The Firebrand of Bolshevism: The True Story of the Bolsheviki and the Forces That Directed...

8/3/2019 The Firebrand of Bolshevism: The True Story of the Bolsheviki and the Forces That Directed Them-Princess Catherin

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'i THE TRUE STORY .^ OF THE BOLSHEVIKIAND THE FORCES THATDIRECTED THEM...PRINCESS CATHERINE RADZIWILL


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THE FIREBRANDOF BOLSHEVISM


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Digitized by tine Internet Arciiivein 2007 witii funding from

IVIicrosoft Corporation

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Photograph hy Donald Thompson. Ctpjrieht bj Underwood and Underwood, N. 1

Lenine (at left) and Trotzky marshalling their forcesfor revolt


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THE FIREBRANDOF BOLSHEVISMThe True Story of the Bolshevikiand the Forces that Directed Them

BYPRINCESS CATHERINE RADZIWILLAuthor of "Sovereigns and Statesmen of Europe,""Rasputin and the Russian Revolution," etc., etc

BOSTONSMALL, MAYNARD & COMPANYPUBLISHERS


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Copyright, 1919By small, MAYNARD & COMPANY

(INCORPORATED)


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CONTENTSCHAPTER PAGE

I The Secret Service Prepares for War iII The Offices of the Secret Service in

Berlin i8III You Must Go to Russia .... 28IV Mr. Barker and Herr Steinwachs . 38V We Must Arrange a Greeting for

President Poincare 49VI Alexander Feodorovitch Kerensky. 59VII The Great Strike in St. Petersburg . 77VIII Germany Really Means War . . 88IX Colonel Massojedoff's Last Visit to

Berlin 99

X The Campaign in Eastern Prussia . 109XI The Kaiser Goes TO Vienna . . .118XII Captain Rustenberg Goes to Petro-

grad Once More 128XIII Germany's Friends in Petrograd

Mme. Soumentay 138XIV M. Kalyschkoff Goes to Stockholm 148


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CONTENTSCHAPTER PAGEXV The German Secret Service in

Stockholm 159XVI Captain Rustenberg Is Sent to Switz-

erland 170XVII Lenine and His Friends . . . .179XVIII Captain Rustenberg Is Sent to Amer-

ica 191XIX The Russian Revolution .... 201XX The Return OF Lenine . . . .211XXI Madame Soumentay Comes to Stock-

holm 221XXII The Bolshevik Headquarters in

Stockholm 230XXIII How German Money was Trans-

ferred TO Petrograd 239XXIV Trotzky Is Told to Keep His Prom-

ises 248

XXV The Kaiser's New Friend, M.Adolphe Joffe 259XXVI At Brest-Litovsk 269XXVII The Great Betrayal 279


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LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONSLenine and Trotzky . . Frontispiece

Alexander Feodorovitch Kerensky .Leon Trotzky .....Trotzky and the Bolshevik LeadersTrotzky leaving Bolshevik HeadquartersGeneral Komiloff .....Antonoff ......Lenine addressing a pacifist demonstrationA handbill by which the Bolsheviki spread

their propaganda in Germany .

PAGE3266140184208227254

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THE FIREBRANDOF BOLSHEVISM


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THE FIREBRAND OFBOLSHEVISMCHAPTER I

THE SECRET SERVICE PREPARES FOR WARThe facts presented in the following pages may

perhaps not be accepted without surprise and won-der as to their authenticity. The world at largehas not yet quite appreciated the full extent of thesecret intrigues which were carried on in the for-mer German Empire before and during the warthat was to break its might and destroy it. Andyet the whole fabric of German politics was builton these intrigues. From the time that BismarckInstituted his famous Bureau of Espionage, thesemachinations were steadily going on throughoutthe whole of Europe and in America as well, andit seems desirable that the activity of this bureau inits nefarious work in Russia be exposed in some-what the same manner as has been done for theUnited States in that remarkable recent book" The German Secret Service in America."

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THE FIREBRAND OF BOLSHEVISMI cannot pretend to write anything so interesting

as the volume in question, but nevertheless thestory I am about to relate is also curious, the moreso because at the present time Bolshevism, whichonly came to life thanks to the aid and cooperationof the German government, has invaded Germanyin its turn and threatens to reduce it to the samecondition to which it reduced Russia a state ofgeneral chaos.

Bismarck has been credited with establishing thePrussian Bureau of Espionage, for so it was calledin Berlin where the French words were alwaysused in connection with it. But In reality Bis-marck had nothing to do with the idea of the or-ganization of this special department of the vastmachine over which he presided, though later onit became his pet institution. The man who firstconceived the idea was a personage who for some-thing like thirty years was the most powerful beingin the German Empire, though few people had methim and fewer still knew the extent of the might hewielded. This personage was Baron von Hol-stein, known to a small circle who surrounded Bis-marck as the " Grey Eminence." This circle con-sidered the Baron so dangerous that even states-men like Prince Hohenlohe, whose position oughtto have put him beyond the fear of any attack,

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THE SECRET SERVICEdreaded him and did their best to propitiate himand win his favor.

Baron von Holstein was a remarkable man.For one thing he was that rare being in this world,an absolutely disinterested individual, who caredonly for power, and this for power's sake alone,without the slightest desire for personal advan-tages or personal grandeur. He only wanted tobe the authority behind the throne; to rule theworld without the world even being aware of hisexistence. He had entered the Prussian diplo-matic service immediately after the Prusso-Aus-trian campaign of 1866, and some people, wholater on figured among his bitterest enemies, likedto relate a story concerning him, which I repeatwithout vouching for its authenticity, though,viewed in the light of subsequent events, it seemsmore than probable. According to this story Hol-stein, then quite a young man, had visited Madridas a ,tourist early in the year 1870 and becameacquainted with a lady who was supposed to exer-cise a considerable influence over the mind ofMarshal Prim, then the leading personage inSpain. The question of finding a successor to therecently deposed Queen Isabella was agitatingpublic opinion in the Spanish Peninsula, and Hol-stcin's friend spoke to him about the possible

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THE FIREBRAND OF BOLSHEVISMlikelihood of Prince Leopold of HohenzoUernbeing persuaded to accept the Spanish crown.The idea had been raised first during the autumnof 1868, but had fallen through due to the opposi-tion of the King of Prussia who wanted no mem-ber of his family to run the risk of becoming adethroned monarch. This was really what theproposed honor amounted to, as no one with theslightest political experience could be so lackingin wisdom as to imagine that a foreign princewould have the least chance of remaining onthe Spanish throne for more than a few months.William I had, therefore, discouraged his cousinfrom acquiescing in the proposed plan.

It seems, however, that there were people inSpain who still nursed the idea that it would befor the country's interest if Prince Leopoldcould be induced to accept the throne, and thelady In question said as much to Baron von Hol-steln. He of course took refuge behind his totalignorance of the Ideas of Count von Bismarckon the subject, but he suggested that a certainBernhardi, a secret agent of the Prussian govern-ment, might canvass the candidature in Berlin.The lady understood, and it is very probable thatMarshal Prim understood too. A few days laterBaron von Holstein returned to the Foreign

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THE SECRET SERVICEOffice, but said nothing to anyone in the Wilhelm-strasse, not even to his immediate chief, of hisconversation at Madrid; indeed when Bismarckquestioned him concerning it one day in Versailles,he merely replied that he had not considered him-self important enough to think that anything hemight have heard or said could interest the Min-ister, but that he had tried in Spain as well aseverywhere else to serve him and the intentionshe supposed him to have.The story goes on to say that Bismarck merely

remarked that he did not often find people whowere willing to do so. After this the career ofBaron von Holstein prospered in an amazingmanner, though he was never given a post abroad,except that of Councillor of the Embassy in Parisunder Count Arnim and Prince von Hohenlohe,where he played an important part in the warscare of 1875. Afterwards he returned to Ber-lin and never left the Foreign Office where he wasalmost as powerful as Bismarck himself.

