The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1925-12-05
BY A. VoRoNsKY.

dustrial region. He is not only well
known from our days of revolt, but
he is also we'll remembered from those
days which have already receded far
into the realm of the past.
In January 1907 on the outskirts of
the town of Shut, a group of under
ground Bolshevik revolutionaries en-
countered by chance a police-sergeant
by the name Of Prelov devoted blood
hound of that section of the gendarm-
erie whose work it was to exterminate
internal enemies.
One of the group observed that it
would be a good thing to remove the
police sergeant or something similar.
At that, another got down on one
knee, drew out a Mauser and fred.
The bullet missed fire. The sergeant
turned round quickly and also opened
fire. The comrade who had fired at
the gendarme was unable to return
the charge as the cartridge damned
in his Mauser so there was nothing
for it but to bolt. The one who fired
went under the nickname of Arsenia.
He was a young student. He had ra-
diant eyes and limped with one leg
because in 1905 he was lassoed during
a pogrom and dragged for one verst
by savage drunken Cossacks.
1t could hardly be said that the
shooting of this police sergeant had
been seriously thought out. All the
more so as the firer was far from
being a terrorist, and belonged to the
>Bolshevik social-democrats and parti-
cipated in mass political work.
On March oath, 1907, one Of those
whom the gendarmes and police had
so long sought for was arrested in a
CONSULTATIVE apartment in the town
of Shut. He was arrested with two
Mausers in his hand; he had wanted
to fire, but decided not to as there
were children and other people in the
house. He was called Arsenia, but
that. was. only pseudonym; his real
haHhk9aas MikhaelfFrunze.
How deep this young underground
worker was to the Shut workers may
be gathered from the following. The
news of the arrest of Arsenia spread
over the whole town in a flash. The
factories came to a standstill. The
workers left off work and huge crowds
went to the prison and demanded the
liberation of Arsenia. The terrified
police inspector was only able to ap-
pease the crowd by cunning and false
promises and afterwards dispatched
Arsenia to Vladimir in great haste.
This incident was an interesting pic
ture. The cold steel of bayonets of
whole company of soldiers flashed.
File after file of the grey ranks swung
by in measured steps. They were ac-
companying the one and only
Mikhael Frunze. He was worth a
guard of honor.
After few months during a GER
tain trial, the police sergeant, Prelov,
who was there as a witness CHANGED
to meet Arsenal, who was also a kind
of witness in the court, and thereup-
on announced that this was the man
who had fred at him. They recorded
the deposition and Frunze was faced
with the death penalty. Frunze mean
while was imprisoned. In prison he
continued assiduously to study the It.
allan language, and the syndicalist
movement. -.
The trial came off, and the death
sentence was pronounced The Ital-
ian lessons ended but he began study
ing English, l believe. Who knows,
perhaps it may soon be necessary to
go to England of Italy? Is it worth
While for young eager student to
go to Italy or England? OF course it
was, very much worth while. s..
The sentence was committed. The
prosecution protested. Once more the
article on the death sentence, again
a trial And the police sergeant tried
hard. According to witness v. G.
Korolenko ('Russian Wealth." No. 10,
P. 134) he had witness brought from