The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1917-10-10

RaSputfn's story reads more like
| fiction than sober fact, and no doubt
for that reason so much romance has
been turned out regarding him.
The real name of this man was
Gregory Novyeh, and I could never
find out when he was named Raspu-
tin, which, in Russian, means DISCO
lutte; truly appropriate name for
him
During my former missions to ST..
Petersburg I had seen this man from
a distance only, no nearer than 10 or
| Is feet But still remember the
| terrible sensation experienced in
meeting him at a social function DUR
ing my third mission there. On this
occasion when this tall and beastly
looking man stopped low to kiss my
hand, his personality seemed so abb
horrent to me that felt like snatch
ing my hand from his. He was so re-
pulsive. Yet how these Russian court
ladies', from the Tsarina down, be-
slowed worshipful admiration on this
ignorant Siberian moudjtk.
| However, I was certain of one
thing. He was just as dirty about
his clothes as he was unnaturally SEN
sual. Yet with all his unseemly ap-
pearance and his low character, he
had successfully deceived the arch
bishop of Kazan, who had pronounced
him :" man of God"
/ This gave him through pass to
enter all grades of Russian society
with much ease That accounts, in
some measure, for his sudden en-
trance to the company of decent peo-
| pie. He was so vulgar in his personal
appearance that he never thought Of
taking care of his finger nails. A peas
! ant just imported from the farm
/ would have. had a cleaner appearance
than this man.
have never been able to explain
4 the reason of his popularity with high
Russian society, but this much is GER
tain that Rasputin was the greatest
Influence in Russia. So 1t is great
Icredit to our foreign secret service
bureau that it was able to enlist so
great an influence in our behalf OF
course, we were not concerned in this
mans character, but we were greatly
i concerned in what he could do for US
i in St. Petersburg.
j 1t has cost our intelligence bureau
millions of marks to win this man to
4 our service, and though clever enough
to make others his tools and dupes, he
in turn, became our tool in Russia
and this was the cause of his undoing.
However, before his murder, he had
rendered us the greatest service pos
1 sible.
i Some people have the idea that our
intelligence bureau discovered this
man since the war began. This is a
Inistake. In its great foresight our
intelligence bureau had been finan-
4 cling this man even as early as three
years before the war. Two years be-
1 fore the outbreak of the war he was
secretly escorted to the presence OF
our Kaiser, who, in his wonderful DO
litical sagacity, saw great POSSIBLE
tiles in this man as friend Of our
fatherland in Russia, and no doubt
bestowed on him high honors. From
Berlin he was taken to the Vienna
! court, and even today I still cannot
! understand how he was tolerated by
the highly cultivated diplomatic per-
sonages Of the polished Vienna court
!. Nevertheless. he spent nearly three
months in that court Of the most ex-
| acting etiquette. The natural conclu.
sion is that the sharp-eyed Vienna
J foreign office must have also seer
great possibilities in Rasputin.
, Rasputin visited the Tsarina daily
and three times each week the oourt
held spiritualistie meetings, and, be.
! the spirits under the direction of the
teacher.
: With the exception of very few
men, his dupes were women, whose
fathers ana husbands were highly sta
} toned in the Russian court. Through
these men and women Rasputin wa,
7 in a position to have access to any de-
: partmeht, and thus our intelligence
: bureau knew what was taking place
in each department better than Rus
sia's allies.
Rasputin visited the imperial pal
l ace unaaneuneed and was always re
a eeiyed without objection by the Tsar
] ina, One day when he entered tn,
t reception room I met him and wa
> compelled to entertain him until tn,
Tsarina had returned from the nur
lsery. His person was 80 repuisive t.
!, me that as he approached nae to Isis
!. iHay hand T stepped back and held boil