During the winter of 1870-71 the GermanHeadquarters were at Versailles, and Bismarckdiscovered that the General Staff ignored himwherever and whenever It could. This angeredhim, but he did not know how to counteract itsinfluence over the mind of the King whose sym-

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THE FIREBRAND OF BOLSHEVISMpathics had always leaned towards his militaryadvisers. Then Holstein, who was attached tothe Chancellor as private secretary, once morestepped on the scene and proceeded to explain toBismarck a plan on which he had been workingsince the beginning of the Franco-Prussian war.This plan was nothing more or less than the or-ganization of the formidable bureau d'espionagewhich became such a powerful weapon in Bis-marck's hands, and to the ability of which heowed more of his extraordinary success than hewould ever have cared to own.

In some ways von Holstein was a genius, andmost certainly one of the most extraordinary menwho has ever lived. He had one great ambition;that of knowing everything about everybody andof ruling everybody through fear of the disclos-ures he could make were he at any time temptedto do so. He was absolutely indifferent to highposition, titles, decorations or money. His tasteswere of the simplest; his wants but few. Hecould appreciate a good dinner, but he could beequally content and never feel unhappy with adry crust. During the years he worked by theside of Bismarck he proved a most admirablehelpmate, and his administration of the specialdepartment of the Foreign Office of which he

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THE SECRET SERVICEwas the head was perfect. But when Bismarckwas dismissed, Holstein did not show the slight-est sympathy, parted from the Chancellor ascoldly as he did everything else in life, and con-tinued his own special work with the equanimitywhich had never deserted him at any time inhis existence. He was a born spy, and likednothing better than to be able to spy on others.

Bismarck held von Holstein in high esteem,and when the latter went to him with his planfor establishing a vast organization of almostuniversal spying, the Chancellor of the new G,er-man Empire immediately grasped the advantageshe could obtain from it. But even he did notthen realize how powerful such an organizationwould become. Holstein recruited his agents inevery country and from every class of societymen and women, rich and poor, high and low.No matter what the social condition or the mate-rial resources of the people whom he took in hand,he compelled them to execute his orders whichfor the most part consisted in bringing to himcertain knowledge he required. His first care,whenever an individual capable at a given momentof playing a part, no matter how humble, in thegreat drama attracted his attention, was to ferretout all that could be learned about him or her.

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THE FIREBRAND OF BOLSHEVISMWith few exceptions he contrived to lay his fingeron a hidden secret. Once this preliminary stephad been performed to his satisfaction, the restwas easy. The unfortunate victim was given tounderstand that he would be shamed publicly atany time, unless . . . unless . . .

Thanks to this simple system of intimidation,the German Secret Service, which proved so use-ful to Bismarck first and then to his successors,was instituted with much trouble but with magni-ficent results. Not only Berlin but the whole ofEurope was subjected to an inquisition which leftabsolutely no loophole of escape. The GermanForeign Office knew everything and made use ofeverything, but later on Holstein became sojealous of his work that he never confided allits details to any one. When he retired, theedifice, which had been so near perfection withhim at the head, lost its importance and in acertain sense hindered rather than helped Beth-mann-Hollweg during his tenure of office.

In the Prussian Intelligence Department asHolstein organized it there was hardly a personof note or consequence in Europe about whomeverything was not known, including, of course,his weaknesses and cupboard skeletons. Andthis knowledge was used when necessary without

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THE SECRET SERVICEany compunction or remorse. After Holstein'sretirement, however, there was a different spiritand the activities of this wonderful departmentwere transformed in the sense that they wereapplied to the task of bribing people rather thanof intimidating them.The story of the greatest bribery for which

it was responsible I am going to relate; the storynot only of the corruption of individuals but of awhole country. Russia, which so many havecalled a traitor, never betrayed any one, but shewas herself betrayed by those in whom she hadhoped to find saviors. All the details of theconspiracy to which she fell a victim are not knownand probably will never be known in their entirety,but what can be established, thanks to the docu-ments published by the Creel Information Bu-reau with the sanction of the United States gov-ernment, is the fact that the so-called Bolshevikmovement which brought so much evil to Russia,only became possible through the German govern-ment spending money to bring it about. It isalso apparent that the so-called treaty of Brest-Lltovsk, which has now become one of thosescraps of paper to which Chancellor von Beth-mann-Hollweg alluded in his famous conversationwith Sir Edward Goschen, would never have been

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THE FIREBRAND OF BOLSHEVISMsigned had not Germany contrived, thanks to herintrigues and her lavish use of money, to put atthe head of the Russian government puppets likethe men called Lenine and Trotzky, the latternot even a Russian subject. The destruction ofthe former realm of the Romanoffs was causednot so much by the disasters which befell itsarmies as by the corruption of men, who werethrust into positions for which nothing fitted them,by banknotes most of which were not even genuine.The full extent of the Bolshevik movement and

the part which Germany played in its develop-ment is not sufficiently known and appreciated.It ought to be told, if only because it may helpin understanding the fact that it. is just as neces-sary to fight Bolshevism as it was to fight Prussian-ism of which it is the worthy child and descendant.The present crisis in Russia is the most momen-

tous one which that country has ever had to under-go, and the fact should be known that it wasprovoked entirely by German Interference. Thebetrayal of Russia into German hands was but tootrue; however, there was one comfort in the trag-edy in this fact, that the villain of the piece, LeonTrotzky, was not a Russian but a German Jew.However, he does not stand alone, for beside himare other sinister figures, just as mischievous and

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THE SECRET SERVICEjust as dangerous to the future peace of the world.These figures were allowed to assume the impor-tance to which they have risen through the directwork of the Espionage Bureau of Berlin, which allthrough the drama worked at putting them in evi-dence and giving them the means to reach the onegreat aim it had in view that of transformingRussia into a German province.I may now explain how I came to write thisnarrative. Before the war began I was preparinga book on the labor question in Russia. This ledme to Instigate researches among anarchist circlesin St. Petersburg, and I was aghast to find thatmost of these circles derived and sought their in-spiration from Berlin. I then remembered thepast what I had seen and heard and had theopportunity of observing during the years I spentin Berlin in my youth. Later on in St. Peters-burg, thanks to my intimate relations with the menwho ruled Russia in the reign of Alexander III,I had constantly been led to notice the extent ofGerman intrigues in that country. A few monthsafter the beginning of the war, I left Russia forSweden, where I spent three years. There Ionce more had the opportunity of coming in touchwith the dark underhand work of the PrussianEspionage Bureau. I made it my business to

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THE FIREBRAND OF BOLSHEVISMstudy the German methods in the hope that thestudy might permit me to render services to mycountry and to the Allies. Fate favored me to aconsiderable extent, for I met many Germans whomade no secret of the fact that they were politicalagents of the Wilhelmstrasse. I also met throughmy numerous Russian acquaintances who, like my-self, had transferred their residence to Sweden forthe period of the war, other Russians, some ofwhom unfortunately had allowed themselves to beled astray by fine promises which were never meantto be kept. I therefore got to know and learnmany things and, as it turned out, I became thefriend of a man who, in order to gain informationfor the Allies, succeeded in going to Berlin wherehe penetrated into the haunts which I am goingto describe in speaking of the offices of the In-telligence Department in Berlin. This descriptionis taken from his words. I shall find myself nowand then compelled to put words into his mouthwhen relating certain facts and this will explainthe personal character which may prevail in manypassages of this book. I shall call this man Cap-tain Rustenberg. He pretended to be with thePrussians heart and soul while in reality he wasseeking means to thwart them in their designs,so disgusted had he become with the methods

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THE SECRET SERVICEemployed by men whom he had once believed tobe honest; whom, later on, he found to be noth-ing less than criminals striving to win a war,they had brought on deliberately at a time whenno one thought it could ever break out, by allkinds of underhand means and nefarious intrigues.His conversion, if I may use the word in speakingof his feelings, was one of those curious incidentsof which the last few years have seen so many,but I believe it was sincere, and certainly he con-trived to render valuable services to the cause ofthe Allies in keeping them informed as to themarch of events and among them those which re-sulted in the triumph of the Bolsheviki in Russia.

