AMAZING STORY OF HUN INTRIGUE

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 25, 24 October 1917, Page 5

AMAZING STORY OF HUN INTRIGUE

HOW BERLIN CONTROLLED PETROGRAD RASPUTIN THE SPY OF GERMANY (By William J/e Queux, in the "Illustrated Sunday Herald.") ["The author of the following interesting giiuipso of the machinations of the German spy and intrigue bureau Berlin, in its attempts to destroy-liussia's military efficiency, is an acknowledged authority on the secret services of the Continental Powers, of which he is said to B&ve an intimate -He has been consulted by the British Government on such matters. He has written a number of fascinating novels based on his knowledge of tho working of the Continental secret services.] The chief mission of Gregory Rasputin, mock-monk, pampered pet of the Tsar's domestic circle, and chief secret agent of the Kaiser m Itu6sia, was to deliver iiussia into the hands of Germany. Certain pages of the official dossier of Has-, putin contain advice-notes —one hundred in jiumijer—of German funds paid to this mock-monk through the most unsuspicious channels. With such evil forces at work in the very heart of the Empire, it is indeed marvellous that General Brusilolf could have effected his great offensive between the Pripet and tho Rumanian frontier. The Russian "stoattroller" seemed really progressing on theGerman and Austrian fronts. "No. 70." The Kaiser grew alarmed. At _the_ instigation of . Count von Wedel, his right hand in espionage and propaganda, a. secret- message was sent to ftaspuun—a; message which he preserved -with his other papers. It runs as follows, jind is ■ in tlfe German cipher of the KonigCTat-; zcrstra&e, of which the mocfc-monk kept: a de-cipher in his interesting safe:— F. G. 2,734—22. Memorandum From "No. 70"— (Herr Bteinhauert. August 29th« JSI6. > It is deemed of extreme urgency that; the oDonsive on the Pripot should at once cease, and be turned into a victory* for; the Central Powers, as promised us in ! your dispatoh of July 1. j Ton are not keeping faith with ns! What is wrong P S. [Stnrmer, the Prime Minister) is inciting the Russians to victory in his speeches. Sis triumphant telegrams toMr. Asquith must cease. They only serve to' encourage the Allies. This advanco must not continue. Further, the lnnnition factories at Vologda and Bologoyo have not yet been destroyed. as we ordered. Wo know "that K* i (a clockmaker named Kartzoll, who blew; up the explosive works at Viborg, inwhieh'i four hundred lives were lost), who did • mnoh good work'in that direction, is ar-. rested and shot, together with the woman 1 E. (Mile. Baevesky, whose father was in} the Ministry of the Interior, under ProtoPODOU). ' TlTe note that yon gave information to', the police concerning both persons, be- j cause they became lovers, and were likely, I to open their months and thus become" dangerous to ns. Secret Instructions. That to Nicholas Meder be rntrusved the task of destroying the Vologda and Bologoye workß, and that Madame Fleisoher,, who lives in Volkovo, be appointed as his assistant—each to rcceive sir thousand roubles for their service. As your efforts to prevent the offensive in the Pripet region Imvo failed .up to the present., it is ordered that General BrusUoß bo removed "by the means already employed in other enemy countries." Send a trustworthy messenger to Doctor Kloufeff, living in tile Vozkreienskaya, In Kazan, to ask for a "triSe." He will know. The contents of the tube introduced into any drink will produce tetanus—with a rapid end. Kiouieff is German, and may be entirely trusted. Bruslloft has a body servant named Ivan Sawvitch, who is a friend of Boris Kelt-, chak. a soldier in the U7th Infantry He-. siment of Minßk. Koltchak, who has been in our service for Ave years, is to be ordered, and facilities rendered him, to visit his friend Sawvitch at General Headquarters and to introduce the contents of the tube into Bruailoff's food or drink. For this service you are ordered to pay in secret twenty-five thousand roubles— upon its completion. The man Sawvitch is in love with the sister of Koltchak, a fact which will ease certain difficulties. Be careful, however, of Marya- Uetryaloff, who is jealous ol the woman in question. General Kornilofl [now in supreme command! may be removed by the accidental explosion of a hand grenade, in the same, manner in whieh General Zhnkovsky was removed in March last at Pultnsk. This service could be entrusted to thw soldier Paul Krizhiysky, of the 17th Grenadiers of Moscow, who is a dispatch rider, and constantly at the General Headquarters. He should pretend to examine tho bomb, a pineapple one in preference, and release the pin by accident. For this service you can pay in secrct up to eighteen thousand roubles. Further, it is urgent that you should induce the Emperor to at once order the release of the men Polenov and Levitsky. and tho woman Erich, who were arrested in the Hotel Brosi. at Vitebsk. Their papers, if found, must be restored to them. The documents arc probably stored in the strong rooms of either the' Ootchotny Bank, in the Nevsky, or at; Lampe's. So get- hold of them, as they; contain facts incriminating S. (Stunner) and Y. (Madame Vyrubova). It is of most urgent importance that the prosecution in question bo dismissed, anil, further, that those who instigated it should be degraded in pursuance of our policy. For this service you will be granted a generous extra payment.

Hunnish Cunninj, The signature scribbled in blue ink' upon these remarkable instructions is that of the notorious Herr Steinhouer, the Kaiser's chief spy and controller of the Thole secret ramifications of Imperial Germany throughout the civilised world. X publish it here in order to show tho devilish cunning of Germany, and her frantic efforts by any underground and dastardly- means to stem the tide of war which threatened to overwhelm her. llasputiii immediately set to work to execute tho wicked command of his Imperial master in Berlin. The secret message was delivered into his hand by a woman dressed ns a peasant, as, descending from his carriage, he entered a house in the Nevski. The rascally monk walked into tho Emperor's private study the day after, and ordered the release of Poleaov and Levitsky together with the woman Erich—"three patriotic Russians who have been engaged in Bed Cross work," ns he called them—on pain of Divine displeasure. Governor Wauthier was dismissed, and the spies released. Incredible as it may 6eem, tho Kaiser now held Enssia in the hollow of his hnnd. No dispatch from Petrograd to tho Allies; no order for material; no communication of whatever 6ort, Imperial, diplomatic, or private, bijt co-pies were at once transmitted to the Wilhelmstrasse, whero the negotiations were known as 600U as they were in Downing 1 Street—and sometimes sooner!

Plots Fail. Within a. fortnight tho cunning jilot io infect General Brusiloff with tetanus was attempted by the soldier Koltcliuk while the general was in a train conveying him from Borisoff to Petrograd, on a flying visit to consult with the Minister of War. Happily tho plot failed, but the coffee in which the deadly cul(uro had been placed was, alas! unfortunately drunk by a certain Major Doblovoiski, who died mysteriously and in' great agony four days later. An attempt was also made upon General ICorniloff at Chernitsa ten days later. A soldier, who had no business near, handled a hand-grenade carelessly, just as tho general happened to be ruling by, Tho bomb exploded, killing the general's horso on the spot, but Xorniloff himself escaped with a deep cut over the left eye. Everybody, of course, believed it to be a pure accident, thorofore the affair was never reported. These two attempts upon the lives of Russia's military leaders, tho documentary evidence of which exists, were only the forerunners of several others even more ingenious and more desperate.