The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1912-05-17
POLICE OF RUSSIA
The Trick They Work to Gather
In Political Suspects.
CAUGHT IN THE MOUSETRAP.
Whom, After a Secret Arrest, the Snare
Is Set II Holds All Who Enter, Re-.
. sardIsss Of Nationality, Dress, Social
Position or Official Rank

eardless Of Nationality, Dress, Social
Position or Official Rank.
Although the peculiar form of police
ambuscade known as a mousetrap has
had It's highest development and Its
widest application in Russia, writes
not originate in that country, nor did
II receive there It's strikingly apprO-
pirate appellation.
IL was imported from France a cen
tury or more ago, and the name that
It bears was given to It by Alexandra
Dumas In 1920 The distinguished
French story teller described 1t In THE
Three Musketeers" as follows
1.-The invention Of the mousetrap does
not date from our days. AS soon as
societies In process Of formation Gre
ated police the police In their turn
invented mousetraps. AS our readers
may not be familiar with the slang of
the Rue de Jerusalem. and as 1t is tif
teen years since we applied this term
for the first time to the thing. we may
be allowed perhaps to explain to them
what mousetrap Is.
when I'm house Of any kind per.
son suspected of crime Is ARRESTED the
arrest is kept secret, four or five men
are placed In ambuscade I'm the first
apartment, the door Is opened to all
who knock. it is then closed after them,
and they are arrested so that at the
end OF two or three days the police
have In their power all the persons
who are accustomed to visit the place
And that is a mousetrap."
Dumas does not explain that the trap
Is set and the first arrest made at
late hour of the night, generally be-
tween and 3 o'clock a. M, so that the
mice will not become aware of 1t and
avoid the dangerous locality. You may
call upon politically untrustworthy"
friend in the evening, drink tea with
him, discuss the state Of the country
and go home at midnight without hav-
ing seen or heard anything to excite
suspicion or suggest peril, but IL you
return to the same house or apartment
early the next morning you are liable
to fall into a mousetrap.
The trap, moreover, catches and holds
every person who enters II regardless
of nationality, dress, social position or
official rank Russian revolutionists
are accustomed to assume all sorts Of
DISCUSSES, from the blue frock coat and
wrinkled top boots OF the gendarmerie
to the sword, epaulets and golden cords
Of the general staff. and If the czar
himself In the uniform Of the Preebra
xhenski guards should visit incognito a
house In which n trap had been set he
would be arrested promptly and sent to
the nearest precinct station house for
Identification.
No discretionary power Of any kind Is
given to tie police officers in charge.
The mice caught may not look ut all
like the mice for which the trap was
set, but even If they appear TO be er
mine or lizards or small, blind kittens
they must go to the station house for
examination and judgment.
In every large Russian city the police
keep an alphabetical list of all persons
who are believed TO be In sympathy
with the revolutionary movement or
who for one reason or another are re-
garded rs politically untrustworthy.
Such persons are liable to be arrested
on suspicion at any time and are al
most sure to be taken into custody aft
er the assassination of high official
when there is no clew to the assassin,
and the police hope to get clew by q
dragnet system OF arrest and investiga-
ton.
At such times a hundred arrests or
more are often made In single night,
and I'm the houses or apartments OF
the persons made prisoners mousetraps
are set to catch all comers. The police
in charge of the traps are strictly en-
Joined to send TO the nearest precinct
station house every person caught, no
matter what he may look like and no
matter what plausible account he may
give OF himself. Revolutionists and
terrorists often wear uniforms. and
man who declares that he Is n colonel
OF gendarmes or even general OF
division may really be n dangerous
consplrator in disguise. The instruc
tions given to the trap tenders are al
ways implicitly obeyed, and they some
times bring about results OF an eXtraor-
dinary and wholly unforeseen charac
her