It would be difficult to say when the greatdisillusion of Captain Rustenberg began. Itseems to me, however, that the first forewarningsdate from the early spring of 19 14 when he wasordered to leave Zurich, where he had spent thewhole of the past three or four years, with theexception of short trips to France and Italy,and go to Berlin. Captain Rustenberg wasmuch surprised by these orders for he could notimagine the reason for calling him to Headquar-ters when it was known there that he was engagedin the delicate task of watching certain Germananarchists who had transferred their activities to

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THE FIREBRAND OF BOLSHEVISMSwitzerland. His astonishment was even greaterwhen he was told that he would not return toZurich but would be transferred to some unknowndestination. He had no alternative but to obey,so he relinquished the comfortable flat wherehe spent two peaceful years, packed his thingsand ten days later arrived in Berlin. He imme-diately reported himself to Headquarters, that isat the Foreign Office where the special Intelli-gence Department which was supposed to controlthe spying activity of German secret service agentsall over the world was lodged.A surprise awaited him, for he was told thatchanges had taken place in the organization of thedepartment since he had last visited it. For onething it had been put under the immediate author-ity of the General Staff and its control had passedfrom civilian into military hands. This alonewould have been an ominous symptom of the gen-eral political situation to a man of his experiencein the manner in which the Prussian IntelligenceSystem was managed, but there were other indi-cations which tended to arouse his worst appre-hensions as to what awaited the world, includingGermany, in the near future. Most of the ablestGerman secret service agents generally quarteredabroad had been called to Berlin for a conference

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THE SECRET SERVICEwith their chiefs an unprecedented thing inCaptain Rustenberg's experience. Then again,he was told that new names had been chosen foreach one of these agents, and that they had beeninformed that in the future they must conformthemselves to secret orders which were deliveredto them in sealed envelopes to be opened only uponthe receipt of telegraphic orders to do so.The headquarters of the department had been

transferred from the Foreign Office to a smallback street in an innocent appearing location, in-capable of arousing the suspicions of any one.Another department of this same secret servicewas located in the Colonial Office in the Wilhelm-strassc and altogether extraordinary precautionsseemed suddenly to have been taken to obliterateall traces of its former activity. The roomswhich had been sacred to it in the Foreign Officewere still occupied, but only by a few men whoseemed to have nothing to do except to receiveforeign diplomats when they happened to call,read novels or smoke cigars. In fact it seemedas if they had been selected for the sole purposeof trying to pose as if they were working whilein reality they were simply idling their time. Al-together things were so strange that CaptainRustenberg began to wonder what they could mean

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THE FIREBRAND OF BOLSHEVISMand what events Germany was preparing to meet.That the expected events were grave and impor-tant could not be doubted; it remained to find outtheir nature.When Captain Rustenberg appeared at the

Foreign Office and discovered that his superiorswere no longer to be found in the apartmentswhere he had been accustomed to seek them, hewas received by a clerk who was sitting at a deskhitherto sacred to the august being who was knownto his subordinates only as the " Professor " andwho was the great chief who held in his handsall the complicated threads of the vast machinecalled the German Intelligence Service. Theclerk told the captain to repair that same eveningbetween eleven and twelve o'clock to the new loca-tion of the offices and gave him a password whichwould enable him to secure an entrance to theback room where he would find his immediatesuperiors. More than this the clerk could nottell, and Captain Rustenberg came to the conclu-sion that he had nothing to tell and was merelyused as a messenger boy or telephone to transmitorders the importance and sense of which werenot revealed to him. So the captain returnedto his hotel brooding over these unexpected devel-opments of the situation, and, as he related to me

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THE SECRET SERVICElater, for the first time in his life he felt impatientfor evening to come so that he could get an ex-planation of the many things which were puzzlinghim. So at the appointed time he eagerly directedhis steps towards the little back street where hehoped to find the solution of the mysteries whichwere beginning to worry him to an uncommondegree. He already felt the fear that they por-tended the breaking out of a great Europeancrisis which would involve the world.

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CHAPTER IITHE OFFICES OF THE SECRET SERVICE IN

BERLIN

The new offices of the Prussian IntelligenceDepartment were not easily found, and as CaptainRustenberg wandered about the streets in searchof them, he tried to understand the reasons fortheir removal from their former comfortablequarters in the Wilhelmstrasse to the lonelysuburb, for it was nothing else. At last and notwithout some trouble he discovered the locationwhich had been described to him and made hisway into the building. He was stopped at thedoor by a man wearing the blue overalls whichprinters use who asked him what he wanted, re-marking at the same time that his principals couldnot accept new work as their hands were alreadyfull. The captain replied that he was not a cus-tomer, but that he had called to see the " Pro-fessor " on a business matter. The man lookedat him with a suspicious air and called out toanother man who had obviously been listening inthe background and who now came forward with

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SECRET SERVICE IN BERLINthe remark that " there was no Professor " thereand that evidently there was a mistake. But Cap-tain Rustenberg would not be baffled and so hementioned the password which had been givenhim at the Wilhelmstrasse, upon which the man'scountenance brightened visibly, and he smiled,with the remark that " one must be careful some-times." The visitor was then led into anotherapartment where he found three men seatedaround a table covered with maps and papers.Two of the men were strangers, but the thirdwas the " Professor," the dreaded chief whosereal identity had never been revealed to his sub-ordinates.The Professor nodded to the captain and mo-

tioned him to a chair opposite and continuedattentively reading a long letter spread out onthe table before him. His blue eyes which weregenerally hidden behind spectacles were for oncedeprived of this ornament and glistened with afire the captain had never before observed inthem. Now and then he stroked his long beardwith a gesture which, mechanical as it seemed tobe, told to those who knew him well that he waslaboring under an intense and strong emotion.At last he folded the papers he had been perusing,and, turning to his visitor, simply said:

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THE FIREBRAND OF BOLSHEVISM" Captain, let me present you to Colonel X.

and Major B. Henceforth you will have to re-port to them."Captain Rustenberg bowed but said nothing.

Indeed there was nothing to say, so he merelylooked carefully at the two men under whoseauthority he had been told he had been placed.Their names were not unknown to him and he wasaware that they were considered the most brilliantofficers on the General Staff. But he could notunderstand how it could have happened that theyhad suddenly been enrolled in the service of theSecret Intelligence Department and how theyfound themselves in this den it could hardlybe called anything else dressed in civilianclothes with no insignia of their military rank.Until this time the captain had never heard thatofficers in active service could be called to otherfunctions, but he was to be even more surprisedbefore the interview came to an end. The colonelwas the first to speak, and he did so with anauthority which the circumstances did not seem towarrant and which added to the captain's aston-ishment.

" You have arrived from Switzerland to-day,"the colonel began. " Will you kindly tell us whatat the present moment is the disposition of the

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SECRET SERVICE IN BERLINRussian refugees and anarchists toward their gov-ernment?"" I haven't worked especially among the Rus-sian anarchists," Captain Rustenberg answered," but so far as I know it seems to me that atthe present moment they are planning anothergreat strike on the scale of the one which failedin 1905. But it is difficult to tell whether theymean to try it in the near future or not. Thereis one thing, however, which I have had theopportunity to observe, and that is that their in-tercourse with the leaders of the labor movementin St. Petersburg and Moscow has become muchmore active during the last six months than ithas been at any time since the murder of PrimeMinister Stolypin."The colonel made note of this remark in a book

which he pulled from his pocket and then askedwhat the captain thought about the Hkelihood ofthis strike being carried out with success." It is impossible to answer that question,"was the reply, " at least for me, as I have alreadytold you that I haven't followed the movementsof the Russian anarchists lately. One thing hasstruck me, however, and that is that they seemto-day to have larger funds at their disposal thanhas been the case up till now."

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THE FIREBRAND OF BOLSHEVISMThe colonel smiled and nodded to the " Pro-

fessor " who bowed his head in reply and thenquestioned in his turn

" Have you any idea where these funds comefrom?"

" Not the slightest, unless they come from you,which would not surprise me."

