THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 RIVERSIDE
 
 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI
 
 &u 35 7 
 
 TRAILING 
 THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 TWELVE THOUSAND MILES WITH 
 THE ALLIES IN SIBERIA 
 
 BY 
 
 CARL W. ACKERMAN 
 
 Special Correspondent of The New York Times 
 
 NEW YORK 
 
 CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS 
 1919
 
 A 56 
 
 COPYRIGHT, 1919, BT 
 
 CHARLES SCRIBNEB'S SONS 
 
 Published June. 1919 
 
 COPYRIGHT, 1918, 1919, BY THE NEW YORK TIMES 
 COPYRIGHT, 1919, BY THE CURTIS PUBLISHING CO.
 
 a 
 
 THE AMERICAN EXILES IN SIBERIA
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 ONE war is over and another conflict begins. Fol- 
 lowing the tracks of Thor is visible the trail of the 
 Bolsheviki. 
 
 The armistice marked only a pause in the great world 
 cataclysm a pause where the contest ceased only long 
 enough for the participants to change from nations 
 to individuals. The Treaty of Peace, while recording 
 the close of the war between the Associated Powers 
 and the Central Empires, is but a sign to indicate the 
 end of the War of Nations and the beginning of the 
 period of reconstruction. The transition is from an 
 international conflict of governments to a world con- 
 test between reconstruction forces -between those 
 who believe in destroying the world to rebuild it and 
 those who desire to accept the world as it is to remodel 
 it. 
 
 The two contestants are Bolshevism, or class in- 
 dividualism and a league of nations, or a union of 
 world governments. The essential difference between 
 the two is that the former demands a revolution of 
 action and the latter symbolizes a revolution of opinion 
 and adjustment. 
 
 For five years I have been travelling as a corre- 
 spondent within and without belligerent and neutral 
 countries in Europe, Asia, and the Americas, follow- 
 ing the developments of the war and studying the 
 political and industrial causes and incentives of mass 
 action. In Germany, in the old Hapsburg Monarchy,
 
 viii INTRODUCTION 
 
 in Belgium, France, Poland, Rumania, and Siberia 
 I followed the god of war and reported numerous events 
 of fighting. This winter I followed the trail of the 
 Bolsheviki over 12,000 miles in Russia, from Vladivos- 
 tok to Ekaterinburg, where the Tzar is believed to 
 have been done to death, and back again to New York 
 via China and Japan. I met the Bolshevist vanguard 
 in Switzerland and in the United States, and some of 
 the exiles in Spain and Mexico. Over the face of the 
 globe winds the serpentine trail of the revolutionists, a 
 part of which I have followed and traversed. 
 
 From time to time on my journeys I have been in 
 contact or in communication with those who have 
 been dreaming and laboring for a world society of 
 governments. With many statesmen and the chief 
 executives of several nations I have discussed the 
 problems and possibilities of international co-opera- 
 tion, and I have had the good fortune of knowing some 
 of the men who wrote the first draft of a world consti- 
 tution. In travelling and living with armies, refugees, 
 and civilians I have had an opportunity of feeling the 
 pulse of peoples under war conditions and the circum- 
 stances of reconstruction in no less than eighteen coun- 
 tries. 
 
 Looking back upon my contact with statesmen, 
 soldiers, and non-combatants, I discern something of 
 the development and the problems and programmes 
 of these two international forces which are working 
 to-day for a new world: Bolshevism and a league of 
 nations. 
 
 Bolshevism is the Russian name for a revolutionary- 
 mo vement which has as its object the overthrowing
 
 INTRODUCTION ix 
 
 of existing governments and society and the revolu- 
 tionization of industry and commerce. Bolshevism 
 is caused by industrial discontent, social unrest, and 
 by the unsettled conditions in a nation passing through 
 the transition period from war to peace. It is a polit- 
 ical programme formulated and supported by those 
 who have lost faith hi political leaders and govern- 
 ment. The Bolsheviki believe in razing the world 
 in order to rebuild it. 
 
 The League of Nations is the name given to a group 
 of world governments organized for the purpose of 
 bringing about international co-operation, unity, and 
 understanding in international, political, and commer- 
 cial relations. The demand for such a society is due 
 to the failure of alliances, spheres of influence, and the 
 balancing of power. The universal desire of the public 
 that governments co-operate in an attempt to minimize 
 and limit the possibilities of international conflicts, was 
 the foundation upon which the league was built. The 
 fundamental object of a society of governments is to 
 reconstruct the world upon a new basis; upon a basis 
 of mutual understanding regarding international law, 
 commerce, trade routes, and the maintenance of agree- 
 ments. The League of Nations proposes to accept the 
 world as it is and attempt through mutual discussion 
 and exchange of ideas to rebuild, reconstruct, and re- 
 vitalize it. 
 
 The war ran a race with revolution and won in the 
 Allied and neutral countries. It won the first lap of 
 the race which ended with the signing of the armistice, 
 but the second is beginning between a revolution of 
 action and a revolution of opinion. The outcome is
 
 x INTRODUCTION 
 
 not visible to-day because it depends upon the speed 
 with which opinions change. The mind of the mass 
 moves rapidly, and there is peace both within or with- 
 out a nation only so long as those who direct the public 
 policies keep abreast or ahead of the opinions of the 
 people. "The opinion of the world is the mistress of 
 the world." The world-wide revolutionary movement 
 of to-day is essentially only a, universal sentiment in 
 favor of a better world after this war. Four years of 
 intense discussion of war issues has fed the minds of 
 the people with new ideas and higher ideals. Thus 
 far this great mass of humanity has not formulated 
 these into a plan of action or a programme for realiza- 
 tion. People are looking, as always, to their leaders. 
 
 A revolution of action develops when the mass mind 
 moves too rapidly for statesmen and governments to 
 change their opinions and laws, or when governments 
 fail to sense the power of the will of the mass. Revo- 
 lutions of action were successful in Russia, Germany, 
 Austria-Hungary, Turkey, and Bulgaria when those 
 who directed the governments and industries did not 
 heed the desires of the people. There will be similar 
 eruptions in other nations unless these compelling 
 lessons of the war are applied elsewhere. The pre- 
 dominant force back of a union of world governments 
 is the limitless longing of war-weary people that an 
 attempt be made to solve international and national 
 problems without bloodshed and destruction. On 
 the other hand, the industrial crusaders of Bolshevism 
 contend that the world can only be purged by fire and 
 blood. 
 
 This is not a temporary question but the problem
 
 INTRODUCTION xi 
 
 of a generation. In Siberia, after the revolution, both 
 the Bolsheviki and the Allies, working as a nucleus 
 of a league of nations, failed. Both reconstruction 
 forces were unsuccessful. The experiences of the writer 
 in this vast domain will serve as material for illustra- 
 tions of the failure of Bolshevism and the difficulties 
 of international concerted action. In Siberia Bol- 
 shevism and a union of foreign governments clashed 
 for the first time. This is what makes Siberia the only 
 laboratory at present available for an analysis of these 
 two reconstruction forces. In trailing the Bolsheviki, 
 I have followed and crossed the tracks of the revolu- 
 tion of action, not alone in Siberia, but in Germany, 
 Hungary, Switzerland, and the United States. 
 
 "Give us peace and give us bread," said an old 
 Russian peasant in the Amur. That is the world prob- 
 lem. Peace, bread, work, and opportunity are the 
 demands of the people. 
 
 Peace will not come immediately after the ratifica- 
 tion of the treaty in France. Peace will come only 
 by slow stages of development. The long period of 
 reconstruction which will follow the end of this war 
 will be an era of constant conflict between the men 
 and women who are to rebuild the world after their 
 own ideas. No one doubts that the new world must 
 be and will be different from the old, but there will 
 be grave disagreements about the methods of recon- 
 struction. There will be those who wish to tear down 
 hi order to rebuild and others who will seek to remake 
 by gradual adjustment. 
 
 The pendulum of history has swung from reaction 
 to revolution, but civilization has been advanced only
 
 xii INTRODUCTION 
 
 when the pendulum swung backward and forward 
 evenly over the arc of Time. The pendulum is now 
 swinging from the extreme of war to the extreme of 
 reconstruction. It is the task of the peoples and gov- 
 ernments of the world to generate the gravity which 
 makes the pendulum swing ceaselessly and regularly, 
 ticking the hours of progress which make the days 
 of happiness and the centuries of advancement. 
 
 CARL W. ACKERMAN. 
 
 NEW YORK CITY, 
 May, 1919.
 
 CONTENTS 
 
 PAQB 
 
 INTRODUCTION vii 
 
 CHAPTEB 
 
 I. FROM NEW YORK TO VLADIVOSTOK .... 1 
 
 II. IN THE LAND or "NITCHEVO" 16 
 
 III. THE HUMAN VOLCANOES 36 
 
 IV. IN THE WHIRLPOOL OF THE NORTH .... 59 
 V. THE FATE OF THE TZAR 83 
 
 VI. AT CZECHOSLOVAK HEADQUARTERS v . 107 
 
 VII. THE BIRTH OF A GOVERNMENT IN RUSSIA . . 137 
 
 VIII. AMERICAN AND ALLIED EXILES IN RUSSIA . . 160 
 
 IX. DECISIVE DAYS IN SIBERIA . . . . . . 179 
 
 X. VAGABONDING BACK TO VLADIVOSTOK. . . . 203 
 
 XI. JAPANESE ACTIVITIES IN SIBERIA 225 
 
 XII. BOLSHEVISM OUTSIDE OF RUSSIA 247 
 
 XIII. THE RUSSIAN CO-OPERATIVE UNIONS .... 267 
 
 XIV. THE FUTURE OF PEACE 275 
 
 APPENDIX: A. CONSTITUTION OF THE RUSSIAN SOCIAL- 
 IST FEDERATED SOVIET REPUBLIC . . 281 
 
 B. COVENANT OF THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS 297 
 xiii
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 Staff of the A. E. F. in Vladivostok Frontispiece 
 
 FACING PAGE! 
 
 View of a typical Russian city, showing the wide streets and 
 
 small carriages or "droshkies" 38 
 
 A typical Siberian village scene 48 
 
 American railroad engineers in Siberia 64 
 
 Professor IpatiefPs home in Ekaterinburg, where the Tzar 
 and his family were last imprisoned by the Ural District 
 
 Soviet 84 
 
 Wives of Bolshevist political prisoners in the Ekaterinburg jail 108 
 
 Conference of Czecho-Slovak soldiers ....... 134 
 
 A common sight along the Russian railroads 150 
 
 Lt.-Col. 0. P. Robinson, Chief of Staff, A. E. F 166 
 
 General Otani, Commander-in-Chief of the Allied forces . . 166 
 
 General Knox (seated) with his Chief of Staff 168 
 
 Destruction of the railroad by the Bolsheviki 174 
 
 General Janin reviewing troops of the new Russian army . 176 
 
 U. S. troops in Khabarovsk freight yards 184 
 
 xv
 
 xvi ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 PACING PAGE 
 
 Presentation of the standards to the Second Czecho-Slovak 
 
 Division 204 
 
 Japanese troops in Vladivostok 234 
 
 Ataman of the Usuri Cossacks, General Kalmykoff , with Lieu- 
 tenant Brown of the U. S. Army, in Khabarovsk . . 240
 
 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI
 
 CHAPTER I 
 FROM NEW YORK TO VLADIVOSTOK 
 
 EIGHT thousand miles west of New York lies the 
 city of Vladivostok, "Tzar of the East," under the 
 empire, but to-day the political melting-pot of the 
 Orient and an abandoned outpost on the trail of 
 the Bolsheviki. It was a long journey from the United 
 States to Peter the Great Gulf and this Siberian sea- 
 port and dismantled naval-station. Across the con- 
 tinent and the Pacific via San Francisco, the Hawaiian 
 Islands, Yokohama, and Tsuruga, I travelled thirty- 
 seven days before I saw the cliffs of Golden Horn Bay 
 silhouetted against the dull gray sky of an October 
 morning. The distance and the time were impressive 
 and appalling. It seemed a long way to go to join 
 the Allied armies in Russia as a correspondent and 
 to follow the military vanguard on its ill-fated cam- 
 paign against the Red army, but as the days and weeks 
 passed, these elements became insignificant, because 
 time and distance are not measured, after all, so much 
 by hours and miles as by events, and the action or lack 
 of it in Siberia was destined to bring the United States 
 and Russia closer together than they were on the map. 
 
 Between New York and Vladivostok lies the con- 
 tinent, the Pacific and Japan, the Occident and the 
 Orient the East and the Far East nations allied 
 in a great war and still mysteries to each other. Rid- 
 
 1
 
 2 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 ing from the Atlantic to the Western seaboard of the 
 United States there was evident the preparation and 
 development of a united nation for war in France, 
 Flanders, and Italy. To Americans, Siberia was an 
 incident, not an event; a playhouse, not a war theatre. 
 
 To those living in our Eastern States the war in 
 Europe was the most vital part of their lives, although 
 they may not have taken a direct physical part in any 
 war activity. They followed the progress of events 
 in France and Washington with such concentrated 
 interest that the latest news was of more importance 
 to their peace of mind than an essential meal. But 
 the farther West one travelled, as the distance which 
 separated Western cities from Europe increased, the 
 interest in the war seemed to be linked to Europe 
 by a rubber band, which snapped back when the strain 
 became too great. It was a strain to follow the war 
 developments in France as intently in San Francisco 
 as in New York or Philadelphia. The vital news 
 reached the West, but all of the color and detail were 
 missing. Between the Atlantic and Pacific there 
 seemed to be an invisible news-sieve which permitted 
 only the biggest reports to reach the West. 
 
 It was not alone in respect to news that this was 
 true. There was more food and more varieties of edi- 
 bles, which became noticeable as soon as the Rocky 
 Mountains were crossed. That State which is some- 
 times called the "Land of Perpetual Summer" was not 
 Hooverized to the extent of those east of Ohio, and 
 it was a curious but actual experience that the more 
 food one obtained the less one felt the war. 
 
 Sailing on an old Japanese liner which had been
 
 lashed and rocked by the waves of the Pacific for more 
 than a decade, from Frisco to Yokohama, when the 
 war in France was rapidly approaching a climax, one 
 felt that the Pacific Ocean was well-named by its dis- 
 coverer, for the Germans were not able to disturb its 
 tranquillity. It was, indeed, a "subless" sea which only 
 those who crossed the Atlantic during the U-boat war- 
 fare could fully appreciate. Instead of those tense 
 days and uncertain nights, with their ceaseless rumor 
 and semiconscious slumber, which were then the ac- 
 companiment of all trans-Atlantic journeys, there 
 were days and weeks so devoid of war sensations, of 
 submarine activities, of life-boat drills, and of passing 
 convoys, that one was glad there was, at least, a pi- 
 rateless Pacific. 
 
 Aboard the old Nippon Maru, the "swimming" Nip- 
 pon, great abysses separated one from Europe. There 
 was the calm and non-belligerency of the ocean, the 
 lack of detailed and daily information about our armies 
 in France, and the abundance of food with hundreds 
 of varieties from California, Hawaii, and Japan. These 
 great divides separated the traveller from the enemy. 
 But as this vast gulf widened one became conscious 
 of the fact that the half -hemisphere which separated 
 New York from Siberia and eastern Russia was nar- 
 rowing, and that East and Far East were meeting in 
 Vladivostok. New York and the Eastern States seemed 
 near to France and to the fighting because the At- 
 lantic was bridged by human ties, by ships, news, and 
 trade. The extreme Orient seemed far; Siberia was 
 only a cold, bleak prison for the Tzar's exiles because 
 these scores of interests and personal connections of
 
 4 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 a familiar Europe were lacking. But now, at last, 
 the Pacific was destined to be spanned by the same 
 forces which linked the United States to England, 
 Belgium, and France, except that the submarines did 
 not appear to stain that placid sea of blue. While 
 the " U-bootkrieg " severed the official lines between 
 Washington and Berlin only to bind together more 
 closely those human and national bonds between 
 America and the Allies, it had by its very absence 
 from the Pacific brought about the same results and 
 bound the United States, England, France, and Italy 
 to China, Japan and Siberia through unobstructed 
 trade. 
 
 A few miles off the Golden Gate the American pilot 
 was dropped, and on the Nippon Maru I discovered 
 the Far East and Russia in miniature! Here were 
 the extreme types and the commonplace of the Orient 
 and the Far Northeast. Monarchist, Bolshevist, and 
 Social Revolutionist of Russia passed on the decks or 
 in^the hold the extremes of China, the lazy "coolie" 
 who gambled day and night and the progressive Chi- 
 nese merchant en route to Hongkong with his Latin- 
 American wife. Here were Japanese professors, officers, 
 and business men bound for Tokyo and Kobe with 
 their compact brains stored with Western ideas; West- 
 ern ideas of commerce and war. English and American 
 professors en route to Manila and Shanghai; English 
 bankers and American exporters; United States army 
 officers and engineers; Italians, Brazilians, and Chilians 
 were all bound for Russia, China, and Japan. 
 
 This steamer was only one of many which had been 
 carrying Russians from every section of America as
 
 FROM NEW YORK TO VLADIVOSTOK 5 
 
 well as from France and England back to their native 
 land via Siberia. The revolution opened the gates 
 for the exiles and foreign refugees and the Bolshevist 
 from the East Side; the Revolutionist from New Jersey 
 and the Monarchist from Paris met on the Pacific en 
 route to Russia to search for relatives or take part in 
 political propaganda. These ships which sailed un- 
 heralded from our Western ports for Siberia and Japan 
 were weaving a cloth of commerce and political in- 
 terests over the Pacific. They were the shuttles sewing 
 the coasts of the Far East and the West together. 
 
 In the air the wireless reported daily the events 
 which followed in quick succession the landing of the 
 Japanese and Allies hi Vladivostok, and their march 
 down the Usuri Valley in pursuit of the Bolsheviki. 
 All fronts have a beginning in military action and 
 there was action already in Siberia. It was a battle- 
 front hi the making. 
 
 Coming from Japan were other ships, which, steam- 
 ing by in the distance, sent news of the "new front" 
 not in bulletin form but in detail. They told of the 
 progress of the Japanese troops in Siberia and Man- 
 churia, of the towns and cities freed of Bolshevists. 
 They described the cavalry charges, the counter- 
 attacks, the retirement of the enemy and, at the end 
 of one message was a brief paragraph saying that the 
 twenty-one Japanese soldiers and officers, killed in 
 action, were being brought back to Nippon for burial ! 
 
 And most of us had to look up the Usuri River on 
 the map, for it was as new to us as the Marne to Amer- 
 icans before the war. Ignorance plays a surprising 
 role in life and world events. A lack of understanding
 
 6 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 and knowledge especially of foreign countries and 
 international politics is perhaps one of the causes of 
 the Siberian debacle, which could not be sensed in 
 the beginning by Americans and Allies because of 
 their lack of knowledge of Russia. How strange the 
 Far East is to the average American was evidenced 
 one night on the ship when a Chicago merchant, en 
 route to India on his first ocean voyage, to whom Si- 
 beria was a million miles away from his office in the 
 McCormick building, looked down into the hatch, 
 watching the Chinese play "fan- tan." It was a new 
 game and a new experience to him and he rushed to 
 the first cabin to spread the news that the "coolies 
 are gambling with gold." Many of us, sceptical be- 
 cause of the thorough search by the United States 
 Custom officials for gold before we left San Francisco, 
 accompanied him to the lower deck to see the yellow 
 metal and the yellow hands, but, alas! the "gold" 
 was mere Chinese brass sen pieces, of which it is said 
 it takes a wheel-barrow full to make a dollar, glistening 
 like gold in the yellow rays of the electric lights ! And 
 our ideas of Siberia before seven thousand five hun- 
 dred American soldiers were landed there, under the 
 command of Major-General William S. Graves, was 
 as glaring as this Middle Western merchant's knowl- 
 edge of Chinese customs. 
 
 Travelling during the war one had more than the 
 simple advantages of comfort over the days of Co- 
 lumbus. Ships in war-time were melting-pots of na- 
 tions. Columbus had to wait until he sighted land 
 or until he stepped ashore before he could learn the 
 language, the customs, or the ideas of a new people.
 
 FROM NEW YORK TO VLADIVOSTOK 7 
 
 To-day one meets the citizens of all countries on the 
 steamers, especially Russians on the ships which ply 
 between America and Russia. Since the Russian revo- 
 lution thousands of Russians have crossed the Pacific 
 and these men and women who were residents of New 
 York, Seattle, Chicago, and Newark have flocked to 
 the land of their birth to become officials or business 
 men. One of the Bolshevist commissars of Khaba- 
 rovsk, the capital of the Amur, was a Chicago lawyer. 
 Petrograd and Moscow were filled with political agi- 
 tators from New York and New Jersey. In nearly 
 every Siberian city were refugees from cities on our 
 western coast. On the Nippon Maru were more of 
 these Russian-Americans en route to their native 
 land, Bolshevist, Menshevist, and Monarchist, plotter 
 and peaceful citizen. 
 
 Walking the deck one evening I met a young Rus- 
 sian Jew from one of the communicating suburbs of 
 New York. He had been in the United States three 
 years, and was now en route to Russia to search for his 
 family which he had left in a small town near Moscow. 
 
 "I don't know ver my vife iss," he said. "I half 
 not heard about her or my children since April." 
 
 "You have an American passport?" I asked. 
 
 "No, a Russian." 
 
 "Were you in sympathy with the revolution?" 
 
 "Zertainly," was his quick answer. He was a keen, 
 determined fellow and his English, while not perfect, 
 showed that he had been utilizing every opportunity 
 to improve it in his humble circumstances because 
 he had been working in a junk-shop near Newark, and 
 had saved five thousand dollars in three years!
 
