, 1923-02-25
Continued from last Sunday.

The most numerous. i~ntimldatcd n
pulling group of prisoners was made
up of the thousands and tens OF thou
sans Of citizens who used to find them
selves in prison, absolutely innocent.
for month after month and sometimes
for years. Most of them were arrested
by "ambuscades" or by prescription
lists, casual denunciations, "proVoca-
tours" or without any apparent cause
at all. Some of them even had 10
stand up against the wall" continu-
ing to wonder why they had been ar
rested and why they were being
stripped naked and shot. Every two
TO three months the Cheka discovers
new c~onspiracies. arrests the ostenst-
bic plotters right and left, leaving
ambuscades in their homes for three,
five and even ten days. and drives to
the Butyrki entire herds of people OF
every rank, age and condition.
Innocent Sent to Prison,
And Don't Know Why
As for the scale on which arrests
we're being made, it may be easily
imagined II one will bear in mini that
ambuscades would be stationed for
weeks at a time even in offices and
stores, arTestinE all clients and Gus
toners. So. for instance, the arrests
at Dazziaro's Cthe largest art store in
Moscow nctted about 600 persons,
and from the publication office of tho
Dfelo Ndrodd more than 100 were taken
10 prison. During the arrests of the
Constitutional Democrats in juno and
August Of that year about 800 prison
49, ara Gapf IN tho EIlt NTRl Tntira
schools. beginning with the teacher
and ending with the watchmcn. were
being arrested as the school OF mill
tary camouiage. the artillery school:
and entire army STATS, down TO the
last clerk. O~f.course. careful house
searches were made at the homes of
all these hundreds and thousands of
people, anything that had any Yalue
at all would be confiscated and dis
appear without n trace. and the am
buscade forces would devour all sup
plies.
II we will take into consideration
this method of ~self-supply for the
Cheka agents, the entire system of
wholesale searches. arrests. raids and
ambuscades will become plain. And
the agents provocateurs," too, had
picked out quite n fertile source of
revenue, with the sanction of the
higher authorities; fol every dis
covered case OF speculation the in
vestigator received 5 per cent. of the
amount involved in the deal. One
may imagine what n broad field was
opened up before these adventures
after a number of DEGREES had been
passed prohibiting ali trade and even
barter.
Frequently. however. such provoca-
tive affairs end traEically. Here is an
instance. From Rharkov. at the time
of its occupation by Denikin. a secret
agent OF the All-Russian Chcka went
&c Moscow. secretly. of course. Anon
his acquaintances, Denikin officers, he
takes messages for their friends and
relatives in Moscow. He writes down
accurately all the addresses n
names in his notebook, and after his
arrival in Moscow he turns 1t over
to the All-RussIan Cheka for 1t to
haul in all these people. They arc all
imprisoned. charged with being IN
communication with the Whites and
with espionage Among such cases
that Of a certain Shapinski, a young
eEtomologist, who had been allowed
to work at the Petrovsky Academy.
mas leIt Il deep IMPRESSION.
One of the Bolshevist Intelligence
officers lac managed in the above
mentioned way to obtain from q
White officer. n former student at the
Pttrovsky Academy, Shapinsky's ad-
dress. and called on him 10 transmit
the greetings. Shapinsky said he did
not remember any such name. But
no said to me that If you should have
&z-r.tg, uraa . - NnpnIaI NsntT that
you were both working together at the
laboratory" answered the agent. The
reply. Perhaps so. Well. anyway
thank you for the greeting. How is
he getting alonE?'' In the night there
was a house search made Mt the place
where Shapinsky lives. He himself
happened to be out. but a sister from
the city had been visiting his friend,
Modestov, and, with the permission OF
Shapinsky, she spent the night in the
latter's room. In this way Modestov
happens to DO arrested for being in
communication with Shhplnsky. and
his sister is also taken. although she
IS soon released. In Shnpinsky's room
an ambuscade is left behind. In the
morning he returns. A friend from
the same house whom he meets warns
him: Don't go home. They were
searching your place all night long,
there is an ~Hmbuscadc. and Modestov
and his sister are arrested" "Non-
sense! They could not ave found
anything there. This Is surely some
Misunderstanding. I'll 60 and explain
everything" And he certainly OK.
planned! MOdestov had to spend
about n year in the Butyrki. and was
Mt last freed only thanks to tho per-
vistont efforts OF Prof. Tarasevitch
rs q much needed scientist. Shap-
insky was shot In September as q
counter revolutionlst. And yet
neither he nor Modestov had anything
Whatever 10 do with politics. being
devoted exclusively TO science.
Wrong Man Cast Into Prison:
One With Same Name Sought
FTarn main L. a, FreV.r-a e.. -,,-,