It was the colonel's turn to raise his eyes." He is not stupid, your man," he remarked

drily to the Chief." Have you any idea," continued the colonel,

" of the individual who calls himself loulianoffand who is known in anarchist circles by the nameof Lenine? "

" Yes, I know him well," answered the captain."What of him?"

" You know him well?" interrupted the otherofficer who up to that moment had been silent.*' Can you tell us what sort of a person he is? "

" A man who can be bought as easily as he isdifficult to lay hands on," was the unexpectedanswer.

"Is he a convinced anarchist?" asked thecolonel."Do convinced anarchists exist in general?"answered the captain. " He certainly is a par-tisan of the doctrine embodied in the French words

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SECRET SERVICE IN BERLINOtes toi de la, que je m'y mettes! Beyond thatI will take no responsibility in describing him.Among his comrades he is considered a fanatic,though I doubt whether his fanaticism would everlead him into risking his skin in any enterprisedangerous enough to jeopardize it."

*' Do you think he would be amenable to rea-son? " asked the " Professor." " I have reportshere which say that he is not one of those individ-uals whom money cannot convince."

" Probably your reports are exact, ' Professor,'but I can only repeat, I have had no businessdealings with the man personally, and all that Iknow about him in this respect is from the reportswhich our agents have made to me from time totime. I could, however, easily ascertain thetruth of the matter if I returned to Zurich."

" That is not necessary," said the colonel." We only wanted to hear your personal opinionon the subject. You are wanted in quite an-other place than Switzerland for the moment."He remained silent for a few minutes and thenwent on:

" You have already been in Russia, and I havebeen told that you speak Russian well. Is thatthe case?"

*' Yes," was the reply.23


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THE FIREBRAND OF BOLSHEVISM" Then, ' Professor,' will you kindly explain to

Captain Rustenberg what we require him to do? "The " Professor " took a paper from his inner

pocket, glanced at it and silently put it into thecaptain's hands.

" You see the list of names, Captain," he said.*' Your mission will be to try and ascertain theopinion of these people in regard to the oppor-tunity for a Revolutionary movement in Russiaduring the coming summer. As you will notesome of them are in Paris at the moment. ToParis, therefore, you will have to go, but youmust not stay there more than a few days duringwhich it will be easy for you to come in contactwith these men. To give you an outline of whatwe require, I shall tell you that our agents reportto us that in France just now there is a strongparty which is opposed to the visit of PresidentPoincare to St. Petersburg. This party fears thatthis visit would mean the discussion of a waragainst Germany to which it objects but whichis strongly desired by Grand Duke Nicholas andby the military party in Russia as well as inFrance. Now such a war would, of course,paralyze for a time the activities of the socialistsand especially of the anarchists. They think,therefore, that it would be a good thing to hurry

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SECRET SERVICE IN BERLINon in Russia an insurrectional movement embodiedin strikes and labor troubles which would give thegovernment so much to do that it would have notime to think of a foreign war. We want to knowwhether this information is correct and whetherit is to be relied upon. It is for this reason thatthe colonel asked you whether you speak Russian.Your mission will take you among Russians andyou must be able to discuss with them in theirnative tongue. I may as well tell you that youwill travel under a Polish name and that you willrepresent yourself as a Pole sent by the CentralCommittee in St. Petersburg to discuss conditionswith its exiled comrades. Lenine, you may aswell know it now, will also be in Paris, and youmust meet him as an emissary of his friends inSt. Petersburg."

" Will he not discover that I am not? " inquiredthe captain. " These people always have somesecret signs through which they know each other."The " Professor " smiled, a gentle smile of re-

proof." Surely, my dear Captain, you do not think

that we would send you on such an errand with-out providing you with the necessary means ofproving your identity.

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THE FIREBRAND OF BOLSHEVISMthis time in 3l decided tone ; " he will also be thereunder an assumed name, and you will discussseriously with him the conditions under which hewould accept work in the direction we want, thatis against the conclusion of the new treaty ofalliance, which, according to the information thathas reached us, the French President is about toask Russia to conclude with France. One of itsconditions is to allow French officers to be initiatedinto the details of the armament of the Russianarmy and to become acquainted with the strategicplans of the Russian Staff. Such a treaty mustnever be allowed to become an accomplished fact.I hope you understand me."

Captain Rustenberg bowed in silence." We may as well tell you that the reason why

you find us here and not in our former quartersis that we have discovered that France had themwatched with particular vigilance, and in thepresent crisis no one must be able to see what we.are doing, or be able to identify later on the agentswhom we find we are obliged to summon fromabroad to our aid. That is also the reason whyColonel X. and Major B. have consented to lendme the benefit of their experience and their skill.And I can only repeat what I told you at thebeginning of this interview, it is to them you

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SECRET SERVICE IN BERLINwill have to report on your return from Paris,for it is needless to say that you must not attemptto write to us from there."

" But in the name of goodness what does allthis mean? " exclaimed the captain. " You surelydo not think that we are on the verge of aEuropean war? "

" Who speaks of war? " interrupted the major.*' We have not mentioned the word war, but othersthink about it and we must be prepared for everyeventuality. Do not get excited, my dear Cap-tain!"

" I am not excited," the captain answered, andthen turning to the " Professor " :" Tell me the truth. I shall work for you farbetter if I know for what stakes you are playing.Has the hour struck for which we have been pre-paring ourselves all these years? "

" No," replied the Chief, " but it may strikebefore we are many months older."" I understand. Give me your instructions; Ishall try to carry them out as well as I can."

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CHAPTER IIIYOU MUST GO TO RUSSIA

There was nothing for Captain Rustenberg todo but obey orders, and so after another confiden-tial conversation with the " Professor," he startedfor Paris. He had been given letters for oneof the German agents there who was working inone of the largest book stores in the Frenchcapital. This employee was accustomed to adviseone of the lights of the Prussian Secret Service,Herr Steinwachs, in the numerous book purchasesthe latter was fond of making in Paris where hewent two or three times a year. This agent heldin his hands all the threads of the German Intelli-gence Department in France. He was supposedto be an Alsatian and a rabid French patriot.This attitude had allowed him to render the Wil-helmstrasse inestimable services, and he was heldin high esteem by the " Professor," as well asby the other chiefs of his department.

Captain Rustenberg went to Paris as a Pole,28


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YOU MUST GO TO RUSSIAostensibly belonging to the anarchist party, andhe had been given a letter for the man calledloulianoff, already known among extreme socialistcircles as Lenine. The captain knew this man,as I have said, for he had had several opportuni-ties of meeting him in Zurich as well as in Geneva.But the captain had never been told that Leninehad been in Germany's employ and pay for yearsand that as far back as 1905 he had receivedsubsidies from the German Foreign Office, whichhe had always accepted as being funds from so-cialist sympathizers in Germany, pretending tobe ignorant of their real origin. Lenine enjoyeda certain reputation among Russian anarchistcircles abroad where some people considered hima sincere fanatic, while others believed him tobe, before anything else, an ambitious man whodesired to sweep away the existing order of so-ciety for the sole purpose of benefiting himself.Nobody suspected that he would ever become animportant factor in Russian politics except theGerman Intelligence Department which in this in-stance as well as in many others gave proof of itsunusual acumen and foresight.

Captain Rustenberg reached Paris, and, aftersecuring a room in a small hotel on the left bankof the Seine, went to seek the different friends

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THE FIREBRAND OF BOLSHEVISMhe had been told to find. Leninc had not yetarrived in Paris, but was expected hourly, so atleast the captain was told, but several Russiananarchists were there, and it was quite evidentthat they were preparing some important move-ment in the labor circles in Russia. He failed,however, to note that this movement was directedagainst the visit of the French President to theCzar as he had been assured by his chiefs wasthe case. The captain could not help wonderingwhether his superiors were not being duped bythe clever men who, he felt sure of it now, had allalong been in their employ. He was told that asocial revolution, which would most certainlyoverthrow the Romanoffs, was but a question ofmonths. The slightest outside occurrence mightprecipitate the coming of this revolution, such, forinstance, as a foreign war which all the Russianpolitical exiles seemed certain was bound to comewithin a short time.