 8 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 "I tink, I mean 'I think/ it will be the greatest 
 blessing there could be for the Russian people," he 
 added. "You don't know what it was before. I do. 
 I was born there. I lived there. I married there. It 
 was hell. I left." 
 
 "And now you are going back?" I asked. 
 
 "To get my family," he replied, and we walked back 
 and forth under the canvas awning over the promenade 
 deck while he stared impatiently at the calm southern 
 sea, his mind four thousand miles away, and I watched 
 the rays of moonlight dance on the deck as the ship 
 rolled silently and monotonously. Finally I asked 
 him if he was a Bolshevist. 
 
 "Niet! I mean 'No,'" he retorted harshly. 
 
 "What does the word 'Bolsheviki' mean?" I asked. 
 
 "Maximum or majority," he replied. "There were 
 two factions of the Social Democratic party. The 
 Bolshevists and the Menshevists. The first desired 
 the maximum programme of Karl Marx and the other 
 the minimum." 
 
 "Are you a Socialist?" I questioned. 
 
 "Niet!" and then he paused. "I'm in business. 
 I'm a partner in the junk business in Newark," he 
 answered with pride. "I half taken my first papers 
 out." 
 
 Another Russian passenger, a Monarchist, had come 
 from Paris. He was being financed on his present 
 journey by wealthy Russians in Washington. At 
 various times in his life he had been school-teacher, 
 army officer, and priest. He claimed to be the owner 
 of considerable property near Petrograd, and was 
 such a firm believer in the Tzar he could not imagine
 
 FROM NEW YORK TO VLADIVOSTOK 9 
 
 the "Little Father" dead. During the voyage he 
 wrote essays in French to prove to an American lieu- 
 tenant that there was more " Culture" in Russia than 
 in the United States. He had neither patience for, 
 nor interest in, any other faction hi Russia than the 
 Royalists, and he and the other Russians would get 
 in such bitter arguments that they seemed to long 
 for a landing in Russia so they could fight it out be- 
 tween themselves hi then: own country. But after 
 they reached Vladivostok each went his way to fight 
 with words, for they were either patriots or paid propa- 
 gandists. 
 
 This ship controversy over Russia proved to be 
 more than an amusing farce, and a rather accurate 
 forecast of the situation in Siberia. There was about 
 the same possibility of uniting our Russian passengers 
 on a programme of relief or war or reconstruction as 
 there proved to be possibilities of uniting the Russian 
 factions. Revolutionists recognized no compromise. 
 That was a plank in their political and industrial pro- 
 gramme, and as for the Militarists and Monarchists, 
 neither history nor war had taught them the lessons 
 of concession. 
 
 Shortly before we left the United States the Allied 
 governments had announced their decision to land 
 troops hi Siberia, and by the time we were at sea the 
 Japanese, Americans, Englishmen, and Frenchmen 
 were marched into the Amur hi pursuit of the Bol- 
 sheviki. At that time the common impression was 
 that the Bolshevists were German agents, and the ob- 
 ject of the Allies, although rather cloudy, appeared 
 to be to attack the Bolshevists through Russia the
 
 10 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 back door to Germany. The Czecho-Slovak revo- 
 lutionary army had been fighting since the latter part 
 of May, and the Allies were entering Russia ostensibly 
 to assist them, not in a campaign against Russia, but 
 on behalf of the Russians ! 
 
 I had my credentials to the Czecho-Slovak army 
 issued in Washington when President T. G. Masaryk 
 was representing the National Council of Czecho- 
 slovakia in the United States. I had letters of credence 
 to the Japanese, French, British, Italian, and Chinese 
 forces, and was accredited to the A. E. F., but I had 
 a confused idea of what might be the developments 
 in Russia, because it was almost impossible to fathom 
 the policies or the plans of the associated Powers. 
 There had been more disagreement and mystery about 
 the " Russian problem" than about any other phase 
 of the war, and, as I read the declared intentions of 
 the Allies before they landed their forces in Russia 
 and studied the reports which I had taken with me 
 aboard the ship, the difference of opinion between the 
 United States and the Allies became more and more 
 evident. Of the numerous proposals which had been 
 considered by the associated governments there were 
 two plans of action upon which the Powers were divided. 
 Japan, England, and France were in favor of strong 
 military intervention. Great pressure had been brought 
 to bear upon Washington to permit the Japanese to 
 intervene alone. Although there were indications that 
 Japan would accept the task, if granted a free hand 
 by the Allies and the United States, there were dangers 
 ahead which the United States could not overlook. 
 Washington, on the other hand, steadfastly contended
 
 FROM NEW YORK TO VLADIVOSTOK 11 
 
 that the best policy to adopt toward Russia was one 
 of economic rehabilitation, and even after our troops 
 were permitted to join the Allies hi Vladivostok this 
 policy was blindly followed. At the very beginning 
 this was the gulf which separated the Powers. 
 
 When a war ends, no matter what the cause, re- 
 construction begins. For Russia the war ended in 
 March, 1917, when the Tzar Nikolas Romanoff 
 was overthrown and a provisional government pro- 
 claimed. Because the war had not ended in Europe 
 generally, few observers looked upon the new situation 
 in Russia as being anything other than a reorganization 
 for war. But the vital spark which fired the nation 
 to revolution was partially caused by the war itself, and 
 the one spark could not kindle two fires at the same 
 time. Russia was the first reconstruction problem, 
 and, whether the Allies as a unit recognized this or 
 not, they were divided as to the methods and plans 
 of action. 
 
 After twenty-eight days on the Pacific, associating 
 with Russians, Japanese, Chinese, Americans, and six 
 or eight other nationalities, I rickshawed from the dock 
 to the Yokohama-Tokyo electric railway, and jour- 
 neyed on to the capital of Japan, from which city I de- 
 parted the following evening for Tsuruga. 
 
 From Tsuruga, a small inland harbor city of Japan, 
 passenger-ships leave twice a week for Vladivostok. 
 Being fourteen hours from Tokyo, on the Japan sea, 
 a traveller would easily overlook the city, and, in so 
 doing, would be making a fatal mistake. To see and 
 know the Far East to-day one must visit Tsuruga to 
 see one of the chief cities on the commercial route to
 
 12 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 Siberia from the Island Kingdom. To the Japanese 
 Siberia is not a Russian problem but a Far-Eastern 
 question, and, although Russia and Siberia may again 
 be united, their interests, during the next ten years 
 or more, will be divided. The reason is simple. In 
 European Russia the problems of reconstruction will 
 be essentially political, industrial, and social, and con- 
 tinental politics will play an important part. In Si- 
 beria will arise questions of influence, of development, 
 and expansion, with the United States and Japan in 
 the chief r6les. So to an American Tsuruga is an im- 
 portant port. 
 
 These two passenger-ships, and innumerable freight- 
 steamers, leave this port each week for Vladivostok. 
 One of the passenger-boats, the largest, in fact, belongs 
 to the Russian volunteer fleet; all others are Japanese. 
 Ever since the beginning of the war millions of yen 
 worth of supplies and ammunition have been shipped 
 from Tsuruga, in Japanese bottoms, to the terminus 
 of the Trans-Siberian Railway on Golden Horn Bay, 
 and to-day there are other millions of yen worth of 
 products awaiting transportation. Tsuruga is Japan's 
 strategic commercial city as far as Siberia is concerned. 
 It is the "shipping department" of Nipponese indus- 
 tries. 
 
 Vladivostok is two days by good weather from 
 Tsuruga, and from four to ten when a typhoon sweeps 
 through the narrow sea which separates the five hun- 
 dred and eighty-one islands of Japan from Asia. I 
 was fortunate the day I crossed, for it was calm and 
 warm, and I was able to become acquainted with sev- 
 eral Japanese merchants who were en route to Siberia
 
 FROM NEW YORK TO VLADIVOSTOK 13 
 
 and Manchuria with their families. One of these was 
 the Siberian manager of Mitsui and Company, the 
 largest and wealthiest business house of Japan, which is 
 interested in almost every large enterprise in the Far 
 East, from ship-building to mining and exporting and 
 importing. He was a graduate of Columbia University, 
 and had been a resident of New York and Washington 
 nineteen years. Through him I met other Japanese 
 commercial agents who were going to Russia on similar 
 objects to see to the expansion of Japanese business, 
 and to make investigations and obtain mining and 
 forestry concessions. During the two days we were 
 together, I saw Siberia through Japanese eyes, and I 
 was impressed by the oft-repeated statement: 
 
 "In Siberia, Japan and United States must work 
 together. That's Mitsui's idea; Japanese business and 
 American business must co-operate. We must not 
 have competition. Competition no good to anybody. 
 Competition makes trouble. Co-operation makes 
 money and peace." 
 
 A Russian professor from the University of Khar- 
 koff was sceptical of this programme. "The economic 
 history of the world shows that where there are great 
 commercially imperialistic nations there are colonies 
 which are weaker nations," he declared. "Russia for 
 the next decade will be a colony for Japan, the United 
 States, England, France, and Germany. After that 
 Russia as a colony will disappear, because these na- 
 tions will fight among themselves over Russia, and 
 our country will emerge as a free nation !" 
 
 Before I stepped from the Hozan Maru onto the 
 dock of Vladivostok, this city had been temporarily
 
 14 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 abandoned by the Bolsheviki. As an outpost it was 
 no longer important. The trail which had followed 
 the Trans-Siberian Railway from Moscow and Petro- 
 grad to the Amur had been erased from the map by 
 the echelons of Czecho-Slovaks and a few Allied sol- 
 diers, but the trail-makers of Bolshevism, although 
 scattered, were still present in that country. 
 
 That phrase which is so common, "this is a small 
 world after all," came to my mind when I was greeted 
 on the pier by Americans; when I saw the Stars and 
 Stripes waving from the flag-pole atop the headquarters 
 of the American Expeditionary Force in Svetlanskaya 
 No. 26. Automobiles manufactured in the United 
 States were in use by all nationalities. "Yank" sen- 
 tries were guarding war-suppli along the railroad- 
 tracks. "Amerikansky wagons/ or locomotives, with 
 steam up, were in the railroad-yards. The armored 
 cruiser Brooklyn was anchored along a temporary dock, 
 and near by was a "hut" of the Y. M. C. A. Out- 
 wardly, Vladivostok did not appear much different 
 from San Francisco, except that it was on a smaller 
 scale. 
 
 Such were the first impressions after five weeks of 
 travel. This was Vladivostok, founded when President 
 Lincoln was making his second campaign for the presi- 
 dency. This was Siberia, which was inhabited by Tar- 
 tars as late as the sixteenth century. This was a part 
 of the old Russian Empire, which had been ruled and 
 misdirected for generations by autocrats. This was 
 the old home of the exiles, of politicians, Jews, revolu- 
 tionists, and democrats banished by Nikolas II and 
 his predecessors.
 
 FROM NEW YORK TO VLADIVOSTOK 15 
 
 From this base of Vladivostok, one of the few open 
 ports of all Russia, I began my long journey north 
 and into the interior, and as the days and weeks of 
 travel multiplied I was impressed, not by the distance 
 from New York, but by the vastness of the country 
 itself, which stretches from the Pacific to the Baltic 
 Sea over a continent twice as broad as the United 
 States. 
 
 Thus, I began my explorations in the land of "Nit- 
 ehevo," following the old trails and crossing the new 
 ones of the Bolsheviki. ?"
 
 CHAPTER II 
 IN THE LAND OF "NITCHEVO" 
 
 RUSSIA, as a nation passing through the period of 
 reconstruction, is a "land of Nitchevo." Arriving in 
 Siberia, "Nitchevo" is the first Russian word the for- 
 eigner learns. The Russians use it to cover a multitude 
 of evasions and to answer a thousand and one ques- 
 tions. "I should worry," or "Nothing matters," ex- 
 presses the national state of mind. Ask a droshky 
 driver what he thinks of Bolshevism and he will an- 
 swer: "Nitchevo." Question a poor refugee about 
 conditions and the reply will be the same. Converse 
 with a business man or a professor who has been 
 struggling through the terrors of Russia's civil war, 
 and the chances are he will say, "Nitchevo." There is 
 something pathetic and discouraging about it. The 
 revolution seems to have produced a sort of national 
 coma where those who have suffered and hoped for 
 two years or more have lost confidence in everything. 
 
 In trailing the Bolsheviki it is the philosophy of 
 "Nitchevo" which impresses one as much as the lack 
 of definite knowledge regarding the doctrines of Bol- 
 shevism and its workableness. The world may have 
 been a stage in Shakespeare's time, but it is not now. 
 To-day it is a kindergarten where all the inhabitants 
 are pupils whom the statesmen are trying to frighten 
 into goodness by the warning: "The Bolsheviki will 
 get you if you don't watch out!" These new goblins 
 
 16
 
 IN THE LAND OF "NITCHEVO" 17 
 
 of politics make children out of all of us and we ask 
 with childish fear and curiosity: "What are the Bol- 
 sheviki?" "Why are they?" "What are they for?" 
 "Will they get me?" 
 
 The trail of the Bolsheviki to-day is a long one, a 
 sort of political caravan route winding and twisting 
 over the map of Europe, Asia, and the United States, 
 upon which the new goblins travel spreading their 
 gospel of revolution wherever there is unrest, discon- 
 tent, dissatisfaction, and disappointment. European 
 Russia is a net of roads and channels of thoughts which 
 the Bolsheviki control. Germany and Austria are hi 
 the midst of civil war with them. Siberia was once 
 in their hands and may be again. India, Egypt, Ru- 
 mania, and the Balkans are threatened. In Norway, 
 Switzerland, Sweden, England, Canada, and the United 
 States the Bolsheviki are propagandizing. Bolshevik 
 goblins are everywhere and every one asks: "WTiat 
 are the facts about the Bolsheviki?" 
 
 The answer is simple and this is it: 
 
 Thirty-six years ago, in 1883, scores of political ref- 
 ugees from Russia met hi Switzerland, where two 
 years later, under the leadership of Plekhanow, they 
 formed the first Social Democratic organization for 
 Russia, which was called the "Emancipation of Labor." 
 Meanwhile the Socialism of Karl Marx became "legal" 
 in the Tzar's empire and Socialist discussions were 
 permitted; Socialist newspapers were established and 
 Marxism became the foremost of the imports into 
 Russia which were "Made in Germany." 
 
 In March, 1898, a congress of Socialists met in the 
 city of Minsk, Russia, and the Social Democratic
 
 18 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 Working Men's party of Russia was founded. Accord- 
 ing to Professor James Mavor there were three groups 
 represented at this meeting: 
 
 1. A group for the emancipation of labor. 
 
 2. A group which demanded the immediate improve- 
 ment of the conditions of every working man, and 
 
 3. A group which believed in "limited centraliza- 
 tion" of labor authority in which the mass of work- 
 men should have no control of the party, but should 
 be "disciplined by continuous agitation." 
 
 The leader of this third division was Nikolas Lenin, 
 the present premier of Bolshevist Russia. 
 
 In 1903, Lenin, being unsuccessful with his work 
 in Russia, officially launched the Bolshevist party in 
 Stockholm. Two years later, during the great strikes 
 in Russia which brought about the revolution of 1905, 
 a "Council of Working Men's Deputies" was formed 
 in Petrograd with the demand for a constitutional 
 assembly. "At that time," says Professor Mavor, 
 "there was the Mensheviki, the minority faction of 
 the Social Democratic Darty, and a Bolsheviki, or ma- 
 jority faction." 
 
 Thus after twelve years of agitation the Bolshevist 
 movement attained the dignity of a "faction" of Rus- 
 sian Social Democracy with Lenin the avowed and 
 ' recognized leader. The name given to this faction 
 was Russian, being derived from the word meaning 
 majority. The Bolshevists were known as the section 
 of the party which demanded the extreme measures to 
 obtain the majority or major portion of the Socialist 
 demands. The Menshevists and Bolshevists both 
 believed in a revolution in Russia, but the latter be-
 
 IN THE LAND OF "NITCHEVO" 19 
 
 lieved in a continuous revolution and the establish- 
 ment of a labor " general staff" and a labor army. 
 
 The Tzar was never really successful in his fight 
 with the Bolsheviki, for the number of followers con- 
 tinued to increase both within and outside of Russia. 
 Lenin remained the champion of uncompromising 
 action while Trotsky, another Social Democrat, and 
 the present Bolshevist minister of war, devoted his 
 efforts, by speaking and writing, toward the uniting 
 of the Menshevists and Bolshevists. 
 
 In 1917, after the first revolution in Russia, which 
 overthrew the Tzar and established the provisional 
 governments, the Bolsheviki came into power, domi- 
 nated Russia from Poland to Vladivostok, and made 
 peace with Germany at Brest-Litovsk. 
 
 Such was the birth and growth of Russian Bolshev- 
 ism; Bolshevism which Trotsky defined as a pro- 
 gramme for the establishment of an industrial democ- 
 racy. But throughout this period the Bolsheviki were 
 concerned, not with the establishment of a socialistic 
 state but with the revolutionizing of a nation. The 
 theories and ideas of the new party were secondary. 
 The primary object was to overthrow the existing gov- 
 ernment, industry, and society and the establishment 
 of a proletariat state where labor was to be supreme, 
 and where only those who did manual labor were to 
 be recognized as laborers. Fundamentally and es- 
 sentially Bolshevism was a programme for the destruc- 
 tion of civilization as it was known in Russia* where 
 
 *The lext of the Constitution of the Russian Socialist Federated 
 Soviet Republic, adopted July 10, 1918, is represented in the Appendix, 
 page 281.
 
 20 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 there was an autocratic government; where labor 
 had no rights; where there were religious persecu- 
 tions and pogroms and where there was neither a local 
 nor a national representative assembly. Conditions 
 in Russia were at that time entirely different from 
 what they are to-day in the United States, and for 
 this reason the Bolshevist demand for a "constitu- 
 tional assembly" and "land and freedom" seized the 
 thoughts and fired the imagination of the Deasants 
 and workers. 
 
 These are the historic facts about Bolsehvism and 
 some of the theories or "ideals'," but between the ideal- 
 istic and practical state there is always a gulf which 
 must be bridged. What did the Bolsheviki do when 
 they had the machinery of government and industry 
 in their hands and the physical power of the mass be- 
 hind them? 
 
 The facts which I shall give about the actual work- 
 manship of Bolshevism will be only those I observed 
 personally in Siberia or those from disinterested wit- 
 nesses such as representatives of the Russian Co-opera- 
 tive Union that extensive organization of 20,000,000 
 Russians whose chief concern is business and educa- 
 tion, not politics. 
 
 Bolshevism, considered as a practical programme, 
 may be divided into three sections: (1) Politics; (2) 
 industry and mines; (3) land distribution. 
 
 Without considering the methods which the Bol- 
 shevists used to obtain control of the government, 
 for their means were revolutionary, and all political 
 revolutions are alike, the facts are known about what 
 they did after they came into political power. Almost
 
 IN THE LAND OF "NITCHEVO" 21 
 
 their first act was to abolish the constituent assembly, 
 and since they have been in control of Moscow and 
 Petrograd and all of central Russia they have not 
 called for another national election. The " demand" 
 which they incorporated in their programme before 
 the revolution for a "constitutional assembly" has 
 been forgotten, or they have changed their ideas and 
 no longer believe in such a congress, being satisfied 
 for the present with the "authority" which they re- 
 ceive from the local councils or Soviets. But they 
 have not held elections for the councils. There has*' 
 been no free, secret balloting by all citizens, only closed 
 elections by working men. In politics the Bolsheviki 
 have changed the methods of elections from universal 
 suffrage to working-class suffrage only. They have 
 not considered that all classes have a right to vote. 
 They have opposed the right of representative govern- 
 ment and substituted a class government, the very 
 thing they condemned under the former Russian 
 regime. The Bolshevist constitution explicitly ex- 
 cludes six classes of citizens from voting or participat- 
 ing in politics. 
 
 The second move of the Bolsheviki was to organize 
 an army. This was in keeping with Article One, Chap* 
 ter Two, Section "G" of the Russian Socialist Fed- 
 erated Soviet Republic which declares: 
 
 "For the purpose of securing the working class in 
 the possession of the complete power, and in order 
 to eliminate all possibility of restoring the power of 
 the exploiters, it is decreed that all toilers be armed, 
 and that a Socialist Red army be organized and the 
 propertied class be disarmed."
 
 22 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 And, a "Red army" was formed to maintain the 
 Bolshevist government and their leaders in power in 
 Russia, but the attitude of these leaders toward an- 
 other revolutionary army was illustrated by the nego- 
 tiations between the Czecho-Slovak National Council, 
 and the Soviets of Russia during the summer of 1918. 
 The Bolsheviki gave a written promise that their 
 "comrades" from the former Dual Monarchy, could 
 leave Russia via Vladivostok for France. That was 
 when 50,000 Czecho-Slovaks were mobilized on the 
 Dnieper River. After they started across the coun- 
 try, in small units, the Soviet attacked them! (In 
 the chapter, "At Czecho-Slovac Headquarters," I have 
 given all the details of the negotiations.) 
 
 This reference to the attitude of the Bolshevist army 
 toward the Czechs, is made here to show the attitude 
 of the "Reds" toward "fellow revolutionists" in Rus- 
 sia! 
 
 Considered from the standpoint of politics and army 
 policies the Bolsheviki abolished the national assembly 
 and never held another national election, and after 
 making an agreement with the Czecho-Slovak echelons 
 they broke it. These are the outstanding facts re- 
 garding the political aspects of Bolshevism. Bolshev- 
 ism is revolutionary and so are its "treaties" ! 
 
