AMAZING STORY OF RASPUTIN.

Press, Volume LIV, Issue 16142, 21 February 1918, Page 8

AMAZING STORY OF RASPUTIN.

— 1 THE "BLACK MONK OF RUSSIA." (BY THE COUNTESS RADZIWILL.) New Zealand Rights Specially Secured by "The Press." CHAPTER VI. THE WAR VERSUS RASPUTIN. It was perhaps a good piece of luck for Rasputin that he was not in St. Petersburg when Germany attacked us so unexpectedly. It is quite probable that if he had found himself in tho capital at the time he would have intrigued in so many ways that lie might hare put even the Sovereign in an embarrassing position, in the sense that any hesitations which might have produced themselves in the decisions of the Government would have been attributed to the influence of the "Prophet." At this time of national crisis it certainly would have been a misfortune if anything had occurred likely to endanger the prestige of tho dynasty. But in regard to Rasputin himself it is likely that his absence delayed the conspiracy which resulted in his death, as he was forgotten for the moment, so intensely was public opinion preoccupied with the grave events that were taking place. Later on, after the disaster of Tannenberg, the friends of the "Prophet," in order to win back for him some popularity, spread the rumour that he had, from distant Pokrowskoie, written to one of his warmest patronesses, Madame W., that he had had a vision, during which it had been revealed to him that tho Russian armies were to march Immediately upon Eastern Prussia, where it would bo possible to deal a decisive blow at the pnemy, and to do so with all their strength. Now this is . precisely what was not dope, owing to the military misconception of the Russian General Staff, which, for political rea- ! sons, started to proceed to the conquest of Galicia, that could have bean delayed with advantage until after the Prussian monster, if not killed, had been at least seriously damaged. The enemies of the Grand Duke Nicholas, of whem there were plenty, seized hold of this rumour, and rallied themselves round Rasputin, declaring that once more God had intervened In favour of Holy Russia, in blessing it with a prophet whoso clear glance and visions could be relied upon far better than the strategical combinations of the Grand Xhike tliat had proved such a complete failure. The Grand I>uke was accused of having dispatched two army corps into the Mazurian region without having takon sufficient precaution to ensure their safety, and it was said that the only one who had seen clearly the disaster which had overtaken these corps had been Rasputin, and that it had been revealed to him ' direct from Hoaven even before it had taken place. All this was great nonsense, of course, but. nevertheless, it did a considerable ] amount of harm. One must not lose sight of ono fact when one judges the whole history of the impostor who for so many years contrived to occupy with his personality the attention of tho Russian public, and that is that his sermons and utterances appealed to that mystical side of the Slav character which in all hours of great national crises and misfortunes asserts itself in a manner quito incomprehensible to the Occidental mind. It is sufficient to have looked upon the crowds kneeling in the streets of St. Petersburg, and of Moscow, during those eventful August days which saw the breaking out of the catastrophe, to become persuaded of the fact that they reckoned more oil God's intervention on their behalf than on the efficacy of any guns or 6oldiers to ensure a victory for the Russian arms. WAR SPECULATORS UiSE HIM. Rasputin for a short period became once more a national hero, at least in the eyes of the select circle that had first brought him prominently before the public, and they began to say among this circle tnat until one followed his directions and gave oneself up entirely to the service of God in the manner it pleased him to recommend, the campaign that had just begun would never be won. For other people, too, the return of the "Prophet" to Petrograd, as St. Petersburg had been rechristened, was also a boon. All the speculators, army purveyors, and interested in army contracts awaited him with an impatience which surpassed every a*}d they surrounded him' at once and laid siege not bo much to his person as to the influence which he was supposed to possess. There are innumerable anecdotes (Copyright, 1917, by th« Public Ledges Company, U.S.A.) {Australasian Copyright by Um: Sunday Times Newspaper Cc.j Ltd., Sydney.)