Lenine, or loulianoff, arrived in Paris threedays after the captain. The latter at once sent tohim, through the bookseller's assistant of the QuaiVoltaire who seemed far more in the confidenceof his chiefs than the captain was himself, theletter with which he had been provided for Lenine.The anarchist immediately came to the captain at

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YOU MUST GO TO RUSSIAhis hotel. After half an hour's conversation Cap-tain Rustcnberg came to the conclusion that theman was an enigma and that the solution wouldnot be easy to find. Lenine evidently wantedand expected something, but what that somethingwas the captain failed to guess. He talked alot about the prospects of the labor party inRussia, but when the impending visit of PresidentPoincare to St. Petersburg was mentioned andthe danger it might present to the cause of social-ism in general, he interrupted his interlocutor withthe remark that such things did not concern thesocialists. Besides, the latter could only winthrough the complications of a European war,should it ever take place, because such a warthrough the discontent which it would be sure toraise could only reinforce the stubbornness ofthe socialist elements in every country, and thatin Russia in particular it would most certainlyaccelerate the triumph of anarchism which, as itappeared, was the only thing he cared about.When he was asked whether he was sufficientlysupplied with funds for the campaign which hetold the captain to tell " our comrades " he wasabout to begin, he replied, to the latter's surprise,that though this was not the case at the moment,he fully expected the sinews of the war he meant

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THE FIREBRAND OF BOLSHEVISMto start to be put at his disposal as soon as hethought the moment opportune for doing so.The captain did not feel justified in asking whowas to furnish him with this money he so con-fidently expected, as he had already guessed whereit was to come from, and he could not help feelingslightly aggrieved at the want of confidence whichhis superiors had shown in not initiating him intoall the details of the intrigues in which he foundthem engaged.

Before they parted, Lenine gave Captain Rus-tenberg a letter addressed to Herr Steinwachs,not under that name however, but under a Russianalias. Lenine finally took his leave after havingonce more told his host that the only message hecould ask him to carry to his friends in Russiawas to the effect that things were going on welland that in view of his ignorance of the ins andouts of their situation, he could only leave themfree to do what they considered best for the in-terests of the party. And then he added thefollowing remark, the full sense of which the cap-tain only understood later:

" If you go to St. Petersburg, try to meetAlexander Feodorovitch Kerensky. He is theman of the future and the one on whom I rely themost for helping us to establish the government

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Ctfri[ht, hj Undtruxtd and Vndtnvotd, N. Y.

Alexander Feodorovitch Kerensky


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YOU MUST GO TO RUSSIAwhich we mean one day to introduce into Russiaas well as into the rest of Europe."

All this gave Captain Rustenberg a good dealto think about, and his thoughts were certainlynot comfortable as his train carried him back toBerlin. His trip had been well performed andhe did not think that during his short stay inParis any one had suspected that he was an agentof the German government sent to interview Rus-sian anarchists in the French capital. He hadconducted himself with extreme discretion andduring his interviews with the French anarchists,he had succeeded in convincing them that he wasa Pole, a member of their party, who wanted toinstruct himself in their aims and desires and theattitude which they would eventually take in theimprobable case of a European war. On thislast point the captain had a great surprise. Hehad always supposed that French anarchists were,like their comrades in other countries, devoidof all that is called patriotism. But he discoveredthat this was not the case by any means. Withall of them it was France first and anarchismafterwards; they were just as eager to recoverAlsace-Lorraine and to start a war of Revancheas any other Frenchmen. The captain knew thiswould not please his chiefs at all and might even

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THE FIREBRAND OF BOLSHEVISMinterfere with some of their plans, but the factwas far too important to keep hidden from them.

Captain Rustenberg was back in Berhn exactlyone week after he had left it and immediatelypresented himself to Colonel X. The latter re-ceived him in the same room in which they hadmet before and listened in silence to the reportwhich his agent made. Then the colonel tookLenine's letter and, notwithstanding the fact thatit was addressed to Herr Steinwachs, opened itand read it with great attention. Afterwards herang a bell and told the soldier who appeared inreply to telephone Major B. that he was expectedat once. Captain Rustenberg was then orderedto sit down and wait, which he did in absolutesilence wondering where all this was to lead.Major B. appeared in an incredibly short time.

The colonel gave him the letter and they bothread it together with extreme attention. Thenthe colonel spoke to the captain for the first timesince he had made his appearance:

" I am quite pleased with you, Captain. Youhave done well. Now you must prepare yourselffor the new work which we want you to do. Firstof all you must go to-morrow to see Herr DirectorSteinwachs who is to furnish you with the moneyyou will require and also ask for orders from the

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YOU MUST GO TO RUSSIA' Professor ' in regard to the journey you are aboutto take. On the day which will be fixed, youwill start for St. Petersburg, traveling via Swedenwhere we have agents with whom it will be neces-sary for you to come in contact. In St. Peters-burg you will seek certain people whose nameswill be given you later on and confer with themas to the best way to meet President Poincarewhen he arrives in Russia. You will be given aletter of credit sufficiently large to enable you tofinance any movement among the workmen ofSt. Petersburg which it may be found advisableto foment. In St. Petersburg you will find in-structions awaiting you at our Embassy, and inStockholm you will also find some at our Legation.Remember that you are a Pole sent to Russia bythe Central Russian Anarchist Committee ofGeneva, and that you are to try and get in touchwith the Polish agitators who abound in St.Petersburg. While you are in Sweden, where Ipersonally advise you to stay a few days, you willlook after the agents whom we have there andwith whom I am not entirely satisfied. StockholmIs bound to become, within a short time, an im-portant center of news for us, and it is just aswell to organize there a service capable of meet-ing any emergency, no matter how sudden and

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THE FIREBRAND OF BOLSHEVISMunexpected. You will travel to Stockholm withone of our most trusted men, Mr. Barker, a Ger-man-American, whose activities have already beenvery useful to us. You will take good care todistribute here and there in Swedish factories or-ders for machines and other things the executionof which will necessitate frequent journeys toSweden either of yourself or some one else belong-ing to our service. In St. Petersburg you will begiven a list of different people whom it will be ad-visable for you to try and meet, among others sev-eral newspaper editors, such as the owner of theGazette de la Bourse, who, we believe, might ata given moment be of great use to us in conduct-ing a pro-German campaign in the press. Youwill also do the best you can to have talks withseveral leaders of the Socialist Party in the Duma.Among others there is a young lawyer calledKerensky with whom I would like you to do yourbest to become acquainted. He is said to be avery talented fellow and one capable of obtaininga considerable influence on the working classes inthe Russian capital. Why do you start? "

Captain Rustenberg had made a gesture of sur-prise at hearing the name which Lenine had al-ready mentioned, and this gesture had not escapedthe keen eyes of the colonel.

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YOU MUST GO TO RUSSIA" I started," the captain replied, " because this

same Kerensky was recommended to me in Parisby Lenine."

It was the colonel's turn to be astonished, andhe proceeded to ask his visitor what the famousdemagogue whom he had been sent to interviewhad told him about this Kerensky. The captaincould only repeat the words which Lenine hadused, that he was " the man of the future," andthis seemed to tickle the colonel's fancy to anunusual degree. He laughed one of those silentlaughs which mean so much and then proceededto give the captain further instructions. He dis-missed him with the remark that he must be pre-pared to start for Russia at an hour's notice ifneed be, and that in the meantime he would dowell to go immediately and see both the *' Pro-fessor " and Herr Director Steinwachs fromwhom he was to get his final orders. This thecaptain hastened to do, for experience had taughthim that in the career he had chosen a strict obe-dience to orders was what one was expected andrequired to do before anything else.