 Without having travelled across Siberia and several 
 hundred miles into European Russia, I might have 
 known something of the chaos which Bolshevism 
 brought to the industries, but it's one thing to see a 
 "dead nation" and another to picture it in one's mind. 
 That great organism which we call "business" in this 
 country, existed in Russia before the war and the
 
 IN THE LAND OF "NITCHEVO" 23 
 
 revolution on a smaller and less intricate scale. There 
 was a business life which affected every citizen, peasant, 
 or factory employee. It was made up of a thousand 
 and one arteries, veins, branches, and subdivisions 
 which the people as a whole did not realize, just as 
 we probably seldom think of the millions of factors 
 which are linked together in our national business 
 life. 
 
 When the Bolsheviki came into power they inherited 
 what was left of this organism after it had been mis- 
 managed and damaged by the military autocracy of 
 the Tzar. They probably received not much more 
 than a skeleton of the " business life" the skeleton 
 of factory buildings, railroads, depots, freight and pas- 
 senger-cars, bank and office buildings, hotels, schools, 
 and churches, but after they obtained control they 
 decreed that all this belonged to the working men. 
 That was the fundamental principle of Bolshevism. 
 It was a political programme for the establishment 
 of an industrial democracy. Here at last the dream 
 was realized. Every working man was the owner and 
 director of the factory, store, shop, or hotel where he 
 had been or wanted to be employed. But what they 
 had was only a skeleton which needed life. The build- 
 ings were of no use to the men or women unless there 
 was work, unless they had some income either in money 
 or food and clothing. The Bolsheviki tried to give 
 the industries new life. They ran them on the new 
 plan of four or six hours' labor per day, increased wages, 
 but they found that factories were dependent upon 
 outside sources for raw materials, and when the raw 
 materials on hand were exhausted the Soviet govern-
 
 24 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 ment had to close the factories until raw materials 
 could be obtained. 
 
 One example will serve as an illustration of what 
 happened. In Moscow there are several great cotton 
 manufacturing shops. The Bolsheviki decreed that 
 these belonged to the working people, but after a few 
 days of reckless management the supply of cotton was 
 exhausted and the factories were shut down. The 
 Bolsheviki local Soviet sent a purchasing commission 
 of Bolshevist working men to the cotton-producing 
 states of Russia to buy cotton from the Bolshevist 
 cotton-planters. These cotton plantations had been 
 socialized and each one belonged to the employees. 
 
 The Bolshevist factory men and Bolshevist cotton- 
 growers met to discuss the arrangements for shipping 
 cotton to Moscow. The cotton-growers asked the 
 Moscow representatives what they would pay for 
 cotton. The price was very much less than the cotton- 
 growers could get in other markets, and they refused 
 to sell. The Moscow laborers asked them if they did 
 not believe in an industrial democracy. They cer- 
 tainly did, the cotton men answered, but cotton could 
 not be sold at the low price which the Moscow Bol- 
 shevists offered. 
 
 The result was that the Bolshevist commissars could 
 not buy the raw material which they needed for the 
 factories so they appealed to the local Soviet, but the 
 local council replied that it could not interfere with 
 the rights of the local Bolsheviki. 
 
 At this point in the " negotiations" the Moscow 
 buyers called upon the local representatives of the 
 Russian Co-operative Union, which had been buying 
 cotton from the Co-operatives who were members of
 
 IN THE LAND OF "NITCHEVO" 25 
 
 the union, and selling it to other members, in Moscow 
 and Lodz. The union could not buy for the Bolshevist 
 government, however, because it recognized no govern- 
 ment, and the Bolsheviki Soviet put the union men in 
 prison, from which they were released afterward after 
 pressure had been brought to bear upon the people's 
 commissars in Moscow. 
 
 The final outcome of this practical demonstration 
 of the inability of a Bolshevist industrial democracy 
 to functionate was that the central Bolshevist author- 
 ity in Moscow, represented by a bureau of business, 
 asked the Co-operative Union to buy, ship, and sell 
 the raw materials which were needed to give "life" 
 to the new industrial nation. 
 
 Whatever " economic life" there is in European 
 Russia to-day, is due not to the Bolsheviki, but to the 
 Russian Co-operative Unions, but these unions are 
 confronted with the problems of transportation be- 
 cause the railroads, too, are owned by the employees 
 and they work, not for the general good of the com- 
 munity and the nation, but only for their own pleasure. 
 In the meantime the factories remain closed; the 
 workers who own them have no work. There is more 
 forced idleness in Russia to-day than ever in the his- 
 tory of that country. 
 
 This same condition prevails as to food. The peas- 
 ants do not bring food to the cities. Those who are 
 Bolshevists sell only what they want, and those who 
 are not followers of the Soviet "democracy" feed them- 
 selves and wait for better times. The working man 
 who cannot raise his own food and work at the same 
 time, starves. 
 
 These are some of the facts regarding industrial
 
 26 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 Bolshevism in Russia. In Siberia the conditions are 
 similar because none of the governments so far organ- 
 ized in that country have been able to rebuild, recon- 
 struct, or renew the industrial life of the country after 
 the destruction of the Bolsheviki when they were in 
 power, for, it is a curious development, of extreme So- 
 cialism, that that which the workers could not use, 
 either because of a lack of ability or desire, they de- 
 stroyed. I recall meeting the manager of a gold-mine 
 near Ekaterinburg, an American who had lived at 
 the mine nin.e years representing the foreigners who 
 had bought and developed it. When the Bolsheviki 
 controlled the local Soviet, they decreed him out of 
 office, and decreed the mine the property of the miners. 
 They were suddenly the owners of the gold-mine. 
 Then* dreams were realized. They were no longer 
 laborers; they were owners ! 
 
 One might have thought that workers suddenly 
 made joint owners of a rich mine would have organ- 
 ized and developed it, but they didn't. The mine was 
 their property. That satisfied them, but the machin- 
 ery was made in France and was, therefore, a sym- 
 bol of capitalism, so they destroyed all the machines 
 machines which had been manufactured and brought 
 to these shafts at an expense of 1,400,000 francs. Then 
 they began working the mines in the most primitive 
 fashion until the labor became too difficult, and one 
 after another the miners drifted away ! 
 
 Industrially, Bolshevism destroyed that spark of 
 life which makes business not only a means of em- 
 ployment but of livelihood. 
 
 For more than ten years Trotsky had been cam-
 
 IN THE LAND OF "NITCHEVO" 27 
 
 paigning in the Russian revolutionary newspapers in 
 this country and abroad for the establishment of a 
 Bolshevist state, and in nearly every leading article 
 he stated that a revolution in Russia could never 
 be a permanent success without the support of the 
 peasants. To win them he added coals to the revo- 
 lutionary fires labelled "Land and Freedom." But 
 the first revolution guaranteed the peasants free land, 
 and this battle-cry of Bolshevism fell on fallow soil. 
 To-day the peasants do not have confidence in the 
 Bolsheviki, because many of the local Soviets have 
 decreed that any one owning property before the coun- 
 ter-revolution, or Bolshevist revolution, is a member 
 of the old class system and, therefore, not a proletariat ! 
 Time after time in Siberia I met peasants in the market- 
 places who had fled from European Russia because 
 their small farms had been confiscated by the Bol- 
 sheviki on the ground that if they had been property 
 owners they could not be recognized as having the 
 right to hold property under the new regime ! 
 
 These are some of the uncolored facts about the 
 way Bolshevism has worked in Russia. There are 
 to-day no indications of a representative government; 
 Up indications of a new economic system which is better 
 or as good as the one now existing in the world. No- 
 where can one find evidence in Russia that Bolshevism 
 has solved the "industrial problems" or the problems 
 of the working men. If Bolshevism was intended to 
 be the creation of a new business life for the world 
 it has failed in Russia. If Lenin expected it to be the 
 beginning of a new social order in which the working 
 people predominate he has succeeded, but at the fright-
 
 28 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 ful cost of universal chaos, individual suffering, na- 
 tion-wide misery, and unemployment. Bolshevism has 
 brought about a new order in Russia but the new na- 
 tion is without life. In Siberia, as in Russia, the nation 
 is dead. 
 
 With Russia passing through the pangs of still-birth, 
 agitation grows throughout Asia, Europe, and the 
 Americas for the application of Bolshevism to all na- 
 tions, with the idea that if the present civilization of 
 the world is completely destroyed and the existing so- 
 ciety revolutionized the Bolsheviki of the world can 
 rebuild it upon a new model. Grimm in Switzerland, 
 the followers of Liebnecht in Germany, others in Eng- 
 land and America are seeking to link sentiments with 
 Lenin, with the international object of forming a World 
 Union of Soviets to Russianize the universe. Hence 
 the bogy story which appears ever so often in the 
 press: "The Bolsheviki will get you if you don't watch 
 out!" The new goblins have left Russia and are on 
 the war-path (with propaganda), and Bolshevism be- 
 comes not a Russian issue alone but a world political 
 and industrial problem. Lenin's object at the Minsk 
 congress was to bolshevik Russia. To-day he seeks to 
 bolshevik the world. 
 
 Within thirty-six years Bolshevism has grown from 
 a local Russian idealistic programme to a world-wide 
 revolutionary programme. This is the fact. What 
 are the reasons ? 
 
 Those conditions which caused Bolshevism in Rus- 
 sia a decade ago did not exist in the United States or 
 Europe. England, France, Switzerland, the United 
 States, Germany, Holland, Denmark, and other coun-
 
 IN THE LAND OF "NITCHEVO" 29 
 
 tries had parliaments and congresses of one kind or 
 another. There was a semblance, at least, of democ- 
 racy and representative government in several of these 
 nations. In all of these countries any one could own 
 land or property. There were no religious restrictions; 
 no pogroms outside of the Pale. There was no social- 
 caste system in America. One man was as good as 
 another before the law or the government. 
 
 This was not true in Russia. The abolition of serf- 
 dom hi 1861 had not satisfied the peasants. The Tzar 
 had not recognized the rights of equal suffrage. Fac- 
 tory employees were industrial slaves. Education was 
 restricted. Religion was not free. The minds of the 
 Russian people were in bondage and their bodies were 
 servants of autocratic politicians and factory owners. 
 Under these conditions one can understand why a 
 revolution in that country might not swing the pen- 
 dulum of life from one extreme to another. But a 
 revolution is certain to have that result, because a revo- 
 lution, too, is abnormal, and not until the pendulum 
 swings backward and forward over an arc to bridge 
 the two extremes not until then are the conditions 
 normal. It is the gravity of business which makes 
 the pendulum move, which in turn gives life to civiliza- 
 tion, and ticks off the hours and days of progress. Re- 
 action and revolution are extremes which retard ad- 
 vancement. 
 
 Considering the conditions which produced the 
 revolution and Bolshevism hi Russia it may, at first, 
 seem strange that Bolshevism should spread in other 
 countries where the conditions on the surface are not 
 at all similar. But there are underlying causes of this
 
 30 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 new movement which account for its sudden and ex- 
 tensive spread. Bolshevism has become very elastic. 
 The Bolshevism we speak of to-day is not at all the 
 same as that which was introduced hi Russia nearly 
 two years ago. Bolshevism of to-day has been tem- 
 pered, but only slightly, by the mistakes and absurdi- 
 ties of the doctrine, and those who are advocating 
 Bolshevism in other nations, especially the United 
 States, are Bolshevist brothers of the Russian Bol- 
 shevists only as far as a revolution is concerned. 
 
 The causes of the Bolshevist movement in this coun- 
 try and abroad are threefold: (1) The difficulties con- 
 fronting a nation during the transition period from 
 war to peace conditions; (2) general industrial dis- 
 content and dissatisfaction kept alive and aggravated 
 by propaganda, and (3) social unrest and injustice. 
 
 In the United States we do a great deal of loose talk- 
 ing. It is a part of our democracy. We juggle opinions 
 and ideas, new and old theories, like the circus clown, 
 and if one of them fall upon our feet we hop around 
 with a wry face for a few moments and then forget 
 about the pain. At present we are jabbering and jug- 
 gling Bolshevism because it is a fad, or because it is 
 new, or because it may be some industrial goblin. Some 
 good Americans are getting bolsheviked themselves 
 without knowing it, and others are adopting Bolshevism 
 because they think it is the end of all trouble and dissat- 
 isfaction. A few, and only a very few, are Bolshevists 
 because they believe in its theories, but those who have 
 seen the theories fail in Russia are not tempted. 
 
 Bolshevism is a fad of gossip in the United States 
 while in Russia it is a tragedy. No one who has seen
 
 IN THE LAND OF "NITCHEVO" 31 
 
 any part of Russia since the revolution which over- 
 threw the provisional government would desire to 
 see the same torch applied to every other nation in 
 the world. And still Bolshevism is openly talked about 
 as an " international doctrine." What are the reasons 
 for this success of Bolshevist propaganda? Why are 
 we told that unless there is a League of Nations formed 
 by governments there will be a Union of Soviets formed 
 by the people? Why have the Bolshevists remained 
 in control of Petrograd and Moscow, if their programme 
 is a failure? How has it been possible for the Bol- 
 shevists to hold out after the defeat of Germany, and 
 after the Allies intervened in Siberia and Archangel? 
 
 These questions are not confined to those who be- 
 lieve in Bolshevism, but are asked by intelligent Amer- 
 icans who are in this kindergarten of the New World, 
 but even these questions are readily answered. 
 
 The reasons for the success of various kinds of Bol- 
 shevist propaganda are that the word Bolshevism is 
 used in the United States and Europe not only to name 
 a political and industrial programme, but as a descrip- 
 tion of dissatisfaction and discontent. Almost any 
 one who complains against the existing order is a Bol- 
 shevik. We are using the word more dangerously 
 and ruthlessly than the Russians. Every one who 
 wanted a radical change in Russia from the disorder 
 and oppression of the Tzar was not a Bolshevist. A 
 Bolshevist in Russia was only a man who believed in 
 a continuous revolution; who disbelieved in repre- 
 sentative government, and desired all authority placed 
 in the hands of labor leaders. Obviously most of those 
 whom we term Bolshevists in the United States are
 
 32 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 not Bolshevists at all. They are simply human beings 
 who criticise present conditions and who expect and 
 demand adjustments. 
 
 Bolshevism has 'capitalized upon the world's dis- 
 content with the object of making every one who de- 
 sires readjustments and changes a Bolshevist. So we 
 are informed by the wise statesmen of Europe that 
 unless there is a League of Nations there will be a Union 
 of Bolshevists. What they mean is that when govern- 
 ments fail nationally Bolshevism succeeds, and that 
 if the governments of the world fail in uniting upon 
 a world constructive peace programme, then the Bol- 
 shevists will attempt to unite Soviets upon such a 
 plan. Bolshevism succeeds only when governments 
 fail. Bolshevism can never succeed as an industrial 
 programme unless those who direct our industries 
 fail. 
 
 It will soon be two years since the Bolshevist coup 
 d'etat in European Russia. If Bolshevism is a failure, 
 I am asked, how do you account for the continued 
 presence of Lenin and Trotsky in Moscow? 
 
 There are two chief reasons: 1. The Bolshevist 
 faction of Russia is comparatively united while every 
 other political party is divided and none of the polit- 
 ical parties will unite upon a common programme. 
 The former leaders of Russia have left the country. 
 They are in Paris, London, Tokyo, Washington, New 
 York, Switzerland, and Spain. They have abandoned 
 Russia to the Bolsheviki. 2. There is a government in 
 Omsk directed by Admiral Koltshak, but he does not 
 have the confidence of many Russians. General Dene- 
 kin is in South Russia, but his support is limited almost
 
 IN THE LAND OF "NITCHEVO" 33 
 
 wholly to the Cossacks and the Monarchists. My own 
 opinion is, after travelling in both Europe and Asia 
 since the first revolution in Russia, that at least 
 seventy-five per cent of the people are, or would be, 
 against the Bolsheviki if there were an election held 
 where every one could vote, but this three-fourths 
 majority to-day is not united. 
 
 I find many persons thinking that "there must be 
 something to Bolshevism if it can defy the Allies longer 
 than Germany." 
 
 Considering all the public promises the Allies have 
 made to Russia, and the public expectations of mili- 
 tary action, one might conclude that the Allies had 
 really been fighting the Bolsheviki. But this is not 
 true. The Allies have never been able to unite definitely 
 upon a Russian programme. The Allies were not united 
 in Siberia, and they did not land a sufficient number 
 of troops to be able to take any effective military ac- 
 tion against the Bolsheviki. The English and French 
 sent small forces, not more than a thousand men, to 
 Omsk and Ekaterinburg, but they did not take part 
 in the fighting against the Red army on the Urals. 
 At Archangel the Allied force has been very small, and 
 there has been no real campaign against Trotsky's 
 army. As a matter of record and fact the Allies at 
 no time have really effectively and unitedly opposed 
 Bolshevism in Russia. 
 
 Throughout the world to-day there is revolutionary 
 unrest. It is discernible everywhere, but this is not 
 due to the propaganda of Bolshevism, but rather to 
 the awakening of a new mass consciousness. This 
 war has been fought by all classes and types of men
 
 34 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 and backed by every class of women. As a result of 
 the four years of suffering, tension, discussion, debate, 
 disagreement, and disillusionment the great body of 
 humanity all over the world has come to the common 
 conclusion that the New World must be different from 
 the old. The mass mind has not developed the idea 
 much further. Their programme is unformulated. 
 The mass demands a better world. Humanity de- 
 mands changes and readjustments. The people believe 
 that as a result of their fighting and sacrifices there 
 must be new world standards. 
 
 This is not a thing about which there is any dis- 
 agreement. Every one whose finger is on the pulse 
 of mankind feels it. But the Bolsheviki appear and 
 claim that their programme of revolution and destruc- 
 tion is the only real reconstruction platform. They 
 do not point to Russia and say: "See this is what 
 Bolshevism will do for the whole world." They know 
 their example in Russia will not appeal to the people 
 outside that country. But they are wise in deceit. 
 They are the only ones, they tell the war-weary public, 
 who can make the future world a new world. They 
 are half right. They can remake the world, but when 
 they finish it will require generation after generation 
 to bring the world ahead to what every one would 
 consider an advance in civilization and life. 
 
 The world is, indeed, in the midst of a universal 
 revolution which is developing in two ways. Revolu- 
 tions may be of opinion or of action. The Bolshevist 
 method is action. The method of representative gov- 
 ernments and progressive industries is opinion. 
 
 Outside of Russia and a few countries in central
 
 IN THE LAND OF "NITCHEVO" 35 
 
 Europe I do not anticipate a revolution of action, but 
 in every other country a revolution of opinion and 
 readjustment is inevitable. The one will lead to 
 anarchy, chaos, and suffering, and follow the general 
 lines of the Russian revolution, while the other will 
 bring about rapid and radical readjustments hi in- 
 dustry and politics, and start the pendulum of peace 
 over the arc of time and progress. 
 
 You may recall when you were a child how you were 
 frightened by goblins. The mere warning that "the 
 goblins will get you if you don't watch out" was suf- 
 ficient, but as soon as you were told the whys and 
 wherefores of gnomes you ceased to fear them and 
 they became only a passing fantasy of childhood. 
 
 This may be true of the new goblins, too. Attempts 
 have been made to frighten the world into goodness 
 by the warning, "the Bolsheviki will get you if you 
 don't watch out," but the world is wise and inquisitive, 
 wiser, indeed, than Russia was in November, 1917. 
 And, as the facts become known, the people of demo- 
 cratic countries will cease to fear the morrow. The 
 new goblins will become passing fantasies of this transi- 
 tion period from war to peace conditions unless the 
 people of the world reach that dangerous and care- 
 free state of Siberia, represented by the word "Nit- 
 chevo."
 
 CHAPTER III 
 THE HUMAN VOLCANOES 
 
 ABOUT half-way between Petrograd and Vladivos- 
 tok, on the Trans-Siberian Railway, lies the city of 
 Omsk, white with its winter cloak of snow and black 
 with throngs of people. Typical of all cities and towns 
 in Asiatic Russia to-day, it is a community of contrasts 
 and extremes; of homes and hovels; diamonds and 
 rags. Misery is so universal it has lost its sting, and 
 what happiness there is is found in the bottom of the 
 vodka jug. Like Irkutsk, Tomsk, Tchita, Ekaterin- 
 burg where the Tzar Nikolas the Second was reported 
 killed and Vladivostok, Omsk is a city in black and 
 white; black and white on the outside, but red under- 
 neath red with fear and suffering. 
 
 Through Siberia I trekked and travelled, in, about, 
 and out of these living cities of silent masses during 
 the winter of 1918-19. For two months I lived in 
 the railway-cars sometimes in the freight-yards where 
 thousands of Russians had their only homes in near-by 
 box-cars. For three weeks, while journeying from 
 Ekaterinburg to Harbin, Manchuria, I did my own 
 cooking, buying my supplies at the markets and stalls 
 with the refugees. I went to theatres and churches. 
 I explored the caves where the poorest live. Into the 
 banks, the shops, and government buildings; through 
 the public baths and filthy, overcrowded depots, the 
 
 36
 
 THE HUMAN VOLCANOES 37 
 
 huts and the palaces I went, exploring city after city. 
 Everywhere there were the same three colors, the black 
 and white and the red. Each city was the same, from 
 the Pacific to the Ural Mountains, each a human 
 volcano where the exterior camouflaged but did not 
 hide what was within. 
 
