Show IN SIBERIAN EXILE I An American Citizen Doomed to a LifeLong Imprisonment Congressman P V Deustcr of Wisconsin is pressing before the Department of State at Washington a most singular casethe release of an American citizen of German birth nowta prisoner in the Russian iron mines of Siberia Mr Deuster I has taken an earnest interest in the case as he was personally acquainted acquain-ted with the prisoner Milwaukee where both residedandknows many of the circumstances connected with the romantic affair It seems from the papers which Mr Duester has laid before the Department of State that Franz Spiegel was born is Germany Ger-many and came to this country in 1850being then fourteen years of age His parents settled in Milwaukee and young Franz was placed in the Badger Iron Works to learn the boilermaking trade From the outset out-set the boy took a deep interest in his work and soon became a most skilful workman His great hobby was sheet iron and its manufacture and the fact that the United Stated was so far behind Russia in this branch of industry worried Franz terribly Mr Cummings the proprietor pro-prietor of the iron works says he never saw a young man so complete amouoraaniac on any subject as Franz was on that of sheet iron and he often said in shop that within ten years he would solve the great Russian secret or die in the attempt His comrades who liked Franz very much tried to turn his mind from the subject but without avail Iii 1856 he left the Badger Iron Works He had saved up some little money and when he left he told his shop mates they might say what they pleasedand think what they pleased he was going to Russia and he was going to learn the Russian secret of making sheetiron before he came back He also asked MrCunimings if he Franz learned this secret and I could make the iron here as well as they aid in Russia if Mr C would I furnish the capital to establish the manufacture of the iron in Milwaukee Milwau-kee Mr Cummings after endeavoring endeav-oring in every way to turn Franzs mind from his apparently foolish project Wanted and Franz went away seemingly very happy At the time Franz Spiegel left Milwaukee he was ENGAGED TO A YOUNG GIRL Of German parentage in that city For three years the lady nor any body else heard a word from Franz and then came a letter from the adventurer ad-venturer It detailed his trials and sufferings in Russia how he had toiled and worked and even begged to sustain life He had failed to accomplish ac-complish his end The manufacture or sheetiron was in the hands of the Russian Government and the workmen are all life prisonersOnce they entered the terrible mine they never left it until death released them and the secret was so well kept that it seemed unfathomable Franz did not know whether he should succeed or not but he was as firmly determined as ever to push his work to the end even to death or what was even worse a life in the terrible Siberian mines stared him in the face He said that he had brought all his wits to work but they had failed him There was now nothing for him to do but to simply join a party of life prisoners going to the mines get into the works as a prisoner and remain until un-til he learned the deeply hidden se cretand trust to luck to escape with his great prize He bade the girl wait and hope and pray for him and not give may to despair Within the ten years that he had promised he would have the great secret and be on his way to Milwaukee Milwau-kee and then there would be wealth unbounded for their enjoyment This iras a sad blow to all the hopes of the young girl She could see that the chances were strongly against any such plan as Franz proposed succeeding aud she wrote him begging beg-ging and praying that he give up his worse than foolish scheme and come home He was a skilled workman work-man and could make his fortune here She never heard from Franz againand within five years worried herself to death for her lover To the last she insisted that Franz was A PRISONER IN THE SIBERIAN MINES I I And suffering all the tortures that the worst taskmasters could inflict It is believed by Franzs relatives and friends in Milwaukee that he had in his wild efforts died Inquiries In-quiries were made through official circles but nothing was heard from the young man and he and his wild scheme dropped from the memory i mem-ory of all Something like three I years ago there came a strange rumor ru-mor about Franz Spiegel How it was set on foot nobody could tell It was that Franz had carried out his project after everything else had failed had mixed up with a party of political prisoners on their way to the mines to serve for lifeand was then in the mines but unable to escape I es-cape The rumor was thought to be I the overflowing of some imaginative brainBut following therumorcam I 1 rumor came a line from Franz himself saying that he was in the mines and that I I there was no escape for him He had believed that when his secret I j was learned and he announced that he was no prisoner but he had been sent te Siberia by a blunder he would be released On the contrary every time he had hinted of such a thing h had been scourged with the terrible knout and he despa red ot ever being able to escape He be leived the officers over tile prisoners must have had an inkling who and what he was and they kept such a guard over him that it seemed im po sible to even communicate with a fellow prisoner For years be had I been unable to do > this but finally had sucoaeded in explaining his position po-sition to a prisonerand this prisoner althoughsentenced for lifehad been released on thejanniversary1 of tIle Emperors birthday for saving the life of a prominent official The released re-leased prisoner brought the intelligence intelli-gence of Franzs position and also I I the letter which Franz had written The intelligencenow confirmedwas like news from the other world to I those who had known Franz and immediate steps were taken to secure se-cure his release l Chey had no difficulty diffi-culty in securing Congressman Duesters aid and it is now believed I that the attention of the United States Sta-tes Government will be so strongly called to the matter that if Franz Spiegel is now alive he will be liberated lib-erated and come home bringing with him the terrible secret which has caused him so much sorrow and suffering suf-fering |