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CHAPTER IVMR. BARKER AND HERR STEINWACHS

Before proceeding with this narrative, thereader must be made acquainted with two menwho were to play a most important part in theintrigue about to be disclosed, and who un-doubtedly were considered by the German GeneralStaff as well as by the Foreign Office as two oftheir most capable agents. Herr Steinwachs wasa fat, round little fellow with a jovial look abouthim, which was of considerable help to him indissimulating his real functions and identity.Whether Steinwachs was his real name or not Isa fact which has never been ascertained. Cap-tain Rustenberg's private conviction was that itwas an alias, for no one in the employ of theGerman Intelligence Department ever went inprivate life by the name under which he wasemployed. On the contrary its spying system hadfor one of its first rules the giving of names ofconvention to its employees which permitted themto avoid recognition and to disarm suspicion as

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MR. BARKER AND HERR STEINWACHSthey went along. Herr Steinwachs had an officein a room on the third floor of the Colonial Of-fice in the Wilhelmstrasse in Berlin where hecould generally be found between two and fouro'clock in the afternoon, when he was in town.Where his home was no one knew, and neitherhis name nor address could be found in the direc-tory of the German capital. He representedhimself as a bachelor living with his widowedmother and affected the attitude of a book loverand student. This, however, did not prevent histaking special pleasure in gay society where thefemale element seemed to possess great attractionfor him. Two or three times a year he went toParis, for which he was supposed to have a par-ticular affection, and where he declared that hefound opportunities no other place offered himfor adding to his collection of rare volumes. Hespoke French remarkably well, with just a shadeof Teutonic accent, but when outside Paris healways professed a total ignorance of the lan-guage, which sometimes proved of considerableuse to him. The German General Staff had en-trusted him with important confidential missionswhich he had always performed to its entire satis-faction. He never came to grief but once. Hewas on an aeroplane trip in France; his machine

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THE FIREBRAND OF BOLSHEVISMwas damaged and he had to come down nearMantes where he was taken by the population forwhat he really was, a German spy. He had sometrouble in establishing his identity as a peacefulGerman traveler and went through a bad quarterof an hour. At that time, however, war withGermany, or with anybody else for that matter,was far from people's minds, and Herr Stein-wachs escaped with a bad fright from what mighthave proved an unpleasant adventure.

His last journey to Paris took place just beforethe Great War, and it was suspected that he wassent to verify the accuracy of the informationCaptain Rustenberg had brought back from histrip. After hostilities had started, Steinwachswas put at the head of the Russian division of thePrussian Intelligence Department where he madehimself most useful. He was one of the first tostart the idea of getting in touch with a portionof the Russian press, and he displayed consid-erable ability In the way in which he handled thiswork. He had a special skill in finding out whatpeople could be trusted and in the autumn of 19 15he scented danger in parties who had been recom-mended to his superiors in Berlin as likely toprove of use In this campaign to buy up the Rus-sian press or as much of it as could be bought.

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MR. BARKER AND HERR STEINWACHSIn reality these men were agents of the Frenchgovernment who wanted to get as much evidenceas they could concerning the bribing activities ofGermany in the Russian Empire. Herr Stein-wachs went to Stockholm where these agents re-sided so as to get In direct touch with them, buthe took the precaution to travel with his motherso as to give his journey the appearance of apleasure trip. He first tried to ascertain whatthese men had to offer him. His instinct toldhim at once that they were pretending friendlyfeelings towards Germany in order to get him andhis administration to compromise themselves, andhe managed to back out of the snare which hadbeen laid for him with nothing but the loss of asmall sum of money, which his government couldstand, and with the consciousness that he hadbeen clever enough to scent an intrigue which,had it turned out successful, might have got hisgovernment into difficulties which it would havebeen hard to explain to the man on the street.Herr Steinwachs established a Bureau of

Espionage in Stockholm to which all the numerousagents placed under his orders in the Scandi-navian countries had to report. Such a bureaucould not have existed in Chrlstlanla or Copen-hagen as they were far too small and their inhab-

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THE FIREBRAND OF BOLSHEVISMitants far too pro-Ally, for it not to have been dis-covered immediately. But the Germans hadmany sympathizers in Stockholm, and the activi-ties of the secret agents could easily be hiddenfrom the eyes of the public. Herr Steinwachshired a small flat in an out of the way street, whichbecame his headquarters, and started a propa-ganda all over the Scandinavian peninsula throughthe help of several journalists and lecturers, sentespecially from Berlin for the purpose. Theywere instructed to explain to the Swedes and Danesas well as the Norwegians the great advantagesof German Kultur. In addition to this oflicialbureau, because though It was unknown it wasofficial in some ways, he arranged for representa-tives of different large business firms in Germanyto open agencies in Sweden where, In case ofdifficulty, his spies could drop in and send theirreports to Berlin at times when there was anyreason to suspect that the Allied counter-policehad its eyes on the movements of the many Ger-man agents. Later on as the war progressed,and when it became necessary to watch events InRussia with more attention than at the beginning,Herr Steinwachs sent over to Sweden an officialrepresentative in the person of Baron von Oppel.The Baron was an important personage In the

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MR. BARKER AND HERR STEINWACHSGerman Intelligence Department, and he installedhimself in a sea-side resort called Saltsjobaden,near Stockholm, where he took upon himself theorganization and " surveillance " of the multitudeof German spies who crowded around him andwho came from Russia and Finland to make theirreports. The Baron was to play an importantpart in the conspiracy which brought about theruin of Russia and Its betrayal into the hands ofGermany by Lenlne, Trotzky and Company.Mr. Barker was quite a different individual

from Herr Director Steinwachs. He said that hewas an American with large business Interestsin Germany and he used to travel about under theprotection of an American passport, not only InRussia, where he was a frequent visitor duringthe first two years of the war, but also in Eng-land and France. He was most prepossessingin appearance, affected pleasant manners, and hadthe appearance of a man about town more Inquest of amusement than anything else. Cleanshaven and alv/ays well dressed, he was Intelli-gent and tactful, observant and extremely cynicalin that he never trusted any one, and seldomspoke the truth concerning his feelings or opinions.He crossed to the United States several timesduring 19 1 5 and 19 16, where he was sent to

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THE FIREBRAND OF BOLSHEVISMcontrol in a certain sense the work of Count vonBernstorff whom he carefully avoided all the timehe remained in Washington and New York. TheCount had his counter-police and heard vaguelythat a trusted agent of the Intelligence Depart-ment in Berlin had arrived in America. He triedto get in touch with this agent and even went sofar as to cause inquiries to be made at the bankwhere he supposed Mr. Barker would go to cashthe checks with which he had been provided beforehe left Europe. But these inquiries came tonothing, and the baffled Ambassador did not suc-ceed in finding the man he sought with greatperseverance and whose presence in the UnitedStates, he feared, might bode ill for himself,and at all events proved that the confidence whichthe Count inspired in his superiors was not un-limited.

Mr. Barker was a chemist by profession, andwas supposed to be attracted by anything con-nected with explosives. He was the head of atextile establishment in the Rhine provinces andwas generally immersed in researches concerningdyes and things of that sort. It was rumored,too, that he had patented a new bomb of unusualpower and that in one of his trips to America hetook a few of these toys with him to show his

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MR. BARKER AND HERR STEINWACHSfriends. Whether this was true or not, it isdifficult to say. Mr. Barker was Captain Rus-tenberg's superior, and the latter was not at lib-erty to control his activities or to try and findout what aims he was pursuing.The captain never liked Mr. Barker, and it

was with mixed feelings of pleasure that he wentto see him. To his surprise, however, for hehad always suspected that Barker never approvedof his methods or of the way he used to work,his superior received him quite amiably, and atonce plunged into the subject which had broughtthem together, and told the captain exactly whathe had to do. The captain discovered that farfrom fearing a war, as he had for a brief momentthought was the case during his conversation withColonel X., the German government was secretlyhoping one would be declared against it thus sav-ing it the trouble of declaring war itself. Mr.Barker seemed wonderfully well informed as toRussian affairs and said point blank that if theRussian labor party could be persuaded to ariseagainst the government in case of a declarationof hostilities, either on Germany's part or onthat of the Czar, this would allow the former toconclude in a relatively short time a peace whichwould deliver into German hands the whole Rus-

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THE FIREBRAND OF BOLSHEVISMsian commercial market. After that Germanywould no longer fear competition either fromEngland or from the United States against whichBarker seemed to be particularly Incensed.

