Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1918-01-29
RASPUTIN
Devil or Saint?
By the Princess RadziwiIl
CHATTER VIM (continuedl
copyright. 1917. Public Ledger Company.
AuRights Reserved

wv such ms ' sSaass it PI is i%DossiDS
/ 10 say, but one may make a
l a pretty near guess as to the motives
] which sctuated him. one of the princi-
/ pal motives undoubtedly was The idea
/ that existed among a certain circle OF
persons that If peace were made with
Germany, the English and French OIL
/ Gals working with Russian officials in
perfecting the defense of the fatherland,
and whose presence already had prevent
/ ed so many manifestations, would de-
| part This would leave once more
free field for the rapacity of all
/ the civil and military functionaries of
the war office and commissariat depart
ments. who could make a new harvest
OF rubles as a result of the unavoidable
expenses which the liquidation of the
war would necessarily entail.
There were, however. some persons
who. seeing the dangers in the path in
which this nefarious individual was
leading Russia, decided that, as nothing
else could bring about his removal IL
had to be effected by violent means. l
do not seek TO excuse them. far less to
take their part. Murder remains muir
der. but if ever an assassination had an
excuse, this was the Staying of Ras-
putin, which also implied the destruc-
u a
of which he was the tool. There was
something of self-sacrifice in the con-
spiracy TO which he fell a victim, some
thing of an intense love of the father
land in the spirit that armed the hand
of the man whose pistol sent him into
eternity. one may condemn the deed
and yet excuse its motive. Though 1
am not trying to do so, yet I shall not
be the one 10 cry out for vengeance
Z against the nvar-awrffnH npOnla
who risked everything in the world to
deliver their country from evil.
The Murder of Rasputin
OF the details of the murder we know
very little. and even the travellers who
have gone abroad since IL was committed
could only speak vaguely about the cir
cumstances that attended IT, 1t is GER
| tain, however. that there was a deeply
laid and well organized plot to kill the
Prophet" that about a dozen persons,
some of them belonging to the best
and to the highest social circles, were
concerned i'm it. and that at last lots
were drawn to select the man who was
TO execute the victim. Among those
persons were members of the Conserv-
ative faction of the DUma. some Off
GERS Of several guard regiments, and
/ even ladies of the smartest set of Petro-
grad. That something was known con-
corning this plot in governmental cir
/ Cles can be seen from the fact that the
Minister of the Interior. Mr.. Protopo-
/ poff. who had always been one of the
most ardent disciples Of Rasputin and
who had been working with him for the
conclusion Of peace which both consid-
| cred to be useful to their personal in
| terests. hearing that he was going TO
have supper at the house of Prince
Youssoupoff sent there the project of
nj IL Fwr1a-
tons TO watch over the Prophet"
When the rprefect appeared upon the
scene. he was politely asked by the mas
/ ter of the house to Withdraw, as his
presence was not required.
| Young Prince Youssoupoff. who, by
the way. is we'll known in London, is
| the husband of the Princess Irene, Of
Russia, the first cousin of the car. BY
virtue of his position he could do what
ever he liked, even to dismiss curtly
| the principal police Official of the cap
| ital At the supper which he gave on
the night when Rasputin was killed
about a dozen people belonging to the
/ best circle of Petrograd society were
present. What passed during the meal
and how the murder itself was COM
mitted is not known even now, though
several versions of the crime are Civ
en-. Some say that il was done during
the meal and that the pretext for 1t
| was the conduct of Rasputin toward one
| OF the ladies present at the table. Other
/ PEOPLE relate that they waited until the
| "Prophet' was on the point of depart
| ing, and that as he was putting on his
| overcoat the young man who had drawn
the lot designating him for the deed
shot him with his revolver at the foot
| OF the stairs The body was then wrap
ped up in a blanket and put into the
automobile of a very high parsonage,
/ which was waiting in the garden Of
| the house where the event took place,
and driven 10 the Neva, where ii was
| dropped under the ice. Tt seems that
after this had been accomplishing one
/ of the conspirators went to Tsarskoie-
SeIo and informed the car of what had
| taken place. as well as of his own share
/ in the deed.
In the meanwhile the authorities had
! become suspicious. At o'clock in the
| night screams had been heard by po-
/ liceman on duty at the corner OF the
/ street in which was situated the house
/ Of Prince Youssoupoff. He also noticed
! several persons coming out of the house.
not BY the usual entrance, but by the
garden which had a door leading into
/ another street. After this, an auto
l mobile was seen driving out of that
same garden, an altogether strange cir
/ cumstance. This automobile was seen
/ by another policeman ABOUT one houT
I later in the islands which surround
\ Petrograd, driving close 20 the NeVa
/ and not on the usual road. The next
/ day the garden of Prince Youssoupoff
! was searched by secret service agents,
who found some blood traces on the
/ snow. but the servants of the prince de-
clared that IL was the blood OF dog
that had been shot the day before No
/ one dared say or do anything more
against the supposed murderers. esPe-
/ cially as the body Of their victim had
not vet been found. The river was
dragged and N was not until twenty