about this period in the career of Rasputin, each" more amusing au<l each more incredible than the others. I shall here quote a few. A Danish gentleman had arrived in Petrograd from Copenhagen with a load of medicines and different pharmaceutical products which he wanted to sell to the Red Cross. He brought excellent credentials with him, and ho imagined that the business would be a relativejy easy one. But to his surprise ho found that this was not at all the case. Though the prices which he asked for liis goods were not at all high compared with tlioso current in the Hussian capital, he could not get rid of them, and he was always put oft until the next day. At last he became discouraged. and was already thinking of returning home when he met in the lounge of the principal hotel of Petrograd (famed for the financial transactions which were regularly taking V>l;k:c under its roof) a Jew wiio, seeing him looking worried and annoyed, asked what was the matter. The Dane then related his.story, adding that he failed to understand why at a time when the things which lie had brought with him were in great demand he could not sell them, though he had lowered his prices to a point below which it was quite impossible for him to go any further. The Jew looked at him for some minutes, then asked him whether he would feel inclined, if ho could help him to dispose of his wares at a profit, to givo a large commission in "exchange. The Dane, of course, assented, and the Jew took him the next day to Rasputin, to whom ho told a long story of "which tho seller of the articles in question understood nothing at all, but which culminated in tho "Prophet" scribbling something in pencil on a dirty scran of paper, and handing it to his visitors. The same afternoon the two men went to the. head offices of the Red Cross, accompanied by another gentleman, who introduced himself as Rasputin's secretary. To tho intense surprise of tho I Dane, the medicines which ho had'been trying uselessly to sell for three weeks were at once accepted on the producing of the "Prophet's" note, and sold at such an enormous profit that he remained absolutely astounded. The contract was signed there and then, and a cheque handed to the happy seller. His two companions then accompanied him -to tho bank, where-he handed over to them their share in _tho transaction, Rasputin's representatives taking the lion's share, of course, but whether for his master or for hifflsel/ ' has never been ascertained. PATRIOTISM OF OFFICIAL RUSSIA. Another example is still more typical. There existed in Petrograd a German, who had lived there for years, and who had acquired considerable property, among other things several houses _in Petrograd. bringing him a large income. Very soon after the breaking out of the -war the properties belonging to the enemy were sequestrated, ' ancl German subjects sent awa.v from the capital to live out the war in some northern Government or other. The same fate overtook our friend. But he was a man of resources, and he iinTTiediatelv proceeded to pay a visit to Manussewitsch Maniuloff. The latter was about the last man capable 'or allowing such a wonderful chance \to escape him. How he managed he did not say, and the German never cared to learn, but he was allowed not only to remain in Petrograd, but also to sell his houses to a personage occupy- < ing such a very important administrative position that no one cared or dared to' enquire of liim whether l:e paid into tho bank, as he ougut to have done, the price of his acquisitions, or whether he gave it in the shapeoorf r a cheque on a foreign bank to the seller. And to crown the whole matter, the German in question was allowed to leave Russia with all due honours, and received the position or official buyer of different military goods for the Itussian Government in Scandinavia. He 'soon managed to indemnify himself to tho full for the loss he had 1 incurred in parting from fcis property for a mere song, and in paying the three hundred thousand roubles commission which- Manussewitsch Maniuloff and Rasputin had together obtained from him. "GRAFT" IN ARMY CONTRACTS. Such things were of daily occurrence, known to the general and <u course commented upon in term* which were anything but favourable to the "Prophet." The latter, however did not mind, and seemed absolutely, convinced of immunity m. regard to the different transactions m which lie indulged and which increased in importance every day. He began to give his special attention to the w teresting matter of army cgfgg and there he found a very neb fie ® to explore. " All the different _agentj and intermediaries who _ such a notable element m Pjog crowded around hun, offering him services, or imploring his h e 'P r. kinds of shady business, out of which no one with the exception of himself got a Bingle penny. . ~h to him, bad cartridges w er e <lehveied to the army; rotten meat, or meat at a fabulous price, was sold for Us wants, and not only sold on , - several times over. -No matter how strange this last assertion may sound, it is absolutely tree. If at the beginning of the war people were afraia to indulge in that kind of sport, "J® J! became adepts at it later on, and to® only art which was practised in rcg-ru to it consisted in bribing an official not to put the Government stamp on UJ goods which were delivered to the Kea Cross or to the Commissariat Department, an omission which allows the? to be returned to those who had « - ready onco disposed of them, and thus become the object of a De A I ? n l a n tion, perhaps even more profitable than the first. (To ba continued to-morrow.) the first sn*eeze IS THE DANGER SIGNAL. ossc Everywhere