Barker gave Captain Rustenberg a list ofnames of people in whom he assured him Germanyhad well wishers and eventual friends. The listcomprised Kerensky, together with other deputiesof the Duma, a woman called Madame Soumen-tay, and a man whose name the captain had neverheard before, Adolphe Jofife. Mr. Barker cau-tioned him to be very careful In regard to the last,as he was staying In St. Petersburg under anassumed name and was eagerly sought by theRussian police. Finally, Barker directed the cap-tain to another man from whom he was to receiveany funds he might want during his stay in Russia,and advised him, while not appearing to encouragethe leaders of the Russian labor party in a re-bellion against the government, to try and Impressthem with the conviction that the government wastoo rotten not to be overthrown at the first oppor-tunity.

Herr Director Stelnwachs was not quite so ex-plicit as Mr. Barker, but he told Captain Rusten-berg one thing which the former had carefully re-

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MR. BARKER AND HERR STEINWACHSfrained from mentioning that Germany was onthe eve of a war which might easily become ageneral one and that, consequently, the captainmust be very careful in everything he said anddid. To the question of whether he thought thatthe impending visit of President Poincare toPetersburg was likely to bring the war about,Herr Steinwachs simply shrugged his fat and com-fortable shoulders and remarked that Presidentor no President the course of events could notbe arrested or even checked. He finally dismissedhis visitor with the remark that the latter mustleave Berlin the next day, and that he would findMr. Barker awaiting him at the station at sighto'clock in the evening. They were to travel to-gether as far as Stockholm, and then CaptainRustenberg was to make his way alone to Russiathrough Helsingfors and Finland. His stay inSt. Petersburg was to extend until the departureof the French President, unless he received ordersto the contrary. The captain bowed and wasabout to take his departure when suddenly HerrSteinwachs stopped him:

" By the way, I had nearly forgotten. If acertain Colonel Massojedoff calls upon you, pleasebe polite to him and ask him to dinner at some

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THE FIREBRAND OF BOLSHEVISMgood restaurant or other. But do not take anyletter from him, and simply advise him to cometo Berlin and see his friends. He is a good fel-low, and you might as well be nice to him."

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CHAPTER VWE MUST ARRANGE A GREETING FOR

PRESIDENT POINCAREAs he had been told, Captain Rustenberg found

Mr. Barker waiting for him at the station, andthey crossed together to Sweden and made theirway to Stockholm. The Swedish capital was asleepy little place at that time, and people seemedto think only of their own petty interests. Thehotels were, if not empty, at least only moderatelyfilled with tourists, and the town had an essen-tially provincial appearance. Mr. Barker didnot elect to stay at the same hotel at which thecaptain had been ordered to stop and took uphis abode at another one, which, if not quite sofashionable as the Grand, was probably moreacceptable to him for other reasons. Barker badegood-by to his traveling companion in the trainand advised him that in case they should meeton the street they were not to speak or to appearas though they knew each other. To tell thetruth Captain Rustenberg was not sorry to hear

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THE FIREBRAND OF BOLSHEVISMthis as he had no sympathy with Barker, perhapsout of jalousie du metier, as most people wouldhave said, but more likely because he could notquite accept his utter unscrupulousness in workingand his complete disregard of the elements ofmorality which even spies must sometimes have.The captain little suspected that the day wouldcome when even Mr. Barker would appear to himas one of the most honest of men when comparedwith others with whom he was compelled to worklater on.

Captain Rustenberg went to Helsingfors In Fin-land where he had been ordered to look up cer-tain Finnish agitators with whom the GermanIntelligence Department was in communication.He found them much excited against Russia andjust as much against Sweden. None of them wasIn the least sympathetic with Germany and GermanKultur, and when the captain tried to discuss withthem their eventual attitude in the, as he put It,improbable case of war breaking out betweenRussia and Germany they told him frankly thatthey would support Russia so long as they hadno hopes of winning back their Independence, butthat the moment they saw the least likelihood ofdoing this, they would organize a systematic revoltagainst their present masters. When they were

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A GREETINGasked whether they would seek help from Ger-many in cncir attempc to shaK.e oil the Russianyoke, they replied categorically that they wouldnever dream of doing such a thing, because itwould be jumping from the frying pan into thefire.On the other hand the anarchist elements in

Finland, of whom there were more than the cap-tain had been led to think, were absolutely pro-German and seemed to him at least to be incomplete accord with several German socialistgroups. They considered Scheidemann a kind ofprophet, and they made no secret of the fact thatat different times they had accepted financial sub-sidies from their German comrades, especiallyduring the troubled years which had followed theRusso-Japanese war.

After several days spent in their society, thecaptain considered that the Finns were an abso-lutely unreliable people ready to conclude analliance with any person who flattered them andjust as ready to break afterwards. In case of awar they would undoubtedly cause trouble, evenif they ostensibly declared themselves on the Ger-man side.From Helsingfors it was but a twenty-fourhours' journey to St. Petersburg, and the captain

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THE FIREBRAND OF BOLSHEVISMmade the trip most comfortably in an almostempty train where he had a large compartmentto himself in the sleeping carriage. The Russiancapital had quite a summer aspect, though hereand there bunting was to be seen in honor of theFrench President who was expected in two orthree weeks. It was then the beginning of June,and the town was more or less empty of its fash-ionable elements, though most of the people hold-ing official positions were still there. The cap-tain, of course, went immediately to the GermanEmbassy, and was received by Count von Pour-tales with great courtesy and with evident curi-osity. The Count gave him letters which acourier had brought, together with official dis-patches, and he went to great trouble to assurethe captain that he was entirely satisfied with thepolitical situation and the relations between theGerman and Russian governments. Pourtaleswas too much a man of the world to ask his visitorwhat had really brought him to Russia and heseemed to accept the story, which in accordancewith his instructions the captain told him, that hisonly wish was to see old friends who had invitedhim to visit them. Before the captain took leave,Count von Pourtales invited him to lunch for thenext day, which he declined, pleading a previous

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A GREETINGengagement, as Herr Director Stelnwachs hadenjoined his agent to show himself at the Embassyas little as possible. After this first visit of cour-tesy the captain considered himself free to followhis own course and he went to seek the personsto whom he had introductions presenting himselfas a Pole sent to Russia by the anarchist circlesof Switzerland to report to them the actual posi-tion of the different labor groups in the Empireof the Czar.Of course the ostensible pretext for his appear-

ance in Russia was the desire to discuss the possi-bility of another general strike like the one whichhad failed in 1905. There had been partialattempts at organizing one during the winterwhich had just ended and there had been troubles,of a transient nature however, in different factoriesin St. Petersburg. Experiments had been madewith new gases which, let loose in the workingrooms, had caused the wholesale poisoning of theemployees. Although the matter had occupiedthe authorities, it had been hushed up by the gov-ernment which did not care to investigate it forfear of adding fuel to the flames. That theseextraordinary poisonings had been brought aboutintentionally no one doubted, and it was saidamong the workmen that the names of the persons

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THE FIREBRAND OF BOLSHEVISMwho perpetrated them were well known. Theintent was evident : they wanted to excite the work-men against the factory owners or the govern-ment, in the case of government controlled fac-tories like the great Poutiloff factory which em-ployed more than twenty thousand men.To Captain Rustenberg's surprise he discovered

that most of the mechanics, foremen, engineersand inspectors in the principal working centersof the capital were Germans either from theBaltic provinces or from Prussia itself. Theyappeared to get on well with the men under themwith whom they seemed to sympathize far morethan did the Russian officers who had the lastword in the administration of the factories wherewar materials were manufactured. The captainasked the German workers with whom he hadan opportunity to talk their opinion of the work-men they controlled. They all told him that themen had learned a useful lesson in 1905 and thatthere was no fear of their venturing another out-break until they were certain of emerging trium-phant. But they did not conceal their opinionthat any slight circumstance might bring this out-break and that when it did occur it would be farmore bloody than the previous revolution hadbeen.

