Rocky Ford enterprise., 1910-01-07

His ministers are taking no risks.
though and his steps are followed and guard.
ed by the secret police. who on the slightest
indication Of an accident. would appear in the
guise Of beggars. street merchants. passersby.
1t is when he goes on the railroad that the
risks are greater. There is no simple sending
his secretary to get q ticket and book seats.
No! The whole railroad system over which he
is to travel has to be mentally reviewed. The
officials have to be called to a conference with
the minister in charge when the route is
ranged. the time table fixed and then the tele-
graph gets busy. The special train is prepared
and steam is kept up ready to start at any
minute. Word is sent ahead to the garrisons
along the line. and the soldiery have to be pre-
pared to take positions along each side OF the
line at distance OF a very few yards. Station
masters are warned and the whole plan Is abb
solutely perfect But one thing is wanting. the
exact day and hour OF the journey. That is
known only to the car and one two in his
complete confidence. Once his mind is made
up his train leaves. and word is passed on
just ahead Of It. pilot engine with carriages
is run a short time in front. and no one knows
whether the car is on the pilot train or the
train behind: but both trains are impartially
saluted. Any person found lurking in the VI
cnity Of the railroad is liable to be shot. for
It is not once. but many times that the secret
kept closely has leaked out by some un-
known channel. and the rails have been under
mined bridges have been partially destroyed.
and all kinds OF Internal machines deposited
on the track, timed to explode at the exact mo-
ment of the passage Of the train.
1t is the same whenever the travels.
his presence in a foreign town is always de-
noted by the number OF apparently casual Wis
itors Of Russian appearance.
Whatever his feelings may be, the czarina
makes secret OF her fear for herself. her
little girls and the little Czarevitch Alexis
whose kidnapping may take place at any mo-
ment.
Meanwhile the car himself safely met his
royal host. Nothing ostensibly occurred to dis
turb his enjoyment The numerous functions
passed of safely. and now that he has returned
by a circuitous route to St Petersburg. the
czarina can breathe freey-until the next time
he goes a.traveling.
Government pawnshops are the latest move
on the part OF Russia to raise money for her
revenue, and ostensibly to help the people. of
course, behind every scheme OF this kind there
must be popular" motive: and to supply this
the Russian government attacks the terrible
Jew money lenders" who have SO long preyed
upon the poor. The people themselves are be-
tween the devil and the briny deep; but per-
haps of the two evils the government Is the
lesser. After all. It comes down to question
Of per cent. The Jews charge "a per cent on
loans and much more as they can reason
ably squeeze. On the contrary. the government
proposes to charge only per cent.
Having taken the monopoly Of vodka-the
popular Russian intoxicant-thereby increasing
the revenue by some $40 oooooo yearly. the
ministry Of finance in Russia is about to start
fmperial pawnshops. The author Of the project.
NJ. Kokovcen says that 1t will. In the course
of a few years. prove a source OF about $5O.O0O.-
mn YEARLY. Not only this. but 1t will enable
the moor to obtain credit at a hitherto un.
known rate that Of per cent. per annum.
The lowest loan will be 2 rubles-not quite 81
and money will be advanced on every con-
ceiyabe thing. The imperial bank will supply
IN, capital needed to start the pawnshops at
the rate Of per cent. interest
The central pawnshop will be at st. Peters
burg: at first branches are to be opened In the
larger cities. including Kiev Odessa. Riga. TIL
Iis. Kbarkoy and Warsaw. When these are
fairly started others will be opened in smaller
OWNS till the whole empire is studded with
imperial pawnshops. just as 1t Is with vodka