The Washington times., 1913-11-10
BELLS IS FREED
OF RITUAL MURDER
Message to London From Kief
Says Prosecuted Hebrew
Is Acquitted.
CONTINUED from First Page,


a false scent; the government, headed
by the Czar, which had a political AK
to grind, and Bells, the terrified Ne
brew, whose sole defense was Justice.
But there were many actors who
played minor roles: Hischuk, chief OF
the detective bureau of Kief. who was
made the victim of a plot and SEN
fenced to a year in prison because he
did much to discover the real mudder-
ers: Krassovski, his successor, and a
most clever detective, who was dis
missed from the government service
for the same reason, and the attorneys
for Mischuk, Krassovski, Bells and
others, who were subjected to innumer-
able petty prosecutions for their stand
in the case.
Andrew Yushchinsh was a playmate
of the son of the woman at whose
house the robbers met, and during a
childish quarrel he threatened to tell
the police what sort of place the
mother of the other boy kept. A few
days later several of the gang were ar
rested for small crime, but were dis
missed for want of evidence. The muir
der of the boy, whom they regarded as
informer, followed, on March q, 1911
The same day that the body was
found in the cave, April 3, the boy
mother received a letter signed "A
Christian" telling her that her son
had been murdered by the Hebrews,
and adding that the many wounds on
his body showed they wanted his
blood. This letter, written when only
the police knew of the condition OF
the body, was later traced to Manzel-
evski. one of the robbers, known as
"the Little Sailor"
At the burial of the boy, the BLACK
Hundred" and other anti-Hebrew or
ganizations, tried to incite an upris-
ing. but the people remembers the
bloody days of 1866 and refused to
get excited. Again on April 80 they
held a mass over the new grave, but
the common people held aloof from
what might portend a massacre.
Semitic demonstration, the societies
turned their attention to the Duma,
where an Interpolation was proposed,
saying that Andrew Yucshchinski was
the victim of a ritual murder. This
was supported by the monarchists and
nationalists of the extreme right, but
IL brought on a bitter debate, and was
eventually rejected.
But there was a growing sentiment
in the Duma to abolish the Hebrew
pale of settlement, and the plotters m
that body saw an opportunity in Kief
to create a storm of ant-Hebrew SEN
timent that would save them polite
ally. Accordingly. forces were set to
find a Hebrew against whom the charge
of ritual murder might be brought, and
months after the finding of the boys
body. Bells was arrested and charged
with the crime.
Detective Victim.
In the meantime Mishchuk had. al
but solved the crime, and to get hin
out of the way a government agent
buried false evidence and then told
Mishchuk where 1t could be found. The
detective fell into the trap. produced
the evidence, which was easily proven
false, and was sentenced to a year ir
prison for manufacturing evidence.
Krassovski, who succeeded him, saw
Immediately the injustice of the charge
against Bells, but he was too astute
to fall into a trap. He was tried or
several trumped-up charges, and aftel
being dismissed from the government
service continued his investigations
In the interest of the Keifiianin, the
leading daily newspaper of kief.
1t was the publication of four
column report in this paper in June
1872 that provided the biggest sensa
ton in the case, and SO great was the
storm it created that the government
uuashed the indictment against Beili:
and ordered a second investigation. Or
MAY s, 1913, Bells wa, again indicted.
Since his arrest Bells has spent more
than two years in prison, most OF the
time being held incommunicado. One Of
his counsel was arrested for talking tc
a witness, another was arraigned fol
signing a protest against the blood
libel" and a third was prosecuted TO,
circulating a pamphlet on The Jew anc
Human Sacrifice" written by Herman L
Strack. regius professor of theology il
tho University of Berlin.