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A GREETINGAnother general strike was in everybody's mind

and, so far as the captain could discover, oneof the reasons it was wished for was the greatindustrial prosperity which undoubtedly had fol-lowed the reverses of the Japanese war, a pros-perity which had not touched the workmen, butwhich had enriched the street speculators whohad made ducks and drakes of the different in-dustrial enterprises which had sprung up likemushrooms. It was known that, thanks to Frenchinfluence and the urgent representations of theFrench government, Russia had proceeded orrather was proceeding to a considerable additionto its armaments. The fear of war was in thepublic mind, the more so since it had becomeknown, no one knew how, that it had been decidednot to give any further orders to German firms,but to allow the Creusot and Poutiloff factoriesto fulfill the new artillery program which hadbeen decided upon in high circles.The workmen had heard all this through some

mysterious channels and they were opposed tothis display of ardor in the way of armaments.The average workman was fairly comfortable atthe time; he was earning good wages, and hadlately discovered that many restrictions to whichhe had formerly been obliged to submit were being

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THE FIREBRAND OF BOLSHEVISMslowly withdrawn, and that he was gradually beingallowed the liberty of holding meetings and ofhaving papers of his own to defend the interestsof the labor party in general. The workmanknew that this party, his party, was slowly organ-izing and he realized perfectly that this wouldno longer be possible in case of war as the gov-ernment would undoubtedly proceed to withdrawall the concessions it had made during the pasttwo or three years to the workingmen in generaland their representatives in the Duma in particu-lar. The idea of war was, therefore, an unpleas-ant one to most of the men who gave a thoughtto it. It was also far from popular in the armyitself, still smarting as it was under the remem-brance of the disasters it had experienced in Man-churia, for it knew that it had not recovered fromthem sufficiently to enter another struggle withany chance of success.

Captain Rustenberg soon discovered that theinstructions which he had been given to try andstimulate the discontent of the Russian laborparty were very clever and that this would be arelatively easy thing to do. The men to whomhe had brought letters of introduction welcomedhim warmly and inquired eagerly for their *' com-rades " in Switzerland with whom it appeared

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A GREETINGthey were in close and constant communication.Lenine, as they all called loulianoff, was a kindof prophet in their eyes, and they all said thatthe day would come when the program whichhe had drawn up would become an accomplishedfact, when the proletariat would at last come for-ward and obtain the place in the world to whichit was entitled. At the same time none of thesemen seemed to have any idea, no matter howhazy, as to what was to follow the triumph ofthis proletariat they represented. They had ab-solutely no comprehension of what the words" governing a country " meant, and the thoughtwhich seemed uppermost in their minds was thatof destroying what they certainly would neverknow how to rebuild.The French alliance was not popular among the

workmen, and it was with visible wrath that theyspoke of the Impending visit of the French Presi-dent, which many among them considered a directchallenge to a war. Captain Rustenberg failedto discover why this Idea had gained their minds,though he had strong suspicions that Germanpropaganda and the money which the Germangovernment was constantly distributing amongRussian socialists and anarchists had somethingto. do with it. Other French presidents had

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THE FIREBRAND OF BOLSHEVISMvisited Russia before M. Polncare and had beenwarmly welcomed, especially M. Faure who wasthe object of a most enthusiastic reception by thepopulation of St. Petersburg. No one had everintimated that his visit meant war with any ofRussia's neighbors. There was no reason whyM. Poincare's visit should be considered in an-other light from those of his predecessors inoffice. The captain could not help thinking thatthere was something more than was known at thebottom of the great hostility with which the laborparty in the capital affected to regard the Presi-dent. That this hostility existed he had morethan one opportunity to notice, especially on oneoccasion when he was discussing with the editorof one of the labor organs of St. Petersburg theprobable attitude of the numerous workingmcnemployed in the different great industrial concernsin case the much discussed visit should take place.The editor ended with the following remarkablewords:

*' If the French President really comes here,then we shall arrange a greeting for him suchas he and others do not expect."

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CHAPTER VIALEXANDER FEODOROVITCH KERENSKY

Captain Rustenberg had been in St. Petersburgfor three weeks, and though he had succeeded ingathering considerable interesting informationconcerning the spirit prevailing among the socialistand anarchist circles of the capital, he had beenunable to meet one of the men with whom he hadbeen especially recommended to get acquaintedthe young lawyer known to his friends by thename of Kerensky. The captain was told thatKerensky was shy of strangers, probably becauseof his ignorance of any other language than Rus-sian. He had been advised that the strangerunderstood and spoke Russian as well as any Polecould do, yet he had contrived to elude him insome way or other. The captain was given tounderstand that Kerensky was a very suspiciousIndividual and that, connected as he was with ananti-governmental movement and being one ofthe leaders of the extreme radical factions in theDuma in addition, he was always anxious not to

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THE' FIREBRAND OF BOLSHEVISMbe drawn into utterances which might possiblycompromise him. Kerensky had been recentlydefending people accused of anarchist propaganda,and though he had been unable to save themfrom sentences of several years' banishment inSiberia, he had said enough to cause serious em-barrassment to their judges who might, perhaps,have shown themselves more lenient than was thecase if strong pressure had not been brought tobear and obliged them to be severe. But thisdefence, which was said to have been one of themost brilliant Kerensky had ever conducted, hadonce more brought him prominently into the pub-lic eye, and it was probable, or so at least it wassaid, that he would have been arrested in histurn had it not been for his parliamentaryimmunity as a member of the Duma. All thismade Captain Rustenberg, if possible, more anx-ious than before to meet the young lawyer, buthis efforts did not seem likely to be crowned withsuccess until at last he found himself face to facewith Kerensky quite by accident.

At this point it may not be out of place tosay a few words concerning the man who forunexplained and entirely unjustified reasons wasfor a brief period a popular idol abroad. Isay abroad with intention, because there were few

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KERENSKYpeople in Russia who shared the enthusiasm whichhe excited among those who did not know himwell and who saw in him the leader of the newRussia which was expected to arise at a moment'snotice from the ashes of the empire over which theRomanoffs had ruled for so long time. This newRussia, in the opinion of the followers of thisWremienchik, to use the old Russian expressionwhich signifies the man of the hour who has nohope of being the one of the next day, was to bea regenerated and better one than that which hadgone before, but his adversaries asserted thatunder his rule it would quickly become worseand at all events a different Russia than the worldhad known.

Unfortunately Kerensky lacked the principalcharacteristics of a statesman; he lacked experienceand knowledge of the routine of government, andhe had but a limited education with no idea what-soever of the feelings of people born and rearedin a different atmosphere from that in which hehad grown up himself. He was only a leaderof men, or, rather, of the passions of men, and,unfortunately for him and for his country, whatRussia required was more of a ruler than a leader she had more of the latter than she needed,though perhaps none so powerful as Kerensky.

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THE FIREBRAND OF BOLSHEVISMHe emerged from the complete and general chaosas Dictator and he added to this chaos all theweight of his unripe genius and his exuberantpersonality. He preached constantly a creedwhich it is doubtful if he believed himself. Thiswas the principal reason for his fall, for nationswill never follow those who have no confidencein themselves.

I knew Kerensky long before the Revolution,at a time when he was a briefless lawyer savewhen it came to defending political offenderswithout means to pay his fees. At that time noone dreamed of crediting him with a knowledgeof pohtics, though everyone admitted his elo-quence as a demagogue. He himself neverthought that one day he would be entrusted withthe responsibility of leading his country either inprosperity or in misfortune, and he never pre-pared himself for the task. He only put his witsto seeking the best means of destroying the presentstate of things without considering that the neces-sity would arise of replacing these conditions bybetter or more useful or more practical ones.When Kerensky was elected a member of the

Duma he at once assumed a leading part in itsdeliberations through his eloquence in which hedenounced abuses, which, though great, became

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KERENSKYeven greater after he had had the opportunityof disclosing them to the public. But no oneever imagined there was the stuff for the ministerin him, even on the very day of the Revolution.Through the fact that in a certain sense he hadobliged the President of the Duma, Rodzianko,to take the leadership of the movement which wasto overthrow the Czar and his

The Firebrand of Bolshevism: The True Story of the Bolsheviki and the Forces That Directed...

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