangs OF thieves and
hiShwaymen that ever infested this part Of
the country. They were found guilty by
court-martial and the penalty is death. At
the psychological moment. however. just
before sentence was passed upon him. the
accommodating sweetheart and the bogus
baby We're brought in and the former
was married to the youngest OF the
prisoners. few tears on the part of
the wife. a prolonged screech on the
part of the baby. who thus showed his
objection to having pin stuck in his
leg, and the hearts of the judges were
melted. Instead of the death penalty the
sentence Of the thirteen was committed
| to twenty years Imprisonment each.
The funniest part of the whole business
is that neither the police nor the judges
suspect to this day that they We're BAN
oooZled By an ingenious plan concocted
by one OF the prisoners. The real facts
o. the case were told me by the mother
of the child which played so large d
part in the comedy.
Stanislas Lukasiak. the youthful prison
er who married under the shadow of
the gallows, was the son of a respe eta BILE
WorkinSman. He was apprentic to a
locksmith and worked In that capacity
for some time. When the revolution
broke out in Russia Lukasiak was like
mos: young men. dragged into the vortex
OF strikes and demonstrations. He, with
! many others, lost his place and. driven
to desperation, determined TO become a
bandit.
He joined a bandit society which styled
itself The Working Mems Union to
disguise its nefarious purpose. There
were thirteen members, whose ages
ranged from eighteen to twenty-five
They had no political aims. but exerted
all their energies to robbing the rich
wherever they could. Being we'll armed
they were very successful. More than
one death is laid at their door. their
victims frequently offered resistance. For
over three years these thirteen youths
were the terror of the country. In that
time they robbed offices and private peo-
pie of upward of 100000 roubles. 1t
WAS while he was a member Of The
WOTkingmen's Union that LukaSiak met
Ahui so Iol hO"Shd, the Sill " IO "do
eventually to save him and his COM
paHions. and became engaged to her. He
did not. however. tell her how he got
his money. and when he was arrested
as he eventually was, and taken to the
Citadel of Warsaw she had not the
slightest idea that he was guilty of the
charges laid against him Stanislas and
his twelve companions were tried by
court-martial. and the lawyer they en-
ployed assured them that sentence of
IN 10 Io rtn ,nr
put their heads together and deliberated
upon some means of getting this sentence
conlmuted. Fortunately for them life
inn riSonment does not exist in Russian
law. After sentence of death there is
nothing heavier than twenty years hard
labor. So they racked their brains for
a means of escaping the impending death
sentence. Twenty years hard labor was
infinitely preferable to the harSher pun
shment. At the end of that time the
Oldest of them would only be forty-ffve
and there was always a chance that d
coronation would be the means of cut
ting off another five years But the
officials who preside over couTt-martials
are particularly hard upon bandits. Some
eight or ten are hanged nightly in the
Warsaw Citadel One night since these
man were arrested many as thirteen
wera hanged. To the members of the
"Workingmens Union this coincidence
of numbers was bad sign.
Suddenly one of the men. known by
the name of .Lanky" hit upon an idea
that Immediately appealed to all except
Stanislas.
'Stanislas is going 10 save us all.' he
exclaimed, and unfolded his plan. you've
got girl to whom you are engaged he
said. She's got 10 do the trick"
Lukasiak remarked despondently that
being engaged to a girl did not help any
of them much when he was likely to be
hanging by q rope within few hours.
before YOU hang by the rope you've
got to be married to that GIRL said
Lanky. THE president of the court-mar-
tia, Gen. Cversky. looks a good old buff
fer Wen try and play his feelings.
You've got only today to do it in because
the trial will be over tomorrow before
dark and it will be all over with US before
the next day dawns. You must ask per-
mission to see your betrothed and tell her
to get hold of somebody's baby-the
younger il is the better-and be ready to
come here with it tomorrow afternoon.
You must speak to the lawyer tomorrow
morning soon as he comes to the citadel
and tell him you want to marry the girl
you've lived with before you're hanged SO
that your child shall have civil rights
and not be a nameless outcast."
At first Lukasiak said he would not cast
such a slur on his girls name for any of
them. But the others soon persuaded
him that it would be far better than hang