Abbeville progress. (Abbeville, Vermilion Parish, La.) 1913-1944, 1914-02-28
BLACK CABINET OF RUSSIA HAS
BRANCHES IN OTHER COUNTRIES
mssaes Of Gar Nicholas Search Private Correspondence for
Evidence of Conspracies-A Law to Do Away With lamp
ering Of Letters Failed to Pass Duma in 9O5-Sples in
Other Nations.

They do this In the conviction that
the letters will be opened and the po-
lice and spies thus banled. Desyatin-
sky says that there are 1900 persons
In Russia whose letters are always
opened and he estimates that at least
100000 such letters are opened every
year
This system accounts for the long
delay In the delivery of letters. for in
dependent black cabinets" exist only
at the post offices of Moscow. St Pc
tersburg, Warsaw. Odessa, Kharkoff.
Saratoff. Tomsk and Irkutsk. Subor-
dinate black cabinets" which act only
on instructions, are attached to the
post Offices OF Ii European provinces;
TO all the ten Polish provincial post
offices and TO certain post offices I'm 81
IBERIA. There is also black cabl-
net Mt Tashkout. in Central Asia
Where no black cabinet exists 10
cal correspondence. which does not
pass through the black cabinet" post
office is often opened on special in
structions from St Petersburg. The
gcndarmes simply call at the post Of
lice and demand certain letters. Some
times instructions are sent to a local
post Office to send all letters to the
nearest black cabinet" and The result
is that letters written to friends who
live ten miles away may be sent 200
miles into another province. and SO
take days to deliver The system Of
opening is by etcaminE.
The second work Of the black cab
met IS known as "ruibolovlya." that
| is. fishing" 1t consists in opening let
| ters addressed TO persons not suspect
| ed; this on the mere chance that they
may contain political matter or reveal
| anti-gOvernmrntaf plots. The black
! cabinets" principle Is to open one out
| OF certain number of letters. The
| number has varied. Car Nicholas l.
! gave the chief OF his black cabinet"
| Colonel karamuischeff, orders to open
| all letters. This system proved too
! cumbrOus. Under Alexander H. fish
ing was abandoned, but it was re
! vived in the next reign, when one in
/ every 250 letters was the rule.
During the first part OF the revoIu-
tionary outbreak of 19O4-O6. one letter
in every 100 was opened At present
the rule is one in every 1000. This
practice has very little value. The
chances are 100 to l against any dan.
gerous letter beng opened as long as
1t is addressed to a person whom the
black cabinet" does not suspect
st. Petersburg has the largest black
cabinet" When the central post office
was rebuilt decade back. fine suite
of rooms was provided. Here sit the
gendarme officers in charge and their
subordinates. Letters of specially In
teresting character are sent to the
gendarmery. or to the "Okhrana," the
detective center. and there they are
photographed and in most cases sent
! on.
Post cards on the Siberian railroad
are infested with the black cabinet.
Russian railroads. all round, are nests
OF "perlustration," and this is so well
known that the European embassies
never use the post even for private let
tiers. The Siberian mail cars were
given over to the black cabinet" dur
ing the revolution.
Behind this storm in a teacup are
certain private interests. and in par
ticular there is the zeal OF Maklakofl
to justify his claim to have made the
spy system more efficient.
The third and most dangerous sec
ton OF the black cabinet" Is at work
in foreign countries. The cabinet Is
active in every great European CAPT
tai. and It's work is to watch the cor
respondence OF exiles and OF Russians