 Travelling in Siberia to-day is a task for Trojans, 
 and most Russians are equal to it. Judging by the 
 crowds at every railroad depot and the millions of 
 human beings who live, day in and week out, in pas- 
 senger and freight cars, one would think the popula- 
 tion of that vast country was housed entirely on wheels, 
 or that it was the supreme desire of every one to travel, 
 despite the discomforts and inconveniences. In this 
 respect, as in many others, Russia is on the move, 
 seeking happiness which always exists at the end of 
 the rainbow. Every tram which departs from Vladi- 
 vostok for the Amur or the interior of Manchhria or 
 Siberia, every post, passenger, and goods train which 
 leaves Omsk for Irkutsk, is packed with refugees. Ev- 
 ery coach and every box-car is so overcrowded with 
 men, women, and children, all of them standing, for 
 there is no room for any one to sit down, that it is fre- 
 quently impossible for the guards to close the doors. 
 Even in mid-winter, when it is thirty and forty degrees 
 below zero, people stand on the platforms and steps, 
 wrapped in their heavy fur-coats. If the journey is a 
 short one they survive; if a long one some may freeze 
 to death and drop off, but no one worries about death. 
 It is too common to excite worry, and it always makes 
 room for the rest. I have seen people so crowded in 
 freight-cars that when the conductor closed the doors
 
 38 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 to keep the Siberian winds from freezing every one to 
 death I could hear women scream in agony. In the 
 freight-yards of Omsk I saw as many as three families 
 seventeen men, women, and children living in one 
 small, four-wheeled box-car, and hi Harbin I saw two 
 trains which brought 1,057 Serbians from Odessa. 
 When I visited the cars these people had been living in 
 them seven months. 
 
 Arriving in Vladivostok on my way into Russia I 
 rode to the depot in one of those four-wheeled Odessa 
 carriages which the Russains call "izsvostcheks," 
 bombarding the spectacled, whiskered, rag-covered 
 driver from the rear with questions which my inter- 
 preter seemed to make him understand. He was an 
 ex-soldier who had fought in East Prussia and Galicia 
 until the March revolution, when he returned home. 
 Asked why he didn't continue in the army and fight 
 the Bolsheviki he was silent. Then, when he was 
 pressed for an opinion as to what he would do if the 
 Bolsheviki took Vladivostok, he answered "Nitchevo ! " 
 (" I should worry!") 
 
 At the station were throngs of Russians, old and 
 young, intellectual and ignorant; strong and rugged 
 for the most part, poorly clad, dark, and dirty. Each 
 one lugged his worldly possessions, wrapped and tied 
 in a colored table-cloth, shawl, or old coat. A line 
 of several hundred persons was waiting at the third- 
 class ticket-office. Another line was scrambling for 
 baggage which had been stacked in the centre of the 
 hall. Leading down the steps to the tracks was an- 
 other crowd, waiting for the hour when it might rush 
 through the barred doors to the filthy coaches of the
 
 THE HUMAN VOLCANOES 39 
 
 ten-thirty train to Harbin or the later one for the Amur 
 cities. An American, a Japanese, and a Czech soldier 
 were standing on the outside as sentries, with nothing 
 to do but stand and change guard every four hours. 
 Sometimes they would separate a crowd of Chinese 
 coolies who were fighting for an opportunity to carry 
 the luggage of a foreigner who looked as if he might 
 pay more than the regulation price, but otherwise 
 they were idle spectators, alone in a foreign land, unable 
 to understand what it was all about and longing for 
 the end of the war in Russia. 
 
 For several days I sauntered and drove about the 
 city, up the steep streets, around over the hills, and 
 back again to Svetlanskaya, the main thoroughfare, 
 where the crowds paraded, the droshkies rattled over 
 the cobblestones, and the automobiles raced by with 
 the same feverish haste and recklessness which was 
 common at the front. From the tallest and finest 
 buildings waved foreign flags: American, French, 
 Czecho-Slovak, British, Italian, and Japanese. From 
 the street one could look down into the beautiful bay 
 and see Allied and Russian ships at anchor or the sam- 
 pans wiggling their way across the harbor, for Vladi- 
 vostok is a city built on the slopes of the mountains, 
 which descend rather steeply into Golden Horn Bay. 
 In the distance were the cliffs which hid the former 
 fortifications of the city in the days when Vladivostok 
 was known as "The Tzar of the East," and up the bay, 
 along the shore, were visible the dark gray gunboats 
 and monitors which the crews had taken over as float- 
 ing residences. An abandoned floating dry dock arose 
 and fell with the tide in mid-channel.
 
 40 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 In the cafe's and restaurants the men gathered and 
 gossiped and speculated. Information travelled mostly 
 by rumor despite the numerous extra editions of the 
 newspapers which the coolies sold, rushing excitedly 
 through the crowds with their Manchu queues dang- 
 ling against their backs. There were so many people 
 in the streets, cafe's, on the docks, jammed into tram- 
 ways, and in the stores, that one wondered where they 
 went at night, because the city was known to be con- 
 jested. Not only beds but sheltered floor spaces were 
 at premiums. Walking about the city in the evening 
 one learned that the people slept in shifts; those who 
 could not find refuge at night slept by day in the depots 
 and public buildings, the dark, damp cellars, and aban- 
 doned army barracks. It was not an infrequent sight 
 to see men lying in gutters with the curb-stones as 
 pillows or on the sidewalks where steps served as head 
 rests. 
 
 Long before the Allies landed their troops in Siberia, 
 Vladivostok was overcrowded. Being the eastern 
 terminus of the Trans-Siberian Railway it was the chief 
 outlet from Russia and Siberia for those many thou- 
 sands of inhabitants who wished to leave their own 
 country for the peace and happiness which they be- 
 lieved were to be found abroad. To Vladivostok came 
 also those numberless Russians who had heard of the 
 United States as the land of perpetual contentment, 
 and who were en route there. Rumanians, Czechs, 
 Serbians, Poles, Lithuanians, Big Russians and Lit- 
 tle Russians, Indians, Chinese, Mongolians, Dutch, 
 Americans, Scotch, Canadians, Japanese, Italians, 
 French, Germans, and Austrians met Danes, Austra-
 
 THE HUMAN VOLCANOES 41 
 
 lians, Spaniards, Swiss, and Turks in this city. Never 
 have I seen such a cosmopolitan, heterogenous com- 
 munity. It was as if the war and the revolution had 
 shaken the whole world and dropped samples of every 
 nationality in Vladivostok. 
 
 It was a curious war city. The two largest depart- 
 ment stores were owned and managed by Germans, 
 one of whom, a few months after the American sol- 
 diers arrived, appeared at the United States Con- 
 sulate and subscribed for $25,000 worth of Lib- 
 erty Bonds. The headquarters of the United States 
 Expeditionary Force had been the home of the em- 
 ployees of one of these enemy concerns until Major- 
 General William S. Graves arrived. The influence of 
 Germany in Vladivostok was so great throughout the 
 war that many Russians attribute the weakness of 
 their own army to the intrigues of the Germans here 
 in preventing war-munitions from reaching the front, 
 and after the Allies landed it was a continuous per- 
 formance, their search for German agents, many of 
 whom were citizens of neutral countries. At lunch 
 one day in the "Zolotoi Hog" cafe with several Amer- 
 ican army officers, I recognized a German whom I had 
 encountered in Switzerland last winter; a man whom 
 the Swiss police considered a spy. The United States 
 Intelligence Service took steps immediately to establish 
 his identity, but he disappeared in a motor-car and 
 was never seen again in the city. A few weeks later 
 he was located in Manchuria on the staff of a well- 
 known army officer. 
 
 Because of the influence of German agents at this 
 important port the vicinity of Vladivostok is cluttered
 
 42 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 with war-materials, valued by the Allied staffs at be- 
 tween $750,000,000 and $1,000,000,000. During the 
 war scores of great warehouses were constructed to 
 house the perishable goods, and when these were 
 stacked to the rafters and it became impossible to 
 erect buildings as fast as the supplies came, every- 
 thing, from cotton to unassembled motor-lorries, were 
 piled in open fields and lots and covered with tar- 
 paulins. Outside the city, on the road to Khabarovsk, 
 the capital of the Amur province and the first interior 
 city I visited, are hills and fields of munitions and 
 materials, rotting, rusting, decaying, and wasting. 
 There is a hill of cotton shipped from the United States 
 tucked under mounds of tarpaulins. There are 37,000 
 railway truck-wheels and heavy steel rails in such 
 quantities as to make it possible to build a third track 
 from the Pacific to Petrograd. There is enough barbed- 
 wire to fence Siberia. There are field-guns, millions 
 of rounds of ammunition, and a submarine; auto- 
 mobiles, shoes, copper and lead ingots, and these are 
 only a few of the things which the Tzar's agents pur- 
 chased from American factories to be used hi the war 
 against Germany, but which never came nearer than 
 within 6,000 miles of the front, as near as San Francisco 
 was to the Flanders battle-line. 
 
 Much of this waste of the Great War may be seen 
 from the car windows travelling from Vladivostok 
 to Nikolsk and Khabarovsk, but after the yards are 
 passed and the abandoned factories and railroad-shops 
 are left behind there comes into view the contrast 
 between the dense cities and the vast, limitless fields. 
 The horizon of the city is a sky-line of buildings and
 
 THE HUMAN VOLCANOES 43 
 
 hills, while that of the valleys of the Usuri and Amur 
 Rivers and the steppes of the interior is not a line 
 but an indistinct indication of endless space. Travel- 
 ling up the Amur railroad with the American com- 
 mander on his first inspection trip, we passed through 
 hundreds of thousands of acres of grain-fields, grazing- 
 lands, 'and forests. Some places the oats and wheat 
 had been cut but not harvested; elsewhere the farms 
 were abandoned. There was so much grain it seemed 
 to grow wild, like dandelions in Indiana. Forests 
 were only nicked here and there along the railroad. 
 Far into the ulterior they were primeval. Infrequently 
 there were peasants' huts, log cabins, or rough frame 
 houses painted yellow. For hours we travelled with- 
 out seeing a living thing except golden pheasants on 
 the wing. Sometimes at the village stations the gen- 
 eral's train passed the " regular," which was regular 
 only as a memory of the past, and we glimpsed the 
 frightfulness of travel. Men and women were packed 
 so closely hi box-cars they were more uncomfortable 
 than steers riding from a Western ranch to Kansas 
 City or Omaha. Chinese and Russians, brothers and 
 sisters in misery, en route from Somewhere to Some- 
 where Else in search of peace, relatives, friends, busi- 
 ness, or opportunity. Some were smugglers, others, 
 business men, some peasants, and many of them polit- 
 ical agitators. Bolshevist and Monarchist travelled 
 together, disguised by the same attire and on the 
 same mission. 
 
 Again at another station a train of Cossacks passed, 
 young, reckless men, travelling with their sweethearts, 
 their guns, and horses. They had the best of the rolling-
 
 44 
 
 stock. They feared God only and took their own part 
 in everything. They swayed with the political winds 
 and were anti-Bolshevist only because it was popular. 
 They obeyed no laws but the mandates of their ataman, 
 a twenty-eight-year-old "General." They ran a train 
 of broken artillery, six-inch guns from England cov- 
 ered with tree-bows, up and down the line to impress 
 the inhabitants. 
 
 From every station along the road waved the flag 
 of the Flowery Kingdom, and with the exception of 
 a few towns and bridges guarded exclusively by Amer- 
 icans, the Japanese troops were always present. From 
 Lake Baikal to the Pacific it was the same. Every- 
 where their soldiers, merchants, investigators, agents, 
 and prospectors dotted the country. 
 
 But that vast domain of tillable land was like a 
 vision in a dream. With all the suffering in Vladi- 
 vostok and Khabarovsk, for this Amur city was not 
 an exception, it seemed strange that such fertile valleys 
 should be so deserted, but the counter-revolution of 
 the Bolsheviki bears the responsibility. Since the 
 "Tzar" Lenin and his "Apostles" (a Petrograd poet 
 has likened Lenin's cabinet to twelve modern dis- 
 ciples) Usurped the political power of European Rus- 
 sia, everything has been unsettled and topsy-turvy. 
 There has been no inclination on the part of the people 
 to stay on the land or return to it. There is no security. 
 They cannot be certain that the farm they take or 
 buy or receive, own or rent, will remain in their hands. 
 Some peasants, many thousands of them, have re- 
 mained on the land but mostly in districts far removed 
 from the railroads.
 
 THE HUMAN VOLCANOES 45 
 
 In Khabarovsk, while idling through the market 
 one morning, I saw a group of men gathered around 
 an old peasant, a man crippled and calloused by hard 
 work. In his twitching hands he held a deed to a piece 
 of land near Samara. Physically broken down, he 
 related his story, crying like a heartbroken child at 
 the same time. 
 
 "When the Bolsheviki came to my house they said: 
 'Who owns this property?' I said: 'I do' . . ." The 
 crowd was eager and silent. " 'How long have you 
 been here?' the commissar asked. 'Five years,' said 
 I. 'Then get out,' he said. 'You had this long enough' 
 . . . and he took my house, my cows, my geese, and 
 my flour and grain, and ..." and he ended hi tears 
 while the interested villagers examined his "scrap of 
 paper." 
 
 Returning to Vladivostok from the north I began, 
 almost immediately, a two months' journey into the 
 interior of Siberia, across the steppes to Omsk and 
 over the boundary between Asiatic and European 
 Russia to Ekaterinburg and Cheliabinsk, at that tune 
 the headquarters of the Czecho-Slovak armies on the 
 Ural front. From the Pacific to these mountains, from 
 which come many precious stones and ninety per cent of 
 the world's platinum supply, it was a pleasant journey 
 of six days before the counter-revolution. To-day 
 the trip is made under the greatest hardships hi from 
 three to four times that many days, depending upon 
 the means of travel. Aboard a special train one can 
 reach Omsk in nineteen days, while the "regular" or 
 troop-train will take a month. Only about forty per 
 cent of the locomotives can be used and on some di-
 
 46 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 visions less. The best railway coaches have been com- 
 mandeered by the various armies, domestic and foreign, 
 and what is left for the "travelling public" resembles 
 the dilapidated wooden cars one sees deserted in some 
 American yards. The track, although badly in need 
 of repair and attention, is still able to bear the burdens 
 of flat wheels and heavy cars much better, indeed, 
 than the passengers ! 
 
 It is a thousand-mile journey across Manchuria, 
 that province of China which the Tzar deemed his 
 special sphere of influence, before one enters Siberia 
 again. Manchuria to-day is a beehive of speculation 
 and commerce. Long caravans, drawn by camel and 
 oxen, move across the country with raw materials for 
 Japanese and European markets. Through Harbin 
 move the cars and wagons of manufactured articles, 
 some of which ultimately reach Siberia, but by that 
 time those things which cost a few kopecks in China 
 sell for hundreds of roubles in Irkutsk and Omsk. 
 Twenty cigarettes in a package sell for three cents in 
 Manchouli Station, the border town of Manchuria. 
 In Cheliabinsk they bring eighty cents. Sheepskin 
 coats which the Harbin merchants dispose of in lots 
 at seven dollars each, disappear from the market-stands 
 of Irkutsk at five hundred per cent profit, this in spite 
 of the fact that Siberia was one of the greatest fur- 
 producing countries hi the world. Sugar, which costs 
 as much in northern China as in the United States, 
 was two dollars a pound when I bought some at a rail- 
 road-station near Taiga. Chinese tea and rice are 
 luxuries in the North. And salt ! Salt is so precious 
 in Russia that when I entered one of the shops of Eka-
 
 THE HUMAN VOLCANOES 47 
 
 terinburg and asked to buy some, the old woman be- 
 hind the counter looked at me in amazement. 
 "What/' she asked, "salt? Are you crazy?" 
 Buying salt is like seeking other commodities which 
 Siberia used to import, and I discovered it as soon as 
 I crossed the line again into that empire of boundless 
 possibilities and tragedies. The counter-revolution of 
 the Bolshevists so crippled the railroads and so dis- 
 organized the channels of trade that supplies from the 
 outside are more scarce than German-made goods in 
 France. Still those products which are produced in 
 the country are cheap, cheap to an American who 
 has been educated to a high cost of eating, but ex- 
 pensive to the Russians. Frequently I bought roast 
 goose for eighteen and twenty cents a pound, butter 
 for nineteen and twenty-five cents, and the best cuts 
 of beef for about the same price, but this was at an 
 increase of from fifty to one hundred per cent over the 
 normal peace-time prices. And as for salt, coffee, 
 vegetables, preserved and fresh fruit, they no longer 
 exist as far as the Russian hi the interior knows. 
 
 Economically Siberia may be divided into three 
 districts. From Vladivostok across Manchuria to 
 Manchouli Station there is an abundance of grain and 
 meat. Harbin, the centre of this district, has all the 
 food luxuries of the world. In the Baikal, the moun- 
 tainous region around that lake which is almost as 
 large as Lake Superior, there is such a scarcity of food 
 that starvation is to-day more extensive than in any 
 other part of Russia, not excluding Petrograd and 
 Moscow. From Irkutsk, which is on the other side 
 of the lake as one travels inland to the Urals, such
 
 48 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 food as butter, meat, bread, and fish is plentiful. But 
 all Siberia, as far as household furnishings and every 
 kind of clothing are concerned, is famished. 
 
 Arriving in Irkutsk early one winter morning, after 
 awakening at dawn to see the sun's rays bring out in 
 bold relief the snow-white mountain range which skirts 
 the Baikal, I set out in a sleigh for the bazaar. Irkutsk 
 is said to be the coldest city in Siberia, not because 
 the temperature drops lower than seventy degrees 
 below zero, but by reason of the heavy fogs and ex- 
 treme dampness. As I rode from the station across 
 the temporary wooden toll-bridge over the Angara 
 River into the city proper, the fog was so dense I could 
 not see the water nor the carriage in front. By eleven 
 o'clock the city was still blanketed. By noon the sun 
 appeared for its short irregular visit, and I went to 
 the market-place from the American consulate, where 
 I had gone to get warm as much as to inquire for tele- 
 grams. 
 
 Every Siberian city has its market-place, some even 
 have two or three, but there is always a "big bazaar." 
 Irkutsk had a big market which was typical of others 
 I visited in Tomsk, Taiga, Omsk, Ekaterinburg, and 
 Cheliabinsk. They were, in fact, not markets as we 
 use the word. They were a collection of junk-shops. 
 Over a vast square were several hundred stands and 
 as many dilapidated frame shacks, temporary weather- 
 beaten frame structures, facing narrow streets. To 
 these stands every morning the business men and shop- 
 keepers of the city brought their choice wares. Some 
 of these they displayed on the rough tables or snow- 
 covered ground. Some things were carried about by
 
 A typical Siberian village scene
 
 THE HUMAN VOLCANOES 49 
 
 peddlers who mingled with the crowds bartering and 
 exchanging. Walking about from avenue to avenue 
 in search of a samovar which I needed to boil water 
 for drinking purposes on my way in and out of the 
 country (the water is so unhealthful in this country 
 without sewerage systems that all drinking water must 
 be boiled), I noticed that fully ninety-nine per cent of 
 everything exhibited at the bazaar was second-hand, 
 used or badly worn. Hardware, furniture, overcoats, 
 stockings, underwear, table-cloths, stoves, dresses, jew- 
 elry, shoes, suits, books, guns, lamps, carpets, and beds 
 were to be seen in numberless quantities, and every 
 article looked as if it had changed hands several times 
 before being brought to the stalls. 
 
 Everybody goes to the market, not only to buy 
 and sell but to talk. The bazaars are the market par- 
 liaments. Here the peasants and city dwellers meet 
 to discuss the war and politics, the Bolshevist, the 
 Socialist, and the Monarchist propaganda, the policies 
 of the Allies and the prices of food. There are no reg- 
 ular meetings, of course, and seldom are speeches heard, 
 but rumors and pamphlets circulate, and the market- 
 place discussions take the form of group debates. These 
 are, indeed, crude efforts at democracy, but there is no 
 representative government in Siberia and there is no 
 other place where the people can gather to exchange 
 ideas. So they make use of the markets for both busi- 
 ness and politics. 
 
 Walking about the market of Irkutsk and saunter- 
 ing through the bazaars in other cities, I noticed the 
 presence everywhere of the three striking colors: the 
 black, the white, and the red ; the dark mass of people,
 
 50 
 
 the snow-covered streets and homes, the white nights, 
 and the discontent, the fear, and the suffering. No 
 lines of distinction were visible among the people. 
 All were dressed alike in worn, torn garments. It 
 was not unusual to see educated and cultured women 
 standing in the crowds bargaining for a price for an 
 old fur-coat or a piece of family jewelry. The first 
 revolution destroyed titles and distinctions and made 
 every one a Russian citizen, but the counter-revolution 
 put an end to citizenship and made every one an animal. 
 And Siberia, despite the fact that the Bolsheviki are 
 not in power, has not overcome the effects of the brief 
 reign of terror which followed the usurpation of power 
 by the followers of the Red army. 
 
 This was visible in Vladivostok, Khabarovsk, Tchita, 
 and Irkutsk, but not until I reached Omsk did I feel 
 as if I had climbed to the summit of the human vol- 
 canoes; not until I had explored the craters of suffering 
 in that city, was I sure that I had seen the red of Si- 
 beria, the red which was brought by the Red army. 
 
 Omsk, like so many Siberian cities, is divided into 
 an "old" and a "new" town, a condition due to the 
 construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway as a stra- 
 tegic road. This line, which is to-day the backbone 
 of the country, was built to serve a military purpose 
 and not to benefit the cities or towns. The railroad 
 does not pass through the chief cities, and the "old" 
 towns of Omsk, Tomsk, Cheliabinsk, Ekaterinburg, 
 and Khabarovsk are several versts from the railroad. 
 Consequently new communities have grown about 
 the stations and the "old" and "new" cities are con- 
 nected by shuttle-trams.
 
