, 1923-02-18

trauon camp, Dut soon releaSeu Ut tne
demand and under the guaranty of his
workmen.
There were also all kinds Of sharp
dealers from among former exchange
brokers. adventures, traders on a me-
dium and small scale, agents of Rus
sian as well as foreign business firms.
who had been caught in all kinds OF
more or less Illegal dealings. h
quite numerous and solitary group of
sharp. ~resourceful individuals. nearly
all of whom had behind them the
backing of some influential Commu-
mist, was living high and not dry IN
the prison. For this no pro-
hibitionists of any kind existed. Their
cells were always spotlessly clean.
freshly ~whitewashed, fitted out with
self-installed heating systems and
brilliantly lighted. With plenty OF
means at their disposal they were en-
abled to buy on the whole admins
t%ration, to arrange constantly inter-
views with their relatives. friends and
attorneys to go to the city "for pur-
chases for the prison." visiting at their
homes. directing the investigation of
their cases, obtaining quick trials Mt
the tribunals, getting sentences Of
" ' " AtH VI SoA AA
concentration camps, and yet a month
later they could be seen riding in au-
tomobiles about the city in the ca
pacity of 'i~rreplaceable' experts en-
ployed by one or another of the So
Wet departments. With the authorl-
ties they used to live in the friendliest
OF relations; with the investigators of
the Cheka they were closely allied BIZ
a community of m~ercenary interests;
frequently they would share their de-
bauches at various low resorts. before
and after their imprisonment, and
sometimes during the same, and. as
usual. they would "lose' to them at
the gambling table large amounts.
Very many of these prisoners were
unofficial or secret agents of the
Cheka, and It was often difficult to
distinguish Just where the Cheka
agent ended and the Spectator began.
This. however. was the Ease not only
among the spectators but appeared
still more striking in the case of ordt-
nary felons. all kinds of thieves and
burglars, or bandits" as they were
termed in Soviet parlance.
Profteers Lived Richly
And Rode in Motors
Following a prolonged and espe-
cially bloody period of shootings in
1918. the upper spheres of the Com
munist party. probably because they
were not yet accustomed to It, felt
disguised with this method of dissem-
mating Communism in Russia, and
the Cheka fell into disfavor. Lubi-
anka street, where the Cheka insti-
tutlons are located. which had always
49,
cabs during reception hours. became
deserted. All outward signs pointed
to n loss of favor. to disarmament.
Rumors were rife in government
circles hat the Cheka was to be
done away with entirely. This insti-
tuition was living through a period of
great worry and confusion. True. at
the time when the Soviet Congress
was held Lenine, in order to be safe
from the Cheka, drove to the club of
the All-Russian Cheka and delivered
speeches thanking and praising ii for
its work, involuntarily recalling
Nicholas the Second thanking his
valiant -Fanagorians" Zone of the
crack regiments OF the old regime)
for their gallant service in pacifying
the workmen.
Still, all these outward signs of at
tentlon, all these decorations with the
order of the RED Flag" and the rest
of them, could not calm the Cheka
mems fears for their existence. And
there began in Moscow a series of
desperate robberies, murders and
shooting at the militiamen Gas the
present policemen are called) from
mysterious automobiles dashing by.
The city was terrorized and n panic
ensued. Yet these robberies, one more
desperate than. the other, one moro
bold than h preceding one. were
fairly raining down on the reads of
the trembling citizens. The climax
came when Lenine himself was
robbed OF his automobile, attache
case and revolverl The -All-Russian
Cheka again obtained a free hand.
Dzerzhinski issued a strict order. with
the usual solemn warning that the
indicators would be shot on tho
spot" and the robberies Immediately
and completely ceased.
This miraculous omnipotence of the
Al-Russian Cheka seemed very sus-
p~icious. But in the prison the whole
secret of the matter was revealed.
1t so happened that Lenine himself
also suspected the Cheka in connec-
ton with this whole business, and had
entrusted the old, experienced detec-
tive, DmiiTiav, owner of that once
famous dog, "Treff." with the task of
investigating the matter inc finding
the perpetrators. Lenine gave Omit
rlev an absolute guaranty Of inviola-
billty, carte blanche and an allow
ance for the necessary measures, with
the result that Dmitriev was able
after some time to submit n whole
series OF photographs of the robbers,
among whom were found also Com
missaries OF the Cheka. All that
Lenine could do was to throw up his
hands in despair. The robbers were
shot. tho CommissarIes were pro-
NOTED, and Dmitriev. well,
Dmitriev WINS soon charged with being
implicated in some entirely unrelated,
framed up case; he was given the
supreme penalty" and 1t was only
thanks to the insistence of Lenine
that the thing ended with i've years
sentence to a concentration camp.
But meanwhile he has already man
- - 100 a. go. e. ~ -