Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1912-06-11
POLICE OF RUSSIA
The Trick They Work to Gather
In Political Suspects.

Although the peculiar form OF ponce
ambuscade known as mousetrap has
had Its highest development and its
widest apprca ton in Russin. writes
George KEENAN, in the Century, it did
not originate in that country. nor did
1t receive there its strikingly appro-
pirate appellation.
It was imported from France a cen
fury or more ago. and the name that
1t bears was given TO it by Alexandra
Dumas in 1920. The distinguished
Three Musketeers" as follows:
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 mouRetraps. AS our readers
may not be familiar with the slang of
the Rue de Jerusalem and as it is If
teen years since we applied this term
for the first time to the thing. we may
be allowed perhaps to explain TO them
what q mousetrap is.
When in a house OF any kind a per
son suspected of crime is Arrested the
arrest Is kept secret, four UT FIVE IfI6h
are placed IN ambuscade in the fist
apartment, the door is opened to all
who knock, 1t 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 persona
who are accustomed to visit the pace.
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 1 and 8 O'Clock a. m, so that the
mice VIII not become aware of it and
avoid the dangerous locality. You may
call upon a 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 II you
return to the same house or apartment
early the Dext morning you are liable
to fall into a mousetrap.
The trap, moreover, catches and holds
every person who enters 1t regardless
of nationality, dress, social position or
official rank. Russian revolutiOnistS
DISCUSSES, from the blue frock coat and
wrinkled ton boots of the gendarmerie
to the sword, epaulets and golden cords
of the general staff, and II the car
himself in the uniform Of the Preebra-
zhenski guards should visit incognito a
house in which 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 the police officers in charge.
The mice caught may not look at all
Ike the mice for which the trap was
set, but even if they appear TO be err
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 as politically untrustworthy
! Such persons are liable to be arrested
! on suspicion at any time and are at
/ most sure to be taken into custody aft
! err the assassination Of a high official
| when there is no clew to the assassin
and the police hope to get a clew by
dragnet system Of arrest and invcstiga
ton.
| At such times a hundred arrests OF
more are often made in u single night
! and in the houses or apartments OF
the persons made prisoners mousetrap'
! are set to catch all corners. The police
in charge OF the traps are strictly en-
Joined to send to the nearest precinct
station house every person caught, ne
matter what he may look like and NJ
matter what plausible account be may
give of himself. Revolutionists aEC
terrorfsts often wear uniforms, and {
man who declares that he is a colone
Of gendarmes or even a general o
division may really be a dangerous
conspirator in disguise. The instruc
lions given to the trap tenders are al
ways implicitly obeyed. and they some
times bring about results of an extraOr
1ha