RUSSIA IN REVOLT.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXV, Issue 14097, 26 June 1906, Page 10

RUSSIA IN REVOLT.

(By H;F.G.E., in tie “ Sydney Morning . Herald.”) A stranger’)} first impressions of Russia are not too encouraging. Wliat with officialism, passports and the knowledge of being watched every minute, one begins to wish, after haying spent a day or two in the Czar s dominions, that .he had never crossed the frontier. It has. been my fortune (if it can be called such) to visit Russia many times of late, years. My last occasion to visit; Russia was a few mouths ago, when the strikes wore at their height. Nor am I . likely to forget the strikes, seeing -I was unfortunate enough to get myself mixed, up in one of their street affrays—an adventure that nearly cost me my life. I was, at the time, enjoying a holiday in Germany, when my editor telegraphed me not to return home, but to proceed at once to St Petersburg. “ Assimiliato sufficient of the Russian language,” read his telegram, ”to enable you to converse freely with Russian officers and peasants on the pre-

sent' situation.” . On the occasion of which I write' my first glimpse of Russia was obtained in the' Customhouse at Wirzballen (the Russians call it \irzhbplovo). It is a small town on the .overland railway from Berlin to tho Russian capital. Arriving at the frontier, which we did with snail-like rapidity, we saw stretching awav ns fnr ns the eye conic reach ,on either side sentries who guard the frontier. It was snowing heavily .when we arrived, ind to have to alight on the side of the ’ line and walk some two hundred yards to the' Customhouse in falling snow is an experience that one does not often relish. Still the order was imperative, and it was in no happy frame of mind that I alighted. 1 We were ordered into a big room, from the corner of which an enormous ikon, depicting tho virgin, looked, down on a crowd of about sixty travellers—Germans mostly, intermixed with a,few Russians, French, and Austrians. Presently a couple of officers in Russian military uniforms, wearing mufti cape and swords, began -their work. A BLACK-BEARDED' GENTLEMAN,

in. a dark uniform- and top-boots, with as word at Ids side, requested us to seat ourselves on the seats around the big room. Beginning at one ©nd he came round and collected all the passports, at the same time giving a keen look at their possessors, and then reading the names. Several of the passengers he recognised as having seen before, and subsequent inquiries 'found that* he was perfectly correct. Taking all the passports he retired into a private room, while wo passengers continued to lounge about, change places, and chat with, each other as before. 'After an hour’s wait the blackbearded official returned with' the sheaf of passports. Ho began to hand them round to their owners. Here was a mrprising thing.- One would , exp#ct ihat before he returned them he would sail out the owners’- names, and take tare to- identify them. But no, strange as it may seem, he walked among the passengers and handed each his passport without any inquiries. The secret is memory training for faces and clothes. After the examination of baggage md passports was completed we began our weary journey again. Railway travelling may be appreciated by some people, but thirty hours’ riding in falling snow, driving sleet, and howling Wind, not to' mention a temperature »f about 45deg below zero, is no amusement, I can assure you, and I doubt if We wore sorry when the outskirts of St Petersburg appeared before us in the morning. The railway journey was at last ended, and w© stepped from the mow-bound overland express with 'a sigh of relief to find our journey at an end. Near St Petersburg we saw a train held up by the revolutionists. . The train' was covered, too, with soldiers, the engine reminding one of a well-fill-ed, miniature turret, but the strikers were so numerous, and placed such obstructions on the railway that it was impossible for . that train to proceed. There were fully three or four thousand people around the train, shouting and ' CRYING OUT SAVAGE THREATS and orders, while the authorities on the train appeared to be talking to deaf ears—-so impossible was it for them to get a hearing. At the last glimpse bf that train the insurgents were in full possession, several of them standing near the driver and fireman with presented revolvers, while they ordered them to return the train to the capital. Our train, however, passed unmolested on to St Petersburg. After shouting .“Hotel d’Europe,” half a dozen times into the ears of different izvorstcbiks (cabmen) I was driven to the biggest hotel in the city, lying at a corner of the Nevsky Pros.pect—the /great street which runs three miles in a straight line through the eity. This street is said to possess more female traffic than any other , ■ street in the whole world. It is a magnificent street, and certainly deserves the title of “ the finest street in Rus- . sia.” At the hotel I was given a thirdfloor room, for which I was forced to pay the sum of 7J roubles (about 15s in English money)! I resented the extortion, but the hotel manager intima.ted to me, with many apologies, that while the strikes were going on throughout the Empire everything was expensive. I can vouch that living at the “Hotel d’Europe” af los per night was certainly expensive! My first “ strike” copy to my editor was begun by a. wire intimating that if the Russian revolutionists charged the way their hotelkeepers did, the Czar’s soldiers would be completely annihilated ! At the time of writing the Nevsky Prospect and most- of the other streets were in utter darkness. The revolutionists had cut off the electric light plant, causing the entire city to assume ' A DISMAL AND MELANCHOLY APPEARANCE indeed.. In the dark I could see, however, soldiers on guard in case of a disturbance in the quarter. About every square, distant, and sitting around a little fire in a comer of some alley, could 1 be seen the soldiers on guard, crouching down to . get the warmth that the meagre collection of red em- ■ bers’ gave out. My wandering through Russian streets in the darkness -was restricted to a few well-known squares. I preferred to be in ignorance con- ' cerning’some of the places of interest rather than wander about unarmed in quarters that gave no inducements to strangers. Happily, the night passed off without disorder. Later on I explained my mission to the strikers, and soon gained their confidence. I told them 1 had been sent to Russia to find out the cause to which they had been aiming, and to tell the outside world what was really going on in - Russia, and why the people were rising. My first budget of news I resolved to send per post. Instead of passing through the Postal Department, as I had hoped, I was surprised to find it returned to me, and across the face of the envelope was marked, in red, in Russian characters, “ Returned by Censor Department to sender,” and the endorsement was supplemented by • seal of some description. This inform-