 THE HUMAN VOLCANOES 51 
 
 The train which brought me from Irkutsk arrived 
 in the morning at "new town," and I stepped out upon 
 the snow-covered platform of a low, white depot in 
 front of which there was the ever-present black mass 
 of humanity men and women, wrapped in worn, 
 winter clothes like mummies; Czech soldiers wearing 
 the high, gray, fur hats of the Cossacks, marked with 
 a small red-and-white ribbon, the national colors of 
 Czecho-Slovakia; Russian officers and hundreds of 
 soldiers. Following the crowd, which was so dense it 
 moved with the speed of a cumbersome tank, I walked 
 to the shuttle-train for Omsk proper, which was already 
 crowded inside and out. From step to step, with hun- 
 dreds of others who were on the same mission, I searched 
 for a place to stand or hold onto but with no success. 
 Finally, as the whistle blew, I climbed with several 
 others around the hangers-on on the steps, up between 
 two cars, and found standing room on the bumpers. 
 I had neglected to purchase a ticket, but I noticed that 
 very few expected to pay then- fares, and I waited 
 developments, knowing that money was always a satis- 
 factory substitute for any kind of a " billet." 
 
 After a ten-minute ride I climbed down from my 
 uncertain foot-rest and walked through the station 
 to the droshky stand, without being asked for my fare. 
 This was what most of the others were doing and, in- 
 asmuch as this was a strange country and a strange 
 world, I thought it best not to be an iconoclast but 
 to follow the crowd. On later trips back and forth 
 between these two stations, I discovered that each 
 car had its conductoress, but that she was usually 
 blockaded in some part of the coach and prevented
 
 52 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 from collecting the fifteen kopecks which the railroad 
 "charged." 
 
 Riding to the centre of Omsk in an old sled (the 
 picturesque, dashing troikas have disappeared), past 
 the great stone railway office-building where the Omsk 
 " government" was housed, past the railway cars where 
 the French and Japanese missions were living, and 
 through the wide streets, I noticed everywhere throngs 
 of soldiers and civilians. It is said there are 100,000 
 Siberian troops in Omsk and 400,000 refugees. Cer- 
 tainly one obtains the impression that the figures are 
 not exaggerated, for no city of a normal population 
 of less than 90,000 could be so overcrowded as Omsk 
 without showing it. There were no rooms to be had 
 in the hotels, boarding-houses, or private residences. 
 The government had been compelled already by cir- 
 cumstances to force the inhabitants to open their 
 homes to the refugees, and still there was not a 
 sufficient space of shelter for every one. Unemployed 
 by day and idle at night, these inhabitants and 
 strangers of Omsk present a typical Russian picture. 
 The counter-revolution of the working men has not 
 ennobled labor. It has made leisure supreme. 
 
 At noon I went to the Cafe* "Delux," where the 
 political strategists and officers gathered, where the 
 business men came to bargain with each other, and 
 the women of the night world had their dejeuner, but 
 there was no room for a stranger and I went away 
 to return in the afternoon when I might eat in peace 
 with a young Russian cadet, my interpreter and guide. 
 
 Toward evening, after visiting the shops where only 
 used articles were on sale evening dresses, the relics
 
 THE HUMAN VOLCANOES 53 
 
 of a past social life; silver services of noblemen, canes, 
 and jewelled swords; after attempting to enter the 
 opera-house where a company of Moscow players 
 were presenting one of Tolstoy's dramas; after going 
 through the Co-operative stores and seeking Russian 
 money in exchange for the American dollars but find- 
 ing the banks unwilling to buy American money, I 
 set out in a farmer's sledge for the "new" station and 
 my railroad car home, a compartment in an old sleeper, 
 which I occupied as a guest with the American Red 
 Cross contingent. 
 
 Omsk was the first Siberian city, in fact the only 
 city in the world I had been in during the war, and 
 my travels had taken me to eighteen countries in Asia, 
 Europe, and the Americas, where our currency had 
 no value. When I handed one of the bankers a twenty- 
 dollar bill he looked it over and gave it back with the 
 final remark that: " There is no demand for that money 
 here." What a contrast that was from the situation 
 in Vladivostok and Harbin only those who have had 
 dealings with the money sharks of these cities can 
 imagine. 
 
 The currency of Siberia is a collection of varieties 
 of paper money and postage-stamps. No coins are 
 in circulation, either gold, silver, or copper. Paper 
 bills of the Tzar's Government sell at a premium and 
 are almost unobtainable; the Kerensky, or provisional 
 government, roubles rank next in value; then comes 
 the Omsk and Siberian government paper money, and 
 finally that of the Bolsheviki; but no one knows from 
 day to day what the value of any of this money will 
 be. The Omsk government did have 600,000,000
 
 54 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 roubles' worth of platinum and gold as a reserve back 
 of the notes of its treasury. This bullion the Czecho- 
 slovaks captured from the Red army at Kazan last 
 summer, but no one knows whether that metal is still 
 in Omsk, or whether some of the numerous officials 
 who have been in office since have appropriated it. 
 In October when American, English, French, and 
 Japenese buyers were in the Urals seeking platinum 
 for their respective governments, to be used in the 
 manufacture of certain war-munitions, the Omsk gov- 
 ernment informed the men it was "unable to locate" 
 more than forty pounds. What became of the other 
 three or four hundred pounds no one seems to know. 
 The finances of European Russia are just as chaotic. 
 From the Primorsky Jizn of Vladivostok I clipped the 
 following despatch: 
 
 "The Bolshevik Central Committee official bulletin, 
 gives the signed treasury statement of Finance Com- 
 missar Gukovsky for the period from January to June, 
 1918. Total receipts from revenues of all kinds were 
 2,862,727,000 roubles. In the same time the total ex- 
 penses were 17,602,727,000 roubles. The deficit is 14,- 
 740,000,000 roubles." 
 
 As a result of the instability of the currency there 
 is universal speculation outside of Omsk and the 
 cities immediately back of the "front." In Vladi- 
 vostok one out of every eight or ten stores has a sign 
 in the window reading, "Money Changed," and the 
 speculators approach every foreigner in each block. 
 A Rumanian, who was in the business and had most
 
 THE HUMAN VOLCANOES 55 
 
 of his transactions with the American and British 
 soldiers because he could speak English, told me he 
 averaged 400 roubles a day profit, all of which the in- 
 experienced soldiers probably lost. 
 
 But the difficulties and exigencies of exchange did 
 not trouble the refugees whom I saw living in caves 
 as my sleigh crossed the wide, wind-swept plain which 
 separated the city proper from the "new town." As 
 I passed the barbed-wire stockade where Bolshevist 
 and German, Magyar, and Austrian were imprisoned, 
 I noticed a score or more of mounds above which the 
 washing of the dwellers was stretched on wires in ir- 
 regular lines atop rough posts. Shouting to the driver, 
 a boy of fifteen dressed in a torn, man's sized fur over- 
 coat and felt boots, to halt, I walked over to the dug- 
 outs, knocked at the board gate which served as a 
 door for one of them, and walked down into the dirt 
 room where a man and his wife with five children were 
 seated or lying about a small iron stove. This hole 
 was their home. Along one side was a straw bed, around 
 the stove were a few cooking utensils. One of the five 
 children had on shoes; three had no stockings; all 
 of them were pale with hunger and weak from lack 
 of exercise, for, with the rigors of the whiter (that morn- 
 ing the thermometer registered forty-two degrees below 
 zero at the American consulate), they had not a suf- 
 ficient amount of clothing to permit them to leave 
 their hearth. 
 
 I did not venture into the other "homes," but some 
 of our Red Cross workers did and they found the same 
 destitution, the same conditions, the same resigned 
 expression on the faces of the people. I did not ask
 
 56 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 them what they hoped for in Russia. It was too evi- 
 dent/but I recalled the remark of a peasant to an Amer- 
 ican officer at Bira, in the Amur: 
 
 "Give us order and give us bread," he said, "noth- 
 ing more." 
 
 That evening several of the nurses, American women 
 who had volunteered to work hi this desolate empire 
 and who had been busy all day in the city, gathered 
 in one of the compartments and sang the rollicking 
 airs of American songs to the music of a guitar, and 
 again there was the contrast. Life was always a series 
 of contrasts in Siberia, and none was more graphic than 
 the scene within this railway car and that within the 
 thousands of box-cars in the same freight-yards where 
 suffering refugees were huddled together unable to 
 sense anything but the cold. 
 
 After midnight I left the car with several doctors, 
 walked through the yards to the depot, and elbowed 
 my way into the third-class waiting-room, stepping 
 carefully over the bodies of sleeping men and women 
 which covered the floor of the hall. In both the first, 
 second, and third class rooms there was the same con- 
 dition everywhere the same sleeping, black mass of 
 human beings. 
 
 In one corner a Red Cross official who accompanied 
 me spied three children seated against the wall, prac- 
 tically naked. A young woman was lying beside them 
 fast asleep, something the children could not do because 
 of the "cooties" which they searched for like monkeys. 
 A black-haired Turkestan soldier, who was a member 
 of the military police, came up, noticing our interest, 
 and addressed us in French. We asked him to awaken
 
 THE HUMAN VOLCANOES 57 
 
 the woman and question her about the children. The 
 private nudged her with his mace and asked in Rus- 
 sian if she was the mother of the three. Rubbing her 
 eyes, raising her head, and frowning, she replied, curtly, 
 "No!" and lay down to sleep again. Pressed for an 
 answer as to where the mother was, she said, "Gone 
 to town," and then, "Oh, she'll be back." 
 
 "Nitchevo," remarked the Russian. "There are 
 lots of them like that." 
 
 On the walls of the depot, again in black and white, 
 were thousands of posters put up by frantic mothers, 
 fathers, brothers, and sisters in search of near relatives 
 who had disappeared or who were lost hi the trains. 
 In these notices were descriptions and appeals, similar 
 to but more tragic than the personal columns of the 
 great metropolitan newspapers. If "Maria," "Ta- 
 tiana," "Ivan," "Nikolai," or, "Alexievitch" arrived 
 in Omsk; if "Mrs. A. Zemenov of Kazan," or 
 "Katherine Rizoff of Kowno," or any one of a thou- 
 sand-named refugees arrived in Omsk, the bulletins 
 said, they will find relatives or friends living in this 
 city or that. All day long the people read these signs. 
 Even at night, under the white lights of the arc-lamps, 
 the refugees perused them, for they were the sole means 
 of personal communication the only possible con- 
 necting links between separated families. 
 
 With Siberia cut off from European Russia by a 
 "battle-line " running from Perm south along the 
 Ural Mountains to the neighborhood of Orenburg, 
 Omsk became the clearing-house for refugees within 
 all that territory defended by the Czecho-Slovak eche- 
 lons. To this city come men from the United States
 
 58 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 and Europe, from Poland and Petrograd, in search of 
 their families whom they had left behind before the 
 counter-revolution. To Omsk come the men, women, 
 and children who have been fortunate in their escape 
 from European Russia. Through this city have passed 
 between 7,000,000 and 8,000,000 refugees to whom 
 Siberia is no longer a place of exile but a land of tem- 
 porary security and freedom from persecution, despite 
 the congestion, the physical suffering, and mental 
 anguish. 
 
 After sojourning several weeks here in the ulterior 
 of Russia, and travelling 5,000 miles back to Vladi- 
 vostok, I felt as if I had climbed to the summits, 
 into the craters, and back to the bases of the human 
 volcanoes, the cities of limitless distress; as if I had 
 seen the fiery red of fear, the black mass of humanity, 
 and the white land. Everywhere there was evident 
 the terrible ruthlessness of the Bolshevist revolution, 
 which during its brief period of destruction in Siberia 
 had made it impossible, for any of the governments 
 thus far organized, to reconstruct, rebuild, renew, or 
 revitalize. 
 
 In Siberia it seemed as if the world stood still and 
 every one was doing his best to live until it began mov- 
 ing again.
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 IN THE WHIRLPOOL OF THE NORTH 
 
 BEFORE the revolution there were four ways of 
 crossing Siberia: by first, second, and third class rail- 
 way-carriages and fourth-class box-cars. To-day there 
 are but two: box-cars and special trains. Almost 
 every day both types of trains leave Vladivostok for 
 " Somewhere in Russia," and after they depart no 
 one can tell where they will ultimately arrive or when, 
 despite the schedules. Railroading, like everything 
 else hi Russia, has been revolutionized i. e., revolu- 
 tionized in the wrong way. Travelling by box-car 
 one fights for standing-room in a four-wheeled anti- 
 quated wooden car, painted railroad-red and about 
 one-third the size of an American freight-car. If one 
 is lucky in winter one gets a place near the stove in 
 the centre; if unlucky one may be crammed into a 
 corner without heat or light. By the box-car route 
 one can travel as long as one can endure the un- 
 ventilated ulterior and the company of Russia's un- 
 fortunates. * 
 
 With the special train it is somewhat different. 
 Instead of standing or sleeping in the ticket line for 
 eighteen or twenty hours to purchase a fourth-class 
 ticket, and instead of taking one's chances with the 
 Russian trainman and his whip (and whips are not 
 emblems of authority alone !), one applies to the Inter- 
 
 59
 
 60 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 Allied Railway Commission in Vladivostok, and this 
 commission, if it looks with favor upon the "mission," 
 will grant a car or special train, whichever is needed. 
 
 The "permit" is only an invitation to travel because 
 every general, commission, colonel, mission, society, 
 and army has already confiscated the best cars, and 
 what a new "mission" obtains is what others have 
 left behind. The car the American Red Cross obtained 
 for some of the doctors, nurses, and correspondents 
 had been a "has been" for several years. The con- 
 ductor claimed he had been living in it several months 
 in the Vladivostok yards. Last spring, he said, his 
 car had been ordered to Moscow but the Bolshevists 
 arrived first, and he and his "wagon-lits" were side- 
 tracked. 
 
 It does not really matter by what train one leaves 
 the city because all are apt to make equally good time. 
 There are no time-tables and the improvised schedules 
 permit the trains to run when the tracks are clear, and 
 it is fortunate that the Russian trainmen still have 
 a sufficient interest hi their work to take care in 
 despatching trains. This appears to be about the 
 only part of the railroad business which is not topsy- 
 turvy. 
 
 Luck, however, plays a surprising role. If one is 
 fortunate on the "special" one may arrive in Harbin, 
 Manchuria, the first big station on the Chinese Eastern 
 Railway, in twenty hours. If not it may require thirty- 
 eight or forty hours. Travelling is a gamble. I made 
 one journey between Vladivostok and Harbin in twenty 
 hours with John F. Stevens and Colonel George Emer- 
 son of the United States Railway Service Corps. A
 
 IN THE WHIRLPOOL OF THE NORTH 61 
 
 second journey took thirty-six hours! One gambles 
 with time, money, and patience, and if one can speak 
 Russian fluently one gambles with the language, too. 
 There was a time when one could go from Vladivostok 
 to Moscow hi nine days. Now it takes ten days to go 
 to Irkutsk, which is about one-third the way. 
 
 It does not take long for one to become accustomed 
 to railway travel in Siberia. It is bad business and 
 is accepted as such. 
 
 You resign yourself to Fate; you get out your army 
 blankets and your air pillow and make a bed; you 
 see to it that your larder is well stocked. Then you 
 forget everything else and trust to the revolution not 
 to make any changes until you reach your destination, 
 which is a fluctuating point on the map of Siberia. 
 My destination was the Czech front, which was a mov- 
 able line somewhere in the heart of Russia, and after 
 I reached Irkutsk, a beautiful city with large modern 
 buildings and great churches near Lake Baikal, one 
 of the five largest lakes hi the world, I was still at least 
 a week from the front, its present location, but within 
 a week it may move nearer or further away. Life and 
 travel, alike, are unknown quantities in Siberia, and, 
 I was travelling ! 
 
 As far as Tchita there are two routes, one in Siberia 
 proper and the other through north-central Manchuria. 
 Originally there was but one trans-Siberian line from 
 Tchita, and that connected with the Chinese Eastern 
 Railway, but after the Russo-Japanese War the Rus- 
 sian Government began the construction of the Amur 
 railway along the Siberian-Manchurian border, so that, 
 in event of another war with Japan or any other na-
 
 62 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 tion in the Far East, Russian trains could be run to 
 Vladivostok solely over Russian territory. 
 
 On the Amur railway to Tchita there is one chief 
 town, Khabarovsk, where the American and Japanese 
 troops were stationed in the old barracks of the Fifth 
 Siberian Army Corps. Along the Chinese Eastern 
 line through Manchuria our train, which reached 
 Irkutsk after seemingly numberless delays, stopped 
 a;t Harbin, Manchuria City, and Tchita long enough 
 to permit us to glimpse the cities as a whole, and in 
 some instances to examine and study the schools, the 
 bazaars, the shops, and the churches; for Siberia has 
 all the earmarks of civilization although this civiliza- 
 tion is at a standstill. Every city of any size, and 
 there are several with over 50,000 and 100,000 in- 
 habitants, has its opera-house or theatre; its movies 
 and cabarets; its cafe's and midnight restaurants, and 
 its banks, jewelry shops, fur stores, and Japanese curio 
 stands. Cities like Harbin, Manchuria City, and 
 Tchita, have their unpaved dirt streets, their log huts, 
 and community cellars as well as their brick and stone 
 business blocks. 
 
 No city is without its droshkies; those four-wheeled, 
 opened, one-seated carriages drawn by Siberian ponies 
 and driven by ex-soldiers, ex-vodka-drinkers, or ex- 
 exiles. Russia, like France, can be distinguished from 
 every other country in the world by its droshky drivers. 
 They are an unchangeable quantity, with the same 
 long, unkempt whiskers, the same curly fur hats and 
 long lamb's-wool-lined coats and felt boots. Their 
 faces betray their ignorance and their innocence, and 
 still, with all their faults, they are the sponges of Rus-
 
 IN THE WHIRLPOOL OF THE NORTH 63 
 
 sian public opinion. They are the most accurate re- 
 porters because they have no thoughts of their owfl; 
 they repeat only what they have heard their passengers 
 say or what they have been told. They disseminate 
 news; they keep scandal alive; they absorb opinion, 
 and they charge foreigners their maximum fare plus 
 a generous profit. Their ambition is to make their 
 gross receipts cover their expenses each day, and when 
 that is done neither money nor influence will cause 
 them to work an hour longer. They are men with 
 fixed limits and they know their limit if nothing else. 
 
 To see these old, dishevelled men in their droshkies 
 or their sleighs, and to see the thousands of miles of 
 undeveloped, snow-covered land, is to see Siberia. 
 These two, the people and the land, are the coarse, 
 untrimmed dress of Siberia. Everything else theatres, 
 churches, and shops is mere decoration ! 
 
 We sauntered about Harbin, after running the 
 gauntlet of the fur dealers along the line and without 
 being disturbed by the Japanese troops guarding the 
 railway. Through the narrow streets of the old city 
 and the broad unimproved thoroughfares of the "new 
 town," we journeyed in our droshky. In the streets 
 were armed Chinese soldiers, the city police, while 
 marching through the town were Japanese soldiers. 
 Everywhere there were more Russians than all other 
 nationalities combined. The stores were generously 
 supplied with merchandise. Vodka, whiskey, and 
 wines were for sale in shops throughout the town. 
 During the day the restaurants were deserted. Even 
 at eight o'clock one evening when we went to a so- 
 called "modern" restaurant we found it cold and un-
 
 64 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 inviting. Four hours later, at midnight, the crowd 
 began to arrive, and we learned that " Harbin life," 
 which is famous in the East, begins at the earliest hours 
 of the day. After purposely dining very late one eve- 
 ning we went to the cabarets, four of them, and as 
 we were leaving the last one about three o'clock in 
 the morning some one called to us in English: 
 
 "What? You-all goin' home so soon?" 
 
 We looked around to see an American negro stand- 
 ing hi the doorway of the cloak-room. 
 
 "What are you doing here?" we asked. 
 
 "Oh, I been battin' about this country fir twenty- 
 five years. I go on at four o'clock," replied the negro. 
 "I'm with the 'Lusiana Trio.' We sing after while. 
 You-all better stay." 
 
 Here in Harbin were three American negroes on 
 the stage of a cabaret, and their act began at 4 A. M. ! 
 
 "How do you like it out here?" one of our party 
 asked: 
 
 "All right. Me and mah pals er just pickin' up some 
 uh de loose money aroun' here." 
 
 From the appearance of the city by day one would 
 not think there was "loose money" in Manchuria, 
 but by midnight money is spent lavishly on vodka, 
 champagne, rich food, and the "life of the East." That 
 there should be so much money here to be squandered 
 was difficult for an American to comprehend. 
 
 Leaving Harbin we journeyed on by easy stages 
 to Manchuria City, the last Chinese station. All along 
 the line from Vladivostok to Manchuria we met the 
 American railway engineers; the practical men and 
 the experts from the United States who came to Rus-
 
 IN THE WHIRLPOOL OF THE NORTH 65 
 
 sia with John F. Stevens to take charge of this railway 
 line under the Kerensky government. But at the time 
 of my visit to Siberia they are men without a railroad. 
 While they are scattered along the route of the Trans- 
 Siberian they had no authority. They rode the trains, 
 they attempted to introduce modern systems of train 
 despatching, and for a few hours every day they con- 
 trolled the telegraph wire, transmitting American mes- 
 sages and news. They were living for the day when 
 they could assume control of the road and make it as 
 efficient as they had made our own lines in the United 
 States. But that day is always the day after to- 
 morrow. (At this writing, although an agreement has 
 been made, they are still inactive.) Should the time 
 ever come, however, when the American engineers can 
 take hold of the Trans-Siberian, there will be nothing 
 about this line which they will not know. 
 
