Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1913-01-10
HOME OF REVOLUTION
London Chief Centre for "Reds" of
Europe and There Mischief is Planned.

London Chief Centre for "Reds" of
Europe and There Mischief is Planned.
Strange that England, the most
peaceful and, on the whole, most con-
tented country in Europe, should be
the chief centre for revolutionary
propaganda! An assassination in War
saw Is planned within nose-range of
the Mile End road; into a little cafe
where an upheaval in Barcelona is ar
ranged floats the polyglot babble of
Soho; the overthrow Of Turkeys ruler
is discussed in a gloomy dwelling in
South London; and conspiracies for
the downfall of tyrants on thrones are
Matched in houses that one may pass
every day in the belief that they are
merely houses-humdrum common
place houses.
How near Londoners may be un-
awares to a hotbed of revolution was
startlingly revealed some years ago at
Peckham Rye. Several small parties Of
swarthy men, palpably aliens, were
strolling along the pavement, when Of
sudden a figure, revolver In hand,
darted from behind a boarding. Bang!
Bang! Bang! Shots rang out in quick
succession and three Of the foreigners
fell dead. A moment later the assas-
sin also went to his account. Realiz-
ing that escape was impossible, he
turned his weapon on himself.
He had, 1t was subsequently learn
ed, been a member Of the Alfarists, a
society of Armenian revolutionaries,
while his victims had belonged to a
rival body, the Hentchakists. Then
London heard for the first time that
the headquarters of the Hentchakists
were on Peckham Rye, with the result
that something like CONSERVATION
spread rapidly through that district.
Very soon an eruption Of ITO Let"
boards broke out on the Rye, and a
few months later a number Of the
houses, including the one which the
Hentchakists had occupied at the time
of the tragedy, were empty. That body,
however, hired another house in South
London, and continued till the declara-
ton Of the Turkish constitution to is
sue the Hentchak (the BelD, revolu-
tionary journal which was expelled
from Geneva and Athens before 1t was
brought to London and which was dis
tributed all over the world.
Hotbeds for Plots.
There are, indeed, many hotbeds of
revolution in London that even those
who know things" could not find for
a pension. Clerkenwell and Soho con-
tain several, and few are in the vast
congeries of streets east Of Aldgate
Pump. Turn off the Mile End'r into
Jubilee street and you soon come to a
conspicuous rendezvous Of alien revo-
lutionaries-a Salvation Army bar
racks" which has been converted into
a club for the section Of redcaps.
Not far away is much more re-
markable hotbed Of revolution-the
centre of the body which has, since
Nihilism became a practically extinct
force, carried on revolution propa-
ganda in the land Of the czar. It is
unobyious and inaccessible but 1t none
the less exists. Though you cannot
find 1t, it is the source Of much Of the
clandestine literature that is circulated
throughout the Russian empire-of
leaflets and pamphlets such as were
distributed among The czar's troops
during the Russo-Japanese war; of
books which, If sent to Russia by post,
would be confiscated by the censor;
and, in particular, Of several periodi-
calls which are passports to Siberia.
One Of these journals used to be OBJ
tainable at certain shops in the East
End. A tiny, four-page paper, printed
in Russian, with the title of which the
English equivalent Is Latest News, was
interesting to dwellers in the London
Ghetto because from it they learned of
the conviction and banishment Of their
comrades in Russia, but it sometimes
also contained important news.
Strange stories are connected with
this propaganda. Prince Krapotkin, 1t
is said, once received a letter from the
wife Of a prominent Russian official,
whose yacht was lying In Southamp-
ton water, inviting him to join them in
cruise. On receiving it, the prince
read between the lines, and then re-
flected. Since the deck Of the vessel
flying the Russian flag is technically
Russian soil, he could be arrested on
boarding the yacht, or his host might
put him into a Russian port, and then
No; it would not do. So he
promptly declined the invitation on the
plea of having previous engagement.
An Enemy's Scheme.
A Pole left Lodz to evade military
service-so another unwritten record
runs-and went to London. One day
he had a quarrel with compatriot.
who, out of revenge, sent to the de-
serter's relatives in Lodz packet Of
revolutionary literature. The Russian
police, having been put on the track by
the despicable traitor, discovered 1t,
and accordingly his enemy's brother
and parents-pious and law-abiding
Jews-were arrested. When they were
placed on trial, their advocate cleverly
dwelt on the absence Of any proof that
his clients had ordered the prohibited
literature, and, strange to say-for in
general mere possession involves Sc
we're punishment-the case was ad-
journed for the attendance Of the Pole
who had sent the packet.
This bastard, on hearing from the
police, at once set out for Lodz, close
ly followed by the other Pole. The de-
serter appeared at the critical moment,
denounced the principal witness for
the prosecution, and secured the ac-
quittal of the accused.
Spies, again-how many are the
stories in which they figure! One night