od mo that the Government had gone through my report, and, seeing its contents, did not allow it to pass. I showed my returned document to one of the revolutionary lenders, and asked him if this was always tho custom, or if it was only instituted since tho rebellion began. He informed me that it was always the custom to so treat correspondence, but that the revolutionists intended to stop THE CENSOR DEPARTMENT AND ITS WORK. “ I will lot you know,” he said in conclusion, “when this will be done.” A week later ho called on me at night, and informed me that the Censor Department was to bo practically “ held up” that very night. Ho begged me to follow him, if I cared to witness it, on behalf of the papers I represented. I was only too pleased to have this opportunity, and followed him gladly. He took mo through many back streets and byways, until we reached the quarter where the huge machinery known as the Censor Department is situated. Not, a soul was to bo seen in tho square, except a few people In dirty clothes, who had the appearance of workmen. They were standing nearly opposite the gates of the department, and were very orderly, otherwise there were no other persons. “These people,” said my guide, “ are our brothers, and are guarding the approach of people who may be inclined to witness their doings.” • i It was on a Saturday night that this took place, a time when the Censor Department is almost empty. On this particular occasion only a small percentage were at the office—l should say about twenty odd. We approached the leading gates, which we found guarded by revolutionaries. Mr Wybski spoke to the guard, and wo were admitted. All appeared to know my guide, for, ns he passed, many of them raised their hand in salute to him. He told mo that somd of the revolutionaries had entered and taken tho office by force, and all was ready for the remainder of the “fraternity” to enter. They - -were ell waiting for the signal, which the guard at the gate informed him would be a red light flashed several times at tho central door.

As we walked.along the path lending to the centre door a red light shot out throe distinct times in the darkness. We all began to pour up tho steps into the offices. It seemed as if all knew their work, for there was no inquiring, and no wait. All was WORKING WITH PERFECT CLOCK-LIKE ACTION. We passed by the Director’s door, and my guide opened the door, and smiled as if he appeared satisfied. There