 Our train was passing through a small town one 
 day when one of the Red Cross nurses opened the win- 
 dow to glimpse the station. Immediately there was 
 a call in English: 
 
 "Won't you please come out here a moment. We 
 haven't seen an American woman for nearly a year, 
 and we have about forgotten what they look like." 
 
 It was an American engineer, alone in a small town 
 in Manchuria, filling his place in Uncle Sam's world- 
 wide war programme; a programme which will be, 
 if it is not already, something of a world-peace pro- 
 gramme also. And this engineer was beginning his 
 second winter in Siberia, almost a voluntary exile. 
 
 In Manchuria and in Siberia a traveller to-day meets 
 the representatives of two other American organiza-
 
 66 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 tions, the Red Cross and the Y. M. C. A. It is a com- 
 mon sight to pass Y. M. C. A. freight-cars en route 
 to and from the front, and in several cities along the 
 line are American hospitals and relief organizations. 
 Our army may not be very widely scattered in the 
 Far East, but every other American organization is. 
 Day after day we passed middle-aged and young men, 
 riding in box-cars or in dilapidated second-class coaches 
 American men, most of them volunteers. 
 
 One meets, also, another class of Americans in this 
 country the Russians, Germans, Austrians, and 
 Czechs who have lived in the United States. From 
 Vladivostok to Irkutsk, at nearly every station, we 
 met some one who could speak English, and who said 
 that New York or New Jersey or Pennsylvania had 
 been their home State before they returned to Siberia. 
 
 We were pushing our way through the crowded 
 waiting-room of the Manchuria City station when 
 some one called to us in English, recognizing us as 
 Americans by our uniforms: 
 
 "She's a fine-looking girl, isn't she?" 
 
 We looked around to see a young Russian pointing 
 to a Russian girl conversing with the station-master. 
 
 " Where did you come from?" That was our in- 
 variable reply to such greetings. 
 
 "Oh, I've been in Canada and New York seven 
 years," was his reply. 
 
 At another very small village near Lake Baikal a 
 young girl came to the train saying: "You Amer- 
 icans?" To our reply that we were, she said: "I been 
 in New York in 'milliner' shop." 
 
 A few experiences such as these soon convince one
 
 IN THE WHIRLPOOL OF THE NORTH 67 
 
 that Siberia is not as far from the United States as 
 many of us have imagined. I was walking through 
 the railroad yards of Sema one afternoon, when I spied 
 some German war prisoners in a box-car. Climbing 
 in I found seven Germans and Austrians; the tailors 
 and shoemakers for a company of Cossacks. 
 
 "I have been seven years in Reading, Pennsylvania," 
 said one of the men. "I have a brother there, Mathias 
 Simon, but I haven't heard from him in thirteen 
 months." 
 
 "Are you married?" I asked. 
 
 "Yes, I have a wife and baby in Budapest." 
 
 "Do you know that Austria and Germany have 
 made peace." 
 
 "No!" he inquired, hopelessly astonished. "Then 
 why don't they let us go home?" 
 
 With these words he echoed the wish of every war 
 prisoner in Siberia. I met many hundreds of them in 
 all parts of the country and their only question has 
 been: "When do you think we can go home?" To 
 some of them I have spoken about the war, asking: 
 
 "Well, when you do get back, will you be ready again 
 for another war?" 
 
 Their answers have been a chorus of "Never again, 
 if we have anything to say about it." In this respect 
 Siberia has been a great pacifier. 
 
 From Manchuria City we moved on to Siberia, but 
 not without having the customary experience with 
 smugglers. In Manchuria everything from tobacco to 
 liquor and food, and from clothing to raw materials, is 
 plentiful. In Siberia many of the commonest articles 
 are luxuries. And on every train there are smugglers,
 
 68 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 Chinamen and Russians, who carry everything they 
 can across the border. Two Chinamen climbed on 
 the engine of the Red Cross special train and arrived 
 safely in Siberia. Although they admitted that they 
 had smuggled tobacco and white flour, there was no 
 one at the Siberian station to arrest them, and they 
 proceeded on their way as if it were quite the ordinary 
 thing to do. 
 
 It was only a short ride between the two border 
 stations, and before we left Manchuria another corre- 
 spondent and I were in the office of the station-master, 
 on the second floor of the depot. While we were wait- 
 ing there a train of box-cars arrived. Looking out of 
 the window the official said: 
 
 " Another load of smugglers on then 1 way!" 
 
 He seemed resigned to his position and to his help- 
 lessness. Smuggling in this part of the world is rapidly 
 becoming legitimate, or perhaps legal, because it is 
 now the custom of the country. In normal times 
 smuggling was confined to tobacco, hides, sugar, and 
 flour, but to-day the stakes are higher. Gold, silver, 
 and platinum, fire-arms and other weapons bring the 
 greatest rewards and the severest punishment. But 
 the smugglers consider the game worth the gamble. 
 
 Tchita is one of the greatest trading centres in east- 
 ern Siberia, because years before the Siberian railroad 
 was constructed the caravan routes of the East cen- 
 tred here. Even to-day one can see the caravans of 
 camels and others of horses and ponies bringing in 
 raw materials from Mongolia, Manchuria, and northern 
 Siberia. In several places the Trans-Siberian Railway 
 follows the old caravan routes, and from car windows
 
 IN THE WHIRLPOOL OF THE NORTH 69 
 
 may be seen the slowly moving columns making their 
 way through the snow. The riches of the East still 
 travel this way, because to most communities the rail- 
 road is unknown. Glance at the map of Siberia and 
 you will see an empire at least twice as large as the 
 United States. Imagine one railroad running from 
 New York via Chicago to San Francisco, and no other 
 railways in the United States, and you will have some 
 idea of the hundreds of thousands of square miles of 
 territory in Siberia without railway communication. 
 In America the railroads cover the country like a 
 fine net. In Siberia the railroad is scarcely more than 
 a thread. And these caravans which pass through 
 Tchita are the shuttles; the slowly moving shuttles 
 between Tchita and hundreds of cities and towns 3,000 
 miles away. 
 
 Tchita, however, despite the fact that it was once 
 the home of exiles, especially the revolutionists of the 
 early nineteenth century, is to-day a busy city with 
 modern business houses and schools. In Vladivostok 
 and Khabarovsk I had seen similar evidences of prog- 
 ress and modern civilization, but Tchita seems to have 
 been reserved for the greatest surprise. 
 
 I was walking about the city one day when I saw, 
 what is now a very usual sight, hundreds of school 
 children on their way to school. It is difficult for an 
 American to comprehend Russia's educational system 
 before the war, because only the children of the bour- 
 geoisie could attend. Jewish children and those of the 
 peasants and poor could not attend the public schools. 
 Education was forbidden to them. But to-day, and 
 only since the revolution of March, 1917, education is
 
 70 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 free to all and every schoolhouse and classroom is 
 crowded. None of the schools of Siberia can accom- 
 modate all those who wish to attend. 
 
 Seeing the children of Tchita, bundled in their torn 
 garments and furs, on their way to school, eager and 
 happy, I followed with several other Americans and 
 entered the gymnasium. One of our party, who spoke 
 Russian, introduced us to the principal and we were 
 escorted from classroom to classroom. Everywhere 
 the condition was the same. The children were crowded 
 in their seats. They were studying arithmetic, read- 
 ing, and writing, and in one room we were shown the 
 very limited number of instruments which were used 
 in the physics and astronomical laboratories. 
 
 As we were about to leave, the principal led us to 
 a large classroom in one corner of the big structure. 
 It was a spacious, light room with various art objects, 
 plaster casts and still-life studies arranged on a long 
 table against the wall. In the centre of the room were 
 some sixty girls standing before their easels, drawing 
 or copying a plaster cast with intense interest in their 
 work. Here in Tchita, Siberia, the last place in the 
 world that I had expected to find such a thing, was an 
 art school. One who has never been in Siberia, who 
 has imagined it a wilderness and only a prison for polit- 
 ical prisoners, can perhaps comprehend our astonish- 
 ment. Art, of all things, in Siberia ! What a mockery 
 in the face of the revolution ! 
 
 To pass from this scene to the snow-covered streets 
 of the city and see a Russian soldier astride a horse, 
 going from house to house with a telegram, in search 
 of the man to whom it was addressed, was to pass from
 
 IN THE WHIRLPOOL OF THE NORTH 71 
 
 the sublime to the riduculous. The soldier had a tele- 
 gram for an officer whose address was unknown be- 
 cause there was no city directory or police register, 
 and he was searching for him. 
 
 From Tchita to Irkutsk is the Switzerland of Si- 
 beria. It is said by all travellers that the Lake Baikal 
 district is the most beautiful section of this great em- 
 pire, and after one has made the journey by day in 
 winter, one does not hesitate hi joining those who have 
 praised it. To awaken early in the morning while 
 the train is skirting the shores of the lake, and to see 
 the sun rise behind the snow-capped peaks of the moun- 
 tains on the opposite shore, perhaps twenty-five miles 
 across the placid blue lake, is to witness one of the 
 most wonderful scenes in the world. Last winter I 
 was in Switzerland. During the winter of 1916 and 
 1917 I travelled through the Transylvania Alps and 
 the mountains of Bavaria. En route to the Far East 
 I crossed the Rockies and the Sierra Nevada. For 
 grandeur and mass, few of these mountain ranges can 
 compare with the Baikal range, although the Swiss 
 and French Alps are higher, and although the passes 
 through Transylvania are picturesque and beautiful, 
 I know of no scene to compare with that from the east- 
 ern shore of Lake Baikal on a clear winter morning 
 before the lake is frozen over. Its massiveness may 
 be comprehended when one realizes that Lake Baikal 
 is one of the five largest lakes in the world; that it 
 is 400 miles long and between eighteen and fifty-six 
 miles wide, with a mountain range more than a mile 
 above the lake stretching along the western shore like 
 lace against a background of gold and blue clouds.
 
 72 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 Over the lake the sun appears, copper-gold in color, 
 contrasting sharply with the silver sunrises and sun- 
 sets farther east in the birch forests. 
 
 Into this country some of the Allied troops have 
 come. The Japanese flag flies from nearly every station 
 from Vladivostok to Irkutsk. Here and there wave 
 the colors of the Czecho-Slovaks, the simple red and 
 white banner of the new nation whose army is locked 
 in Siberia. From a few stations and public buildings 
 flies the emblem of free Russia, the white, blue, and 
 red. The French tricolor, the Union Jack, and the 
 Stars and Stripes are not seen after one leaves Vladi- 
 vostok, except on passing trains. 
 
 Between Vladivostok and Irkutsk the only evi- 
 dences of a Russian army are the officers, and there 
 are a sufficient number of these to command two new 
 Russian armies. The privates have all disappeared 
 into private life, excepting those who travel with the 
 officers as orderlies or " guards of honor." Day by 
 day our train passed special trams of Russian officers 
 attached to this and that army several thousand miles 
 away from the front, transporting artillery and auto- 
 mobiles from town to city and back again. What 
 there is of a Russian army to-day is on wheels, and 
 apparently there is no place to go. But when the 
 Czecho-Slovaks stopped fighting the army, under Ad- 
 miral Koltshak, was given new life. 
 
 With the Czecho-Slovaks this is not the case. Every 
 one in Russia knows that it is the Czecho-Slovak army 
 which kept the Bolsheviki forces out of Siberia. To 
 the Czechs and to them alone belongs the credit for 
 the order which exists in eastern and western Siberia,
 
 IN THE WHIRLPOOL OF THE NORTH 73 
 
 excepting, perhaps, in the few cities where the other 
 Allies are stationed. The Czechs are not strutting 
 on the war stage of the East. They are not even asking 
 for praise. Their business is fighting, and they were 
 doing theh 1 work quietly and splendidly before the 
 armistice. Enter any Siberian city and call at the 
 Czech headquarters. You will not find a general or 
 even a colonel or major hi charge. You may find a 
 captain, but the chances are that a lieutenant and 
 non-commissioned officer will greet you, because the 
 Czech army is a working army and more attention is 
 paid to work than to rank. Where there are thou- 
 sands of Russian officers and dozens of privates there 
 are thousands of Czech soldiers and a few officers. 
 Most of the Czecho-Slovak army was at the front, 
 the front which they made hi a foreign country, in 
 their fight for their own freedom and independence. 
 
 Travelling from Irkutsk to Ekaterinburg one passes 
 through two important cities, Tomsk and Omsk. The 
 former has been for many years the educational centre 
 of Siberia. A large university is located there, where 
 refugee students and professors from all sections of 
 Russia have gathered since the Bolsheviki began to 
 persecute the educated as well as the rich and pro- 
 fessional citizens. The great white varsity buildings 
 cover several acres of ground and compare favorably 
 with many prominent American universities. It re- 
 sembles, perhaps better than any university I have 
 seen, the famous old institution in Geneva, Switzerland. 
 
 The attitude of the Bolsheviki toward the educated 
 classes was illustrated for me by a professor of the 
 University of Moscow, who had been and is still a
 
 74 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 representative of the Russian Co-operative Unions, 
 and an instructor on their general board. Throughout 
 the war and the revolution he has been travelling in 
 Russia from Wilna to Vladivostok and from Arch- 
 angel to Tashkent on business for the unions. After 
 the Bolshevist revolution he appeared hi Tashkent 
 as Professor "Z," of the University of Moscow, but 
 he had not been there many hours until he learned 
 that his life was in danger because he was a "profes- 
 sor," and therefore an " intellectual," and a member 
 of the "old regime." 
 
 He was arrested and taken before the local Soviet 
 on the charge of carrying on propaganda as a "pro- 
 fessor." 
 
 "But I am not a 'professor/ " he told the commis- 
 sars. "I am an instructor in the Co-operative Unions. 
 Here is my card." 
 
 Those who could read scanned his credentials but 
 looked at him sceptically because he wore eye-glasses. 
 Finally they released him, being convinced that he 
 was only an "instructor," and the Red revolution 
 officially recognized "instructors" as workmen! 
 
 Tomsk, being an educational centre, has exerted a 
 deal of influence upon Siberian and Russian politics. 
 During the tune the Siberian Government, with head- 
 quarters in Omsk, controlled the country, several im- 
 portant political meetings and conventions were held 
 there. Tomsk is the home of Premier Vologodsky of 
 the All-Russian Government and the present premier 
 acting under the dictator, Admiral Koltshak. Tomsk 
 is also, next to Ekaterinburg, the most beautiful city 
 in this part of Russia.
 
 IN THE WHIRLPOOL OF THE NORTH 75 
 
 Omsk has gained its fame and importance only as 
 a seat of the government. After the convention held 
 at Ufa during the summer, when all of the local gov- 
 ernments of Siberia, Archangel, and the Urals formed 
 the All-Russian Government, Omsk was selected as 
 the temporary capital and the directory and cabinet 
 opened offices there. The National Assembly, which 
 was controlled by the industrial workers of the left 
 wing of the Social Revolutionists, by men with very 
 extreme views, held themselves somewhat aloof of 
 the central government, and made Ekaterinburg the 
 seat of the national Parliament. 
 
 From Omsk one journeys to Ekaterinburg, the city 
 which became famous with the discovery of the 
 platinum and gold mines near by and the Ural stones, 
 such as alexandrites, emeralds, rubies, sapphires, aqua 
 marines, etc. Ekaterinburg is also one of the largest 
 industrial cities in the Ural Mountains. It is a city 
 of palaces built by mine owners, millers, and stone 
 merchants. Until 1905 the chief government mint was 
 located here, and to-day the low brick buildings, en- 
 closed by a high brick wall, still stand, deserted and 
 goldless. 
 
 Politically, in addition to its importance as the 
 former meeting-place of the National Assembly, it is 
 the present headquarters of the Czecho-Slovak Na- 
 tional Council in Russia. 
 
 In Ekaterinburg I remained until Thanksgiving 
 Day, walking and riding about the beautiful city in 
 an old sleigh which I hired daily at the station, pay- 
 ing from ninety to one hundred roubles per day for its 
 use!
 
 76 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 The city was renowned before the war as the 
 platinum centre of the world. From the Ekaterinburg 
 mines came ninety per cent of the world's platinum 
 supply, and after the city was captured by the Czecho- 
 slovaks American, English, French, and Japanese 
 officials came here to bid against each other for this 
 valuable metal which was of such supreme importance 
 during the war. But that which made Ekaterinburg 
 famous was not the mines nor the great monastery 
 founded by Katherine the Great, but the residence of 
 Professor Ipatieff in which the Tzar, Nikolas II, and 
 his family were imprisoned until they mysteriously 
 disappeared in July, 1918. 
 
 During my stay in the city I devoted a great deal 
 of tune to the investigation of the Romanoff's fate, 
 and the story of the circumstances of his imprison- 
 ment and trial (related in Chapter V) throw an 
 interesting search-light upon the methods of the Work- 
 ingmen's Union of Soldiers, Sailors, and Cossacks in 
 handling the " aristocracy." 
 
 This section of Siberia, from the Pacific to the Urals, 
 is the whirlpool of Russia. Gone are the days when 
 the proud armies of the Romanoffs march through 
 capitals and villages singing: 
 "Who were our grandmothers?" 
 "Our grandmothers were the white tents." 
 "And who were our grandfathers?" 
 "Our grandfathers were the Tzar's victories." 
 Chaos rules Russia to-day with greater power than 
 the Romanoffs possessed in their regal days, for not 
 only is Russia at the mercy of universal chaos, but the 
 Allies and the Great Powers are seemingly powerless.
 
 IN THE WHIRLPOOL OF THE NORTH 77 
 
 That Russia's civil war is not ended, and that it will 
 be extremely difficult, if not impossible, for peace in 
 Russia to be made at any European conference, are 
 two impressions which become convictions as one 
 travels to-day through Siberia to European Russia 
 to Ekaterinburg and Cheliabinsk, the headquarters of 
 the Czecho-Slovak armies. From Vladivostok to the 
 Ural Mountains Russia assumes her common dress 
 of chaos; the garb the Tzar cut and the revolution 
 sewed for the land and the people. Everywhere the 
 people ask: "When shall we have peace in Russia?" 
 and from all sides comes the answer: "I don't know," 
 or "Nitchevo." 
 
 Russia is the supreme tragedy of the war. The 
 invasion of Belgium in 1914 was ruthless and criminal, 
 but Belgium had friends who came to her help; neigh- 
 bors who knew the danger and who understood con- 
 ditions in that heroic country. The sympathy for 
 Belgium which was so universal and real, even in the 
 United States, was a source of wonderful help to 
 the Belgian people. But as for Siberia and Russia, 
 during their days of trial the world looked on with 
 cold pity. But while the rest of the world hesitated 
 the Bolsheviki worked to further disorganize and dis- 
 grace Russia. Trotsky stated recently, according 
 to the Siberian newspapers, that Russia's civil war 
 would last fifty years. If this is a good forecast; if 
 Russia is to be another Mexico, except on a grander 
 scale, then Russia's civil war is not only not ended but 
 it is just beginning, and the overthrow of the Tzar and 
 the Red army reign of terror are the prologue and 
 preface to one of the greatest and most tragic national
 
 78 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 dramas in history. And who to-day can doubt Trot- 
 sky's statement when there is no more a recognized 
 central government even in Siberia, and when bands of 
 revolutionary generals and soldiers seize cities, towns, 
 and provinces and exact tribute; when in European 
 Russia the Bolsheviki and the Allies fight near Kieff; 
 when General Denekin and his army of Cossacks march 
 across southern Russia; when the Czecho-Slovak 
 armies hold the Ural Mountain front, and when a dic- 
 tator rules in Omsk who is not recognized by leaders 
 in all other parts of Siberia? What is there but chaos, 
 chaos everywhere, when hundreds of thousands of 
 refugees live in box-cars and are shuttled from freight- 
 yard to freight-yard; when factories are closed be- 
 cause of strikes or a lack of raw materials; when any 
 one and every one can have a special train or car with- 
 out paying for it or without buying railway tickets; 
 when the educated stand at street-corners selling their 
 old clothes to pay their living expenses; when banks 
 are robbed and people murdered with the guilty escap- 
 ing prosecution and arrest? Russia is in that sad state 
 where civilization is a mockery. 
 
 And the pity of it is that no one seems to know what 
 should be done to help Russia, or, if there is some one 
 person or some great nation which knows, either power 
 or decision is lacking. Russia to-day, is a prostrate 
 patient, baffling the greatest political specialists in 
 the world. Some advocate an army, others maintain 
 that an efficient and effective army is impossible. Some 
 leaders believe in Allied military intervention, but sol- 
 diers throughout the world are weary of fighting. The 
 militant spark which makes men fight is dimmed. The
 
 IN THE WHIRLPOOL OF THE NORTH 79 
 
 war is over in Europe and the common masses here do 
 not understand why the war does not end in Russia. 
 
 Opposing these military specialists are others who 
 believe that Russia should be left alone to work out 
 her own destiny; to fight a fratricidal war until the 
 strong survive and the weak perish. Others believe 
 that Russia Should be fed and clothed and rehabilitated 
 economically. No two nations agree, while the Russian 
 people look first to Omsk, then to Moscow and Petro- 
 grad, or Washington, Vladivostok, Paris, or London, 
 expecting all the while to see the sun rise on a new 
 era but witnessing daily the same red sunset, ending 
 a day of terror and forecasting another day of strife 
 and suffering. 
 
