Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1909-01-22
"ARRANGE" SENSATIONS.
Russian Police Send Out Secret Agents
to Incite the People.

Where there is one successful act of
revolution in wild Russia, it is COM
puted that fully 100 fail, says the Sat
urday Journal, Of London. And one
who reads the daily paper assiduously,
even in England, cannot fail to notice
how often deeds of horror are only just
averted by the jealous Russian police
swooping down upon some den Of the
conspirators, seizing all manner of in
fernal machines and arresting, perhaps,
half a dozen, perhaps more, revolution
aries who had plotted against some
high official, or even the tsar him.
self.
And in the same papers one will read
of a number of executions that have
taken place in the kingdom of the tsar.
All this Is common knowledge, and
no doubt, the general inference drawn
by the public is that the Russian po-
lice are not only jealous, but daring and
brave beyond their fellows. Yet this
is not so.
For, as a matter of fact, these sem
sational attempts at assassination and
so on are mostly cleverly stage man.
aged by the police themselves.
Amazing as it will no doubt seem
to English readers, the police of Rus
sia send out secret agents whose duty
1t is to provoke the people to crime, in
order that the officials may be praised
for their "alertness" in running to earth
these "conspirators," and saving the
lives of the highly placed.
Many facts proved beyond question
can be brought forward in justification
of this statement. Some time ago, in
Baku, the police department was un-
der revision. During the investiga-
tions it was found that huge organi-
cation, which published and circulat-
ed revolutionary literature of highly
infiammatory nature, was stage man.
aged by the police, who even went SC
| far as to place a printing press al
the disposal of the revolutionaries-be-
fore arresting the prime movers.
Only last year there was the case
in which five men were charged with
making an armed attack upon a drug
store. They held up the proprietor and
| his assistants, threatening to Kill them
if they showed the slightest resistance
and robbed the cash box. In the
course of the proceedings. Brovtsey
one of the leaders and organizers OF
this appropriation" made the follow
ing statement:
THE appropriation of which | am
accused, together with the others here
was prepared by Captain Nikiforov.
confess that have been In the employ
of the secret police department. en-
tered the service in December, 1906
and received a salary of 40 roubles a
month Three days before the eXpro-
priation Captain Nikiforov asked me to
arrange this attack At first refused
fearing the consequences. But the cap
tain gave me his word of honor as an
officer of the gendarmes that neither
nor those that would assist me in this
case would be held responsible
Last year, too, was the conspiracy
against the lives of the premier, NJ.
Stolypin, and one of the royal house
hold, which ended in the execution of
several men. Those who were behind
the scenes on that occasion know per-
fectly we'll that the man who instigat-
ed the conspiracy was a Cossack, who
acted in collusion with the officials.
He gave the plotters most Of the in
formation they needed for carrying out
their scheme, worked out with them
the code and the telegram to be sent
concerning the movements of the in
tend victims. and even furnished them
with a sketch Of the Bobalovsky park,
where the tsar usually went out for his
walks.
Another case showing conclusively
the criminal activities Of the police pro-
vocateurs, is the one which came up
on February 12, 1908, before the mil
itary court in Poltava. Popov and
Dengub were charged with having made
an attack upon the baker Rochdin in
Krementchug for the purpose OF rob-
bing him. The testimony during the
hearing disclosed that Popov and Den
CUB. while looking for work, made the
acquaintance of a man named Brusa-
lOvSky, an agent of the secret police de-
partment. Their new acquaintance
l,.l
need. He persuaded them to join an
anarchist" organization, gave them re-
volvers, and later told them that they
had been chosen to carry out the eX-
uropriation a week later Brusalovsky
turned them over to the police.
There are several cases on record OF
these police provocateurS arranging Tor
revolutionary literature to be smuggled
into the country, and then pouncing
down on those in whose possession they
knew it to be. and instances of the kind
mentioned could easily be multiplied.
Details Of a sensational character
came out in Kiev on May ., 1907, at
the hearing Of an important case OF
expropriation. The warden Of the pris-
on testified that PudOy, the chief of the
secret police department. had commu-
nicated with him over the telephone,
and informed him that the leader of
the appropriation was an agent of the
police department. He was permitted
to escape.
There Is no doubt good deal OF real
revolutionary feeling throughout Red
Russia. but any one who knows the Sc
cret history of some of these move
ments can never read of a seemingly
miraculous escape of some high per-
son from a dastardly plot without Won
dering whether the whole thing was
not stage managed or faxed. just as
murder is arranged" for cinemato-
graph film.
IT. No bird can fly backward without
turning: the dragon fly, however, can
do this. and can Outstrip the swallow
in speed.
~ Those earnest men who upward