we saw the Director of the Censor Department gagged in his office-chair, unable to speak or move. He was incapable and could do tho revolutionists no harm. In the adjoining room, which appeared to be a kind of wait-ing-room, wc found almost all tho employees in the building under arrest of revolutionists, who guarded them with drawn revolvers. For these there also appeared no escape. In the general office itself were two of the employees who were gagged and l bound to pillars which support the roof of this largo loom. Tho whole affair had been completely worked, and instantly the revolutionists set about the work oi going through tho mails. “Do you know why wo have chosen to-night for this,raid?” said Mr Wybski to me. “ No, I do not,” I answered., “ It is because all tho Government communications came by the last mail a few hours ago, and they are all here to bo delivered by special carriers on tho morrow. We require those mails , to know how the Government is going I to act against us, so that we can know how to intercept them. Besides that wo have received word that all our own letters and newspapers are by this mail from our brothers and friends, in other countries, and we must not let the censor got those else wo will never see them. Wo' are "fighting for our liberty, you see, and to do it wo sometimes need to be urgent.” Then he- took mo around and we watched the revolutionists at work. His words were" indeed right. Hero men were working for their liberties, and to gain their ends they cared not what course they took. ■ Bag after hag of mails was torn open and the contents searched. They would read. an address, and r if it was what they needed it was kept; other letters were allowed to pass, and were thrown on tho floor. THE STRIKERS WENT ON DEALING WITH THE LETTERS in a most matter-of-fact manner as if it. were their, real occupation. “ Are you not afraid of the police?” I asked.. My friend smiled. “They are not to', be feared. Did you see any of them as we came noro ?” “ No.- How have you got them out of the way?” “ The disturbance you heard of a few hours ago was taking place near Tearskoo Solo was caused by-onr people to draw off the police from tho city here. They are nearly all out there guarding the Tsar from a child’s quarrel. They will be there all night with a few exceptions—before they return we will have left this place.” I looked around mo and saw tho various implements used by the censor people. There was sealing-wax of all kinds in profusion, small printing presses, type in various languages, while upon the desks wore letters that were in the very process of being dealt with. I picked up an empty envelope, addressed and stamped. It was a letter from England to some person in St Petersburg. The envelope was sealed properly, yet there was no-letter inside it. As I was wondering over this, Mr Wybski looked over my shoulder. “I will show you how they do that,” he said. He picked up from the desk a little instrument, somewhat like a Idng hairpin ‘ in appearance-, and thrust it into an envelope containing a letter, but which was sealed. ‘ He began to wind it round and round the instrument as one would a piece of paper round a pencil - in cigarette fashion. He got it round into a thin circularshaped piece of paper, and withdrew it through the unsealed aperture at the top of the envelope flap.. It was neatly done, and very easy it all seemed. The letter was thus extracted, and the contents could _ be read. If it contained anything inimical to the Government, it .would be destroyed, but if not, it

was replaced, cigarette fashion, in the envelope, and then unwound into ite original shape. For the purpose of reading the letters, it may be stated that there are people engaged in the. Censor Department who are capable of reading all languages. In cases where it is impossible to extract the letters thus, tho steaming apparatus is used, by which letters are steamed at the joining and sealed up after tho contents have been read. I could not say if every individual letter is thus treated, but it is safe to ear' that not much passes the censor’s eyes of which h© is IGNORANT AS TO THE CONTENTS. During their search the revolutionists discovered many letters _ which they said were of the utmost importance to them. Some of these letters wero to members- of the Royal family, containing the future intention© -of the authorities to quell the rebellion. One letter wnioh I m-v myself was from General Trepoff, a very renowned personage in Russia, to a member of tho Czar’s family, tolling of all the plans to bo adopted in the future- to deal -with tho revolutionists-. Such letters ao these would, of course, pass the censor without examination, because they concern these for whom tho 'censor works. The revolutionist© were- pleased to secure them, because it enabled them to cope with the- plan of restraint. Among tho parcels yet unopened by tho censor the strikers found their papers sent from other places. There were many .thousands, of copies of their official organ, and they guarded them as if they were sheets of gold. Almost every article of importance was gone through, and what did not concern them . they left. . They took with them their own and'their friends’, letters, - etc., for self-deliverance, but no other person’s property was interfered with except acknowledged by them. In all their act© they were very discreet and well conducted, exercising care for private? people’s property. No other affaire were dealt with but what they needed or intended doing. In perfecting their “coup,” the- revolutionists' had the . telephone,, disconnoctod, except a single lino for their own personal nee. The telegraph, was loft working, and some of tho revolutionists seemed to- be able to operate. They received messages and dspatched orders with ae much complaisance as if they wore the Censor - Department themselves. One by one tho strikers left tho building, each carrying off hie particular letters and parcel of the official organ. They appeared like so many workmen leaving a place of employment ae they GRADUALLY PASSED THROUGH THE GATES. Once outside they e-eemed to vanish ae if in thin air. When _Mr Wybski and myself left the building, all was as quiet as if nothing had been done—yet what a deal had been done through the night! All had worked beautifully for the strikers —not a single hitch occurring anywhere. When the Sunday employees of the department came at ten o’clock in the morning, it was to find their director gagged, their mailbags cut ope-p, their letters all over the floor, their seals and letter-opening devices ruined beyond further use, and the employees unable to explain what had taken place, and how the place had been captured while they wore powerless to resist.