 From Vladivostok to Ekaterinburg, Asiatic Russia 
 takes on its real appearance, as an empire without 
 order. 
 
 But this is not new. Russia has been disorganized 
 and disturbed long before the revolution. The revo- 
 lution only raised the curtain for the whole world to 
 see the spectacle. There was bribery and corruption 
 before; the government was disorganized; people 
 were dissatisfied; the railroads were overburdened; 
 there were traffic tie-ups, crowded prisons, plots and 
 complots. The story of Russia to-day is not new; 
 it is only a new version, but, what makes it important, 
 perhaps more important to-day than ever before, is 
 that the United States and the Allies promised to help 
 Russia and the Russian people want to know where 
 that help is and when it may be expected. They also 
 wish to know what kind of aid is to be forthcoming: 
 economic, political, social, moral, or military. One
 
 80 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 soon learns how keen is this Russian wish when one 
 traverses that part of Russia along the Trans-Siberian 
 Railway between Irkutsk and the present front. Per- 
 haps that part of the world which is fifteen thousand 
 miles away does not wish to be disturbed by the situa- 
 tion in Russia, but the fact remains that here, in this 
 part of the world, several million people are interested 
 in knowing whether or no the Allies intend to keep 
 their promises. It does not matter so much what is 
 being said and thought about Russia in the other sec- 
 tion of the universe as it does what this country is 
 saying about the Allies and America. And it is the 
 opinion and sentiment of central Siberia that I shall 
 give in twelve statements which I heard during my 
 journey in November and December from Irkutsk to 
 Ekaterinburg and back again. This is to be a state- 
 ment of what others think of us. In the words of the 
 latest song hit in Moscow: 
 
 "Forget your fireplaces, the fires have gone out." 
 
 Think about Russia ! 
 
 In a few sentences these are some of the expressions 
 one hears in Russia to-day about America, Russia, 
 and the Allies: 
 
 1. Russia can never help herself to order. There 
 never will be a strong government in Russia until the 
 Allies establish such a government and maintain it. 
 
 2. Without military aid from the Allies the Bol- 
 sheviki will never be overthrown. 
 
 3. If all foreigners would get out of Russia and let 
 the Russian people alone there would soon be order 
 here.
 
 IN THE WHIRLPOOL OF THE NORTH 81 
 
 4. A military dictatorship is the only solution of 
 Russia's present problems. 
 
 5. The Russian people want a monarchy. A Social- 
 istic government is not the wish of a majority of the 
 people. 
 
 6. The Social Revolutionists made the first revolu- 
 tion a success, and Russia's salvation lies in their 
 hands. 
 
 7. Give Russia food, household supplies, clothing, 
 raw materials, and other supplies, distribute them 
 without favor and at reasonable prices, and Russia will 
 work out her own destiny. 
 
 8. Let the Japanese come in. 
 
 9. Keep the Japanese out of Russia. 
 
 10. Reorganize the Russian army, supply it with 
 war-materials, and the new army will save Russia. 
 
 11. But don't give Russia to Germany. 
 
 12. Some nation will get Russia if the Allies do not 
 come in now. What has become of the Allied promises 
 to help Russia? 
 
 These are twelve main varieties of opinions expressed 
 among inhabitants and foreigners of Asiatic Russia 
 to-day. I believe this represents, also, the chief views 
 of Russians of all classes and from all parts of the coun- 
 try, excepting the Bolsheviki, because Siberian Russia 
 does not represent to-day what it represented before 
 the Bolsheviki uprisings. Siberian-Russian opinion 
 is the opinion of Bolshevikiless Russia, because in every 
 city of Asiatic Russia to-day are political leaders, of- 
 ficers, merchants, landowners, peasants, traders, doc- 
 tors, lawyers, and laborers from Petrograd, Moscow, 
 Libau, Riga, Kowno, Wilna, Brest-Litovsk, Kharkoff,
 
 82 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 Kieff, Odessa, and elsewhere. They have come here 
 to escape the Bolshevik! and, if they can, to help Rus- 
 sia to overthrow the Bolsheviki. I met men and women 
 from all parts of European Russia on my two trips 
 across central Siberia. These people are living in 
 Omsk, Ekaterinburg, Tomsk, Tiumen, Taiga, Irkutsk, 
 Cheliabinsk, Marinsk, and other cities, awaiting the 
 day when Russia makes peace with herself and they 
 can return to their homes. "To our homes," and not 
 "To the front," is the cry of the Russian people to- 
 day. If the wish of these people could be expressed 
 in a few words it would be this: "Let us live at home 
 in peace." 
 
 How this wish can be realized is the problem of 
 Russia. How the people can be helped to attain it 
 is the problem of the United States and the Allies 
 the nucleus of a league of nations.
 
 CHAPTER V 
 THE FATE OF THE TZAR 
 
 THE fate of the former imperial family of Russia 
 is one of the great mysteries of the war. The last place 
 in which they are known to have been imprisoned is 
 Ekaterinburg, that beautiful snow-white city with 
 broad thoroughfares and palaces the jewel of the 
 Ural Mountains. 
 
 To Ekaterinburg Nikolas II, his wife, daughters, 
 son, physicians, and servants were removed under a 
 strong Bolshevist guard from Tobolsk, a city 300 
 versts from the nearest railroad-station to which 
 they had been taken from Petrograd for " safety." 
 
 It was April, 1918, when a committee from the Ural 
 District Soviet of Workingmen, Cossacks, Soldiers, 
 and Sailors called upon Professor Ipatieff, the owner of 
 one of the largest and finest homes in the city, de- 
 manding that he give up his residence immediately. 
 They did not state their reasons but ordered him out. 
 
 The Ipatieff palace was built on one of the main 
 thoroughfares of the city, not far from the spacious 
 white residence of the " Platinum King" of the world. 
 Mr. Ipatieff was an engineer and a leading citizen of 
 the community. His house was of cement and stone 
 construction, also painted white, and modern in every 
 respect. This residence, which was destined to be 
 
 83
 
 84 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 the last known prison for the Tzar and his family, 
 was within a stone's throw of the British and French 
 consulates. In front was a wide, open square, in the 
 centre of which stands one of the numerous cathedrals 
 of the city. To the left as neighbors the Tzar had 
 some of the poorest citizens. They lived in uninviting 
 log or frame huts. To the right, across the side street, 
 was a large two-story red brick residence surrounded 
 by a brick wall. From the upper windows of this house 
 one could see into the small garden in the rear of the 
 Ipatieff residence, even after the Bolsheviki built a 
 twenty-foot board fence around the " Tzar's house." 
 It was in this garden that the former imperial family 
 was permitted its only recreation and fresh air during 
 the eighty days the members were imprisoned there. 
 
 After receiving the Bolshevist command Professor 
 Ipatieff moved without delay. He was an "intellec- 
 tual" and an " aristocrat," and realized that the quicker 
 he left the safer he would be. This was about the 25th 
 of April. Within a few days the Tzar, the Tzarina, 
 and their daughter Mary arrived, accompanied by 
 one of the physicians who had attended the Empress, 
 who suffered from heart trouble and rheumatism. 
 The Tzarevitch and other daughters were delayed 
 because of the illness of the boy, but within a week the 
 family was united inside the white house and board 
 fence, guarded by some twenty Bolshevist soldiers 
 of the Red Guard, said to have been recruited espe- 
 cially from the mines and factories near by. 
 
 The former royal family entered the house under 
 heavy guard through the main entrance on the public 
 square, which led directly into the rooms on the second
 
 THE FATE OF THE TZAR 85 
 
 floor. Professor Ipatieff had been living In these 
 rooms, while on the first floor lived his servants, who 
 used the side-street entrance. 
 
 Entering the house, the Tzar and his wife were 
 ''escorted," if not ordered, through the reception-hall 
 and past one of the private rooms already filled with 
 soldiers, to the large drawing-room which Professor 
 Ipatieff used when receiving guests. All of the furni- 
 ture and carpets remained as he had left them. 
 
 Suspended from the ceiling was a large crystal 
 electric chandelier, imported from Italy, and on the 
 walls hung valuable oil-paintings. The furniture of 
 carved oak was modern, expensive, and comfortable. 
 To the left, as the Tzar entered, he saw another room 
 the other side of an arch. This room was assigned to 
 him as a study. The Tzarina's wheel-chair, which 
 had been brought from Tobolsk, was placed before 
 one of the wide plate-glass windows looking out upon 
 the inside of the high board fence through heavy iron 
 bars which had been fastened in the walls outside the 
 windows. Directly in front of the former imperial 
 leaders, as they stood at the entrance to the reception- 
 room, were two large oak doors leading into the dining- 
 room. To their left were the kitchen, pantry, bath- 
 room (one of the few private bathrooms in the city), 
 and another room which was later used by the former 
 Empress's maid. 
 
 The Bolshevist commissars of Ekaterinburg led the 
 royal couple through the dining-room into two smaller 
 rooms facing the side street. One of these was assigned 
 to the Tzar, his wife, and son as a bedroom. The other 
 was designated as the living and sleeping room for
 
 86 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 the four daughters, although no beds or cots were 
 provided. 
 
 Alone for a few brief moments in these rooms the 
 Tzarina walked to the window, drew aside the portieres 
 and looked with a fainting heart through iron bars upon 
 the rough interior of the board fence which obstructed 
 entirely what was once a beautiful view of the cathedral 
 square and the "Platinum King's" palace, not more 
 than 200 feet away and now occupied by soldiers of 
 the Red army. But these the former Empress could 
 not see. Above the fence were visible only the vast, 
 free, pale-blue heavens. 
 
 Turning to the Tzar and asking for a pencil, she again 
 drew the curtains aside and wrote on the frame of 
 the window "April 30, 1918," the day of her arrival 
 and the first day of her eighty days of suffering and 
 anguish in Ekaterinburg, prisoner of her husband's 
 former subjects. 
 
 During my sojourn in the city I had several oppor- 
 tunities of going through the house with Czech officers 
 and Professor Ipatieff. From numerous sources I 
 learned what transpired in this house between the 
 30th of April and July 16, but I doubt whether even 
 the details, which these witnesses give, fully describe 
 the terrible torture which the Romanoffs were forced 
 to endure. The account of one eye-witness, the former 
 Tzar's personal valet, I shall give in detail, because, 
 unabridged and uncensored, it is one of the greatest 
 known indictments of "revolutionary red justice." 
 
 This account of the Tzar's last days under the Bol- 
 sheviki was written by Parfen Alexeivitch Dominin, 
 who for twenty-two years served the Tzar as his ma- 
 jordomo, accompanied him into exile, and remained
 
 THE FATE OF THE TZAR 87 
 
 with his imperial master until the early hours of the 
 morning of July 17, when the Tzar was led away by 
 Bolshevist soldiers. In his manuscript report, in simple 
 Russian, filled with the devotion of a life-long servant, 
 is presented, as far as I was able to learn, the only 
 single, complete, and authentic account of the Tzar's 
 life in Ekaterinburg. Dominin describes the Ro- 
 manoff family life, tells of the illness of the Tzarevitch, 
 of the Empress's tragic pleas for mercy on her knees 
 before the Soviet guard, and gives details of the evi- 
 dence presented at the secret midnight trial, where 
 Nikolas Romanoff appeared, undefended and alone, 
 dressed in his soldier's garb. 
 
 Dominin states that the indictment presented 
 against Nikolas charged him with being a party to 
 the counter-revolutionary plot to overthrow the Bol- 
 sheviki, and with secretly corresponding with Generals 
 Denekin, Dutoff, and Dogert, who were endeavoring 
 to liberate him and who had sent him word to be pre- 
 pared to be freed. 
 
 Dominin's manuscript, in Russian, which is here 
 given in verbatim translation, contains a supplement 
 with the Tzar's abdication manifesto, written in Oc- 
 tober, 1905, during the Russo-Japanese War, which 
 was printed but never promulgated. 
 
 Parfen Dominin, who is sixty years of age, now lives 
 in seclusion. He was born in a village in the Costroma 
 Government and began serving the Tzar in 1896. His 
 manuscript reads: 
 
 "Beginning with the first days of July, airplanes 
 began to appear nearly every day, over Ekaterinburg, 
 flying very low and dropping bombs, but little damage
 
 88 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 was done. Rumors spread about the city that the 
 Czecho-Slovaks were making reconnoissances and 
 would shortly occupy the city. 
 
 "One day the former Tzar returned to the house 
 from his walk in the garden. He was unusually ex- 
 cited, and after fervent prayers before an ikon/ of Holy 
 Nicholas the Thaumaturgist, he lay down on a little 
 bed without undressing. This he never did before. 
 
 " 'Please allow me to undress you and make the 
 bed/ I said to the Tzar. 
 
 " 'Don't trouble, old man/ the Tzar said, 'I feel 
 in my heart I shall live only a short time. Perhaps 
 to-day already' but the Tzar did not end the sen- 
 tence. 
 
 " 'God bless you, what are you saying?' I asked, 
 and the Tzar began to explain that during his evening 
 walk he had received news that a special council of 
 the Ural District Soviet of Workingmen, Cossacks, 
 and Red army deputies was being held which was to 
 decide the Tzar's fate. 
 
 "It was said that the Tzar was Suspected of plan- 
 ning to escape to the Czech army, which was advancing 
 toward Ekaterinburg and had promised to tear him 
 away from the Soviet power. He ended his story by 
 saying resignedly: 
 
 " 'I don't know anything.' 
 
 "The Tzar's daily life was very strict. He was not 
 permitted to buy newspapers, and was not allowed 
 to walk beyond the limited time. 
 
 "All the servants were thoroughly searched before 
 leaving and upon returning. Once I was forced to 
 take off all my clothing because the commissary of the
 
 THE FATE OF THE TZAR 89 
 
 Guard thought I was transmitting letters from the 
 Tzar. 
 
 "Food was very scarce. Generally only herring, 
 potatoes, and bread were given, at the rate of half a 
 pound daily to each person. 
 
 "The former heir to the imperial throne, Alexis 
 Nikolaievitch, was ill all the time. Once he was cough- 
 ing and spitting blood. 
 
 "One evening Alexis came running into the room 
 of the Tzar, breathless and crying loudly, and, falling 
 into the arms of his father, said, with tears in his eyes: 
 'Dear papa, they want to shoot you.' 
 
 "The Tzar whispered: 'It's the will of God in every- 
 thing. Be quiet, my sufferer, my son, be quiet. Where 
 is mamma ? ' 
 
 " 'Mamma weeps,' said the boy. 
 
 " 'Ask mamma to calm herself; one cannot help by 
 weeping. It is God's will in everything,' the Tzar 
 replied. 
 
 "With ardor Alexis pleaded: 'Papa, dear papa, 
 you have suffered enough already. Why do they want 
 to kill you? That is not just.' 
 
 "The Tzar replied: 'Alexis, I ask you for only one 
 thing. Go and comfort mamma.' 
 
 "Alexis left. The Tzar knelt before the ikon of 
 Holy Nicholas, praying for a long time. During these 
 days Nikolas became very devout. Often he would 
 awaken during the night because of some nightmare. 
 He would not sleep any more, but spent the rest of 
 the night in prayers. 
 
 "From time to time the Tzar was permitted to meet 
 his wife, Alexandra, or, as he called her, Alice, but his
 
 90 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 son he could meet whenever he desired. Once Alex- 
 andra Feodorovna came weeping into the Tzar's room, 
 saying: 'It is necessary in any case that you should 
 put all your papers and documents in order.' After 
 this Nikolas wrote all night. 
 
 "The Tzar wrote many letters, among them those 
 to all his daughters, to his brother Michael, to his 
 uncle, Nicholas Nicholaievitch, General Dogert, Duke 
 Gendrikoff, Count Olssufieff, the Prince of Oldenburg, 
 Count Shuma'rokoff Elston, and many others. He 
 did not seal his letters, as all his correspondence was 
 controlled by the Soviet censors. Often it happened 
 that his letters were returned by the commissary of 
 the Guard, with the pencilled remark: 'Are not to 
 be forwarded/ 
 
 "For many days Nikolas Alexandrovitch would 
 not eat. He would fall down and only pray. Even 
 for a man who had not the gift of observation it was 
 evident that the former Tzar was greatly troubled 
 and feeling heartsick. 
 
 "On July 15, late in the evening, there appeared 
 suddenly in the Tzar's room the commissary of the 
 Guard, who announced: 
 
 " 'Citizen Nikolas Alexandrovitch Romanoff, you 
 will follow me to the Ural District Soviet of Working- 
 men, Cossacks, and Red army deputies.' 
 
 "The Tzar asked in a pleading tone: 
 
 " 'Tell me frankly, are you leading me to be shot?' 
 
 " 'You must not be afraid, nothing will happen 
 until your death. You are wanted at a meeting,' the 
 commissary said, smiling. 
 
 "Nikolas Alexandrovitch got up from his bed,
 
 91 
 
 put on his gray 'soldier blouse and his boots, fastened 
 his belt, and went away with the commissary. Out- 
 side the door were standing two soldiers, Letts, with 
 rifles. All three surrounded him, and for some reason 
 began to search him all over. Then one of the Letts 
 went ahead. The Tzar was forced to go behind him, 
 next to the commissary, and the second soldier fol- 
 lowed. 
 
 "Nikolas did not return for a very long while, about 
 two hours and a half at least. He was quite pale, his 
 chin trembling. 
 
 " 'Old man, give me some water/ he said: 
 
 "I brought him water at once. He emptied a large 
 cup. 
 
 " 'What happened?' I asked. 
 
 " 'They have informed me that I shall be shot with- 
 in three hours.' 
 
 "During the meeting of the Ural District Soviet a 
 minute of the trial was rea,d in the presence of the Tzar. 
 It was prepared by a secret organization named the 
 Association for the Defense of Our Native Country 
 and Freedom. It stated that a counter-revolutionary 
 plot had been discovered, with the object of suppressing 
 the workmen's and peasants' revolution by inciting 
 the masses against the Soviet by accusing it of all the 
 hard consequences resulting from imperialism all over 
 the world war and slaughter, famine, lack of work, 
 the collapse of transportation, the advance of the Ger- 
 mans, etc. 
 
 "The indictment further stated that to attain this 
 the counter-revolutionists were attempting to join all 
 the non-Soviet political parties, Socialists as well as
 
 92 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 imperial parties. The evidence presented at the trial 
 showed that the staff of this organization could not 
 carry out its intentions fully because of a divergency 
 of views regarding the tactics between the Left and 
 Right parties. The evidence presented showed that 
 at the head of the plot stood the Tzar's personal friend, 
 General Dogert. 
 
 "The evidence presented against the Tzar shows 
 that hi this organization were working also such rep- 
 resentatives as the Duke of Krapotkine, Colonel of 
 the General Staff Ekhart, Engineer Llinsky, and others. 
 There are reasons for believing that Shavenpoff was 
 also in direct connection with this organization and 
 that he was supposed to be the head of the new govern- 
 ment as a military dictator. 
 
 "All these leaders had established a very strong 
 conspiracy. In the Moscow fighting group were 700 
 officers who afterward were transferred to Samara, 
 where they were to await reinforcements from the 
 Allies with the purpose of establishing a Ural front to 
 separate Great Russia from Siberia. Later, according 
 to the supposed plot, when results of the famine should 
 show, all those sympathizing with the overthrow of 
 the Soviet would be mobilized to advance against 
 Germany. 
 
 "The evidence presented shows proofs that certain 
 Socialist parties were taking part in the plot, including 
 the Right Social Revolutionists and Mensheviki, work- 
 ing in full harmony with the Constitutional Democrats. 
 The chief of staff of this organization was in direct 
 communication with Dutoff and Denekin. 
 
 "The testimony stated that during the last few
 
 THE FATE OF THE TZAR 93 
 
 days a new plot had been discovered, having for its 
 object the rescue of the former Tzar from the Soviet 
 with the help of Dutoff. 
 
 " Besides this, it was proved at the trial that the 
 Tzar conducted secret correspondence with his personal 
 friend, General Dogert, who urged the Tzar to be ready 
 to be freed. 
 
 "In view of this evidence, together with the trouble- 
 some situation caused by the decision of the Ural Dis- 
 trict Soviet to evacuate Ekaterinburg, the former Tzar 
 was ordered to submit to execution without delay 
 because the Soviet believed it harmful and unjustifiable 
 to continue to keep him under guard. 
 
 " ' Citizen Nikolas Romanoff/ said the Soviet 
 chairman to the former Tzar, 'I inform you, you are 
 given three hours to write your last orders. Guard, 
 I ask you not to leave Nikolas Romanoff out of your 
 sight.' 
 
 "Soon after Nikolas returned from the meeting 
 his wife and son called upon him weeping. Often Alex- 
 andra faulted and a doctor had to be called. When 
 she recovered she knelt before the soldiers and begged 
 for mercy. The soldiers answered that it was not with- 
 in their power to render mercy. 
 
 " 'Be quiet, for Christ's sake, Alice,' repeated the 
 Tzar several times in a very low tone, making the sign 
 of the cross over his wife and son. 
 
 "After this Nikolas called me and kissed me, say- 
 ing: 
 
 ' 'Old man, do not leave Alexandra and Alexis. 
 You see, there is nobody with me now. There is no- 
 body to appease them, and I shall soon be led away.'
 
 94 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 "Later it proved that nobody except his wife and 
 son, of all his beloved ones, was permitted to bid fare- 
 well to the former Tzar. Nikolas and his wife and 
 son remained together until five other soldiers of the 
 Red army appeared with the chairman of the Soviet, 
 accompanied by two members, both working men. 
 
 " 'Put on your overcoat,' resolutely commanded the 
 chairman. 
 
 "Nikolas, who did not lose his self-possession, began 
 to dress, kissed his wife and son and me again, made 
 the sign of the cross over them, and then, addressing 
 the men, said in a loud voice: 
 
 " 'Now I am at your disposal/ 
 
 " Alexandra and Alexis fell in a fit of hysterics. Both 
 fell to the floor. I made an attempt to bring mother 
 and son to, but the chairman said: 
 
 " 'Wait. There should be no delay. You may do 
 that after we have gone.' 
 
 " 'Permit me to accompany Nikolas Alexandro- 
 vitch,' I asked. 
 
 " 'No accompanying,' was the stern answer. 
 
 "So Nikolas was taken away, nobody knows where, 
 and was shot during the night of July 16, by about 
 twenty Red army soldiers. 
 
 "Before dawn the next day the chairman of the 
 Soviet again came to the room, accompanied by Red 
 army soldiers, a doctor, and the commissary of the 
 Guard. The doctor attended Alexandra and Alexis. 
 Then the chairman said to the doctor: 
 
 " 'Is it possible to take them immediately?' 
 
 "When he answered 'yes,' the chairman said: 
 
 " 'Citizen Alexandra Feodorovna Romanoff and
 
 THE FATE OF THE TZAR 95 
 
 Alexis Romanoff, get ready. You will be sent away 
 from here. You are allowed to take only the most 
 necessary things, not over thirty or forty pounds.' 
 
 "Mastering themselves, but stumbling from side 
 to side, mother and son soon got ready. 
 
 " 'To-morrow get him out of here/ the Soviet chair- 
 man commanded the guard, pointing at me. 
 
 "Alexandra and Alexis were immediately taken 
 away by an automobile truck, it is not known where. 
 
 "The morning of the following day the commissary 
 again appeared, and ordered me to get out of the room, 
 taking with me some property of the Tzar, but all 
 the letters and documents belonging to the Tzar were 
 taken by the commissary. I left, but had great diffi- 
 culty in procuring a railway ticket, because all the 
 stations and trains were overfilled with soldiers of the 
 Red army, tossing about evacuating the city and 
 taking along all precious objects." 
 
 An epilogue and supplement to the manuscript, 
 also written by Dominin, follow: 
 
 "The Cheliabinsk newspaper Utro Sibiri states 
 that the Tzar's execution was certified to by a special 
 government declaration at a place ten versts from 
 Ekaterinburg. On July 30 a tumulus was found con- 
 taining metal things belonging to each member of the 
 family of the former Tzar, and also bones of burned 
 corpses, which may be those of the Romanoff family. 
 
 "As hostages, Grand Duchess Elena Petrova, Coun- 
 tess Henrikova, and a third, whose name I don't know, 
 were taken away. The total hostages were about 
 sixty. The Bolsheviki fled in the direction of Verkno- 
 turie.
 
 96 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 "The Academician Bunakovhky, a member of the 
 Russian Historical Society, found accidentally in the 
 secret division of the senate archives the proof sheet 
 of a ' collection of laws ordered of the government/ 
 dated October 17, 1905, in which was printed the fol- 
 lowing manifesto : 
 
 "Disturbances and riots in the capital and many 
 parts of the empire are filling my heart with painful 
 grief. The welfare of the Russian Emperor is indis- 
 solubly joined with the welfare of the people, and the 
 affliction of the people is his grief. From the distur- 
 bances which have now arisen may proceed deep dis- 
 order among the population, a threat to the unity 
 and integrity of our state. 
 
 "In these days, when the fate of Russia is being 
 determined, we consider it the duty of our conscience 
 to fuse our people into a close union and join all the 
 powers of the population for the height of the state's 
 prosperity. 
 
 "Therefore we have decided to abdicate the throne 
 of the Russian Empire and lay down the high power. 
 Desiring not to be separated from our beloved son, 
 we surrender the succession to our brother, the Grand 
 Duke Michael, and bless him upon the ascendance 
 to the Russian throne. 
 
 NIKOLAS ROMANOFF. 
 (Countersigned) Minister of the Court, 
 BARON FREDERICKS. 
 
 "October 16, 1905. Novy Peterhof." 
 
 it- 
 
 1 Written with a red pencil on the text was 'Hold 
 up printing. Manager of Typography Kedrinsky.'
 
 THE FATE OF THE TZAR 97 
 
 "He tells me the following details regarding the 
 delay in printing the manifesto," Dominin wrote. " At 
 eight o'clock on the evening of October 16 I received 
 from a courier a packet from the minister of the court, 
 Baron Fredericks, asking me to publish the manifesto 
 in the next number of the Collection of Laws. As the 
 manifesto was not received in the usual way, through 
 the minister of justice, Kedrinsky, in giving the mani- 
 festo to a typographer to prepare the printing, simul- 
 taneously informed Shthegtovioff by telephone. 
 
 "At first the minister of justice only asked for the 
 holding up of the printing, but at eleven o'clock the 
 functionary for special commissions from the minister 
 visited Kedrinsky and asked for the original of the 
 manifesto and ordered the proof sheet transmitted 
 to the secret archives of the senate." 
 
 Thus the Tzar spent the last days as a Bolshevist 
 prisoner, disappearing within a few hours before the 
 Czecho-Slovak troops freed the terror-stricken city of 
 Ekaterinburg, according to the testimony of his faith- 
 ful servant. 
 
 From Professor Ipatieff and other witnesses I ob- 
 tained additional details of the conditions in the house 
 during their imprisonment. Although the Tzar, his 
 wife, and son were provided with beds and were sup- 
 posed to have the private use of the room, it frequently 
 happened that the Tzarina's physician was forced to 
 occupy the same chamber. In the adjoining room 
 the four daughters slept on the floor, with scarcely 
 any bedding. At times the Tzar was forbidden to see 
 his wife, and they were seldom permitted to talk except 
 in the presence of a soldier. Although the family ate 
 in the spacious dining-room of the Ipatieff home food
 
 98 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 was prepared by the Red army men and was very 
 meagre. For the family only five plates, knives, forks, 
 and spoons were provided, and on more than one 
 occasion the soldiers would help themselves from 
 the erstwhile imperial table. When any member of 
 the family bathed it was forbidden to close the bath- 
 room door, and in the frame of the door both at the 
 top and sides are literally hundreds of bayonet marks 
 showing that on many occasions soldiers stood on 
 guard at the door with drawn bayonets. In fact, so 
 many bayonet jabs are still visible in the walls and 
 ceilings of some of the rooms that it seems certain, 
 beyond a doubt, that the guard in the house always 
 had bayonets attached to their loaded rifles. 
 
 After examining the walls of the house I concluded 
 that the soldiers must have tried bayonet practice 
 from time to time hi the various rooms, but whether 
 this was done when members of the Tzar's family were 
 there one cannot say. Whenever any member of the 
 family walked in the garden soldiers stood on the bal- 
 cony leading from the dining-room and looking out 
 over the garden. Professor Ipatieff, who was in 
 Ekaterinburg, living near by throughout the Tzar's 
 imprisonment, stated that the soldiers often aimed 
 their rifles at the Tzar when he was walking. With 
 their fingers on the triggers of their rifles and eyes on 
 the sight-points they would follow his movements. 
 
 The Tzar was not permitted to receive any news- 
 papers, and many of the letters which he wrote, and 
 which were sent to him, were never delivered. Nikolas 
 himself wrote scores of letters to his friends, but they 
 were usually simple statements about the health of
 
 THE FATE OF THE TZAR 99 
 
 the family. The day before his trial for participation 
 in an alleged counterplot against the Bolsheviki he 
 was permitted to write letters to his relatives and 
 friends, but as far as known none of these were sent 
 by the Ural District Soviet. 
 
 That the Tzar, however, was in communication 
 with the outside world through various secret channels 
 is quite certain. One of the nuns in the monastery of 
 Ekaterinburg, for instance, informed me that one day 
 she received word from Odessa saying that the Tzare- 
 vitch was ill, and asking her, in behalf of " friends of 
 the Tzar," to take milk, eggs, and butter to the Tzar's 
 house. By this name the Itapieff residence became 
 known as soon as the Tzar arrived, and to-day any 
 one in Ekaterinburg can tell you where the "Tzar's 
 house" is. All of the droshky drivers know, as the 
 taxi-drivers in Paris know the location of Napoleon's 
 tomb. 
 
 This nun a simple, kindly faced, quiet, and patient 
 old woman related to me one afternoon her experi- 
 ences in delivering fresh eggs and milk. She would 
 not tell me how she received word from Odessa, nor 
 why any one in Odessa should know quicker than the 
 people of Ekaterinburg that the Tzarevitch was ill 
 that he was so ill that he often spat blood. 
 
 At the beginning of July, however, when she began 
 to take food to the Tzarevitch, the Bolshevist com- 
 missar permitted her to take butter, eggs, and milk 
 to the Tzarina personally. Often, she said, she would 
 take a bottle of cream, sugar, and sweets to the house, 
 but it was not long until the Bolsheviki either became 
 suspicious or were revengeful. One day they seized
 
 100 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 everything she had for their own use, telling her to 
 get out and never return. The following morning she 
 appeared as usual and was permitted to send in the 
 eggs and milk. 
 
 On several occasions during the visits she had very 
 brief "audiences" with the members of the family. 
 Naturally she would not tell me whether she carried 
 news to the Romanoffs, but from other sources I learned 
 that it was through this monastery that some of the 
 Tzar's friends in Crimea were able to "keep in touch" 
 with the Tzar. 
 
 It is known, also, that the former Emperor on a 
 few occasions received letters and news through a 
 member of the Soviet Guard, who, despite his position, 
 was still loyal to the "Little White Father." Another 
 route by which news travelled to and from the Tzar 
 was through signals from the attic of the brick house 
 across the street from the Ipatieff residence, which I 
 have described. A private telephone in this house 
 was connected with the office of a certain prominent 
 business man. The man in the attic and this merchant 
 communicated with each other day and night, and I 
 remember learning from one of them some of the secret 
 phrases they used in talking, so that if any one should 
 by chance overhear them the Bolsheviki could not 
 understand. When the observer under the roof of 
 the house across the street saw the Tzar in the garden 
 he would phone, "the baggage is at the station," and 
 then messages would be communicated to the Tzar. 
 
 Throughout the time the Tzar and his family were 
 imprisoned here efforts were being made to release 
 him. On more than one occasion the Tzar received
 
 THE FATE OF THE TZAR 101 
 
 a message stating that he would soon be freed. Gen- 
 eral Denekin, who is now commanding the Cossacks 
 near Kieff, an old and intimate friend of Nikolas, 
 was endeavoring in every possible way to save his 
 former imperial master. General Dutoff, another 
 friend of the Tzar, operating in the Urals, was seeking 
 to deliver his friend. The Czecho-Slovaks, despite 
 their revolutionary tendencies, were bent upon snatch- 
 ing the Tzar from the Bolsheviki. There were inde- 
 pendent Russian and foreign business interests in 
 Ekaterinburg which wanted him released. More 
 money was spent trying to free Nikolas Romanoff 
 than the Bokheviki ever used in guarding and trans- 
 porting him or maintaining an organization to prevent 
 his escape. 
 
 Thus, in advance of the Tzar's trial before the secret 
 night session of the Ural District Soviet, there was 
 being waged in Russia and Siberia a bitter and cease- 
 less contest between the friends and enemies of the 
 Tzar. Ekaterinburg was the centre of the intrigue 
 and the Tzar himself was playing no unimportant 
 part. 
 
 After the trial, where the Tzar was condemned to 
 death, the Moscow wireless station sent out an official 
 communication addressed, as are all messages from 
 wireless towers under control of the Soviet, "To all, 
 to all, to all ! " announcing that the Tzar had been 
 executed in Ekaterinburg, but that the family had 
 been removed from the city to a place of safety. 
 
 But was Nikolas II killed? If so, how and where? 
 This is where the real mystery of the Tzar begins. 
 From this date until to-day the world has speculated.
 
 102 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 Evidence of all kinds has been published to prove his 
 death and to announce that he is still alive. 
 
 It has been said that "votes should be weighed and 
 not counted." So is it with regard to facts. Weighing 
 the evidence regarding the Tzar himself I should say 
 that six- tenths of the weight indicates that he is dead; 
 four-tenths that he may be alive. 
 
 The Tzar was tried, condemned to death, and taken 
 from the court room back to the Ipatieff residence. 
 Some maintain that he was executed immediately in 
 the basement or the first floor of this house. Other 
 citizens declare that he was taken outside the city 
 and shot. Some think he was murdered in the house 
 without trial. 
 
 To show how the testimony differs I shall refer to 
 the published statements of Prince Lvoff. He de- 
 clared in Vladivostok and Japan that he and the Tzar 
 were kept in the same prison and had the same jailers. 
 That cannot be true as far as Ekaterinburg is con- 
 cerned, because I could not find a person in Ekaterin- 
 burg who had heard that Prince Lvoff was in the 
 Ipatieff residence as a prisoner. He was confined for 
 four months in the prison of Ekaterinburg, but the 
 Tzar was never there. Prince Lvoff and many others 
 declare the Tzar and his whole family were killed hi 
 the Ipatieff house, and they point to the bullet-holes 
 in the walls of the room. The nun from the monas- 
 tery who took eggs and milk to the Tzarevitch told 
 me that she is positive none of them was executed in 
 this house, and that the Tzarina, the Tzarevitch, and 
 the daughters were taken away in a motor-truck which 
 she saw standing in the grounds of the Ipatieff residence
 
 THE FATE OF THE TZAR 103 
 
 on July 15. She believes the Tzar is dead, but that 
 the family is still alive. On the other hand, one of 
 the priests from the same monastery, who held short 
 services upon a few occasions in the house for the im- 
 perial family, assured me that "the whole family is 
 alive and well." 
 
 While I was hi Tiumen, the chief city between Omsk 
 and Ekaterinburg, one of the members of the Russian 
 nobility, who was an intimate friend of the Tzarina, 
 received a message from the "interior of Russia by 
 courier saying, 'Your friends are all well.' J When 
 I questioned the American, British, and French con- 
 suls, who were in the city throughout the Bolshevist 
 occupation, as to their opinions, they stated frankly 
 that they did not know whether the Tzar was dead 
 or alive, and they were still conducting their investiga- 
 tions. Professor Ipatieff, who is now living on the 
 first floor of his house, surrounded by most of the furni- 
 ture which was used by the former imperial family, 
 showed me through the house on two occasions and 
 described hi detail how the whole family was brought 
 from the second floor to the main floor by way of the 
 servants' stairs, lined up against the wall and shot. 
 A member of the Judicial Investigating Commission 
 believes the family was killed in this house, but the 
 only evidence any of them possess is the bullet-holes 
 in the walls and floors and the finding of certain 
 property of the Tzar and Tzarina in the ashes of one 
 of the stoves. I saw the room in which they were sup- 
 posed to have been killed en masse, but I was not con- 
 vinced by the evidence presented there for these 
 reasons :
 
 104 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 1. If the whole family was executed in this room, 
 then seven persons were killed. The bullet-holes were 
 in the walls and some " blood clots." There were no 
 pools of blood, and it seemed doubtful to me that seven 
 persons should die a horrible death and leave only 
 small "blood clots" in the bullet-holes and small blood- 
 stains on the floor. 
 
 2. If they were executed in this room, then the sol- 
 diers' rifles could not have been more than five feet 
 from the victims, because the room is very small. If 
 killed here the bodies must have been removed, be- 
 cause they were not found in this room nor in the house. 
 By removing seven bodies from such a room, in mid- 
 summer, when it was very hot and sultry, the members 
 of the family surely did not wear very heavy clothing, 
 and it seems that bloodstains should have been found 
 in other parts of the house, but none were found. 
 
 3. It is stated that the bodies were burned after 
 execution in this house. This I believe is impossible, 
 because none of the stoves in the house are large 
 enough. The house was heated, as are most Russian 
 houses, by Russian stoves built in the walls, and the 
 opening to each stove is not more than a foot wide or 
 deep. Still, in one of these stoves the investigating 
 commission found a military cross which the Tzar once 
 wore, corset staves and a large diamond belonging to 
 the Tzarina. The stove in which these things were 
 found was in the bedroom of the Tzar's daughters. 
 This stove was never used by the Bolshevist guard, and 
 it is plausible that the Tzar or Tzarina burned these 
 things themselves at the last hour so that the Soviet 
 would not find them. This might be substantiated
 
 THE FATE OF THE TZAR 105 
 
 by the fact that the investigating commission, after 
 having the ashes examined, failed to find traces of 
 any human bodies. 
 
 I do not believe the evidence that the whole family 
 was executed here is convincing. I think the Tzar 
 may have been shot in this room, but, on the other 
 hand, there is the testimony of the Tzar's personal 
 valet, Parfen Dominin, that the Tzar was taken away 
 from the house early in the morning of July 16 by a 
 small Soviet guard. Dominin himself remained in 
 the house until the morning of the 17th. If any 
 one was shot in that house that night; if twenty 
 shots were fired on the first floor, the valet would have 
 heard them, because he was in the living-room of the 
 Ipatieff residence, which was almost directly above 
 the room where the bullet-holed wall stands to-day, 
 and no Russian house is sound-proof. 
 
 After examining carefully all of the evidence pre- 
 sented by Professor Ipatieff I made an investigation 
 of the testimony that the Tzar was taken away and 
 executed. The Bolsheviki claim that this is what 
 happened. They maintained he was executed outside 
 the city, before a firing squad. But was he? Is it 
 not possible that the Tzar was kidnapped after he 
 left the house, surrounded by only three Red army 
 soldiers? Considering all of the efforts which were 
 being made in and about Ekaterinburg to save the 
 Tzar, does it seem possible that his friends, who were 
 numerous in the city and watchful, should permit 
 three soldiers to take him away? Is it not possible 
 that some of the disloyal Bolshevist soldiers, who were 
 accepting bribes and transmitting secret messages to 
 and from the Tzar, were among that guard?
 
 106 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 I asked these questions because they came into my 
 mind while I was in Ekaterinburg, and because I asked 
 many Ekaterinburg citizens the same. In reply I 
 received all varieties of answers and various degrees 
 of speculations. The fact is that no one knows, but 
 all have their opinions. Professor Ipatieff maintains 
 that the questions are without justification. The 
 priest thinks that the Tzar was "saved." The nun 
 thinks he was killed afterward. The valet states the 
 same. The investigating commission is divided. The 
 Allied consuls don't know. And still there is the testi- 
 mony of a prominent Russian merchant of Ekaterin- 
 bur'g that he saw the Tzar and his family in the private 
 office of the railroad depot master on July 20 ! 
 
 Ekaterinburg is divided. Since the latter part of 
 July, for seven months the city and surrounding coun- 
 try has been searched, and no remains of the bodies, 
 no authentic traces of the family, have been found. 
 
 Some day, when it is possible for investigators to 
 go into European Russia and question other witnesses, 
 the puzzle may be solved. 
 
 Nikolas II, the former Tzar of all the Russians, 
 and his family may be dead. They may still live. 
 Who knows? 
 
 But, dead or alive, the whole story of the Tzar's 
 relationship with the Bolsheviki shows the results of 
 the Bolshevist abolition of the courts and the sub- 
 stitution of soldier tribunals. Laws to the Red army 
 are elements of the "old regime," and have been as 
 ruthlessly done away with as have the "intellectuals" 
 and "aristocrats."
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 AT CZECHO-SLOVAK HEADQUARTERS 
 
 AN abandoned army, an army on wheels, an army 
 in the wilderness all these describe the Czecho-Slovak 
 army in Siberia and Russia, and, although I had seen 
 thousands of Czech and Slovak troops along the Trans- 
 Siberian Railway and hi the cities and towns near by, 
 it was at their headquarters in Ekaterinburg that I 
 learned the details of their break with the Bolsheviki, 
 and the story of the beginning and the development 
 of their campaign against the Red army and of their 
 relations with the French, British, and American 
 officials. In the "Tzar's house" Major-General Gaida, 
 commander of their Eastern army, had his head- 
 quarters. The National Council and other Czecho- 
 slovak government bureaus were housed hi the "Amer- 
 ikansky Nomera," once the leading hotel of the city, 
 and about town were the intelligence bureaus and sup- 
 ply departments. Ekaterinburg was a Czecho-Slovak 
 city throughout the tune these brave soldiers fought 
 the Bolsheviki and held the Ural front, barring the 
 advance of the Red army into Siberia. 
 
 Their campaign in Russia is another tragedy. 
 Courageous patriots, they were, 50,000 of them, who 
 were concentrated in the Ukraine Republic in May, 
 1918, when at a mass-meeting they voted to leave 
 Russia via Siberia for France to fight with the autono- 
 mous army of Czecho-Slovakia against the combined 
 
 107
 
 108 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 armies of the Central Powers. Happy and free, lovers 
 of liberty and Austro-Hungarian revolutionists, they 
 started across Siberia only to be attacked by the Bol- 
 shevist army under orders from Leon Trotsky, minister 
 of war in Moscow and chief militarist officer of the 
 Russian " proletariat" army. Attacked by the Bol- 
 sheviki, despite the "agreement" which had been 
 signed guaranteeing them unrestricted passage across 
 Russia, they turned, and, like fighting falcons, beat 
 back the Red army, freed Siberia of Bolshevism, and 
 established an eastern front in the Ural Mountains at 
 the request of official representatives of the United 
 States and Allies. The Czecho-Slovaks crossed the 
 trail of Bolshevism in Russia, and, if they had had 
 the support which was promised them, the situation 
 in Russia to-day might in all probability would be 
 different. The trail might have been broken in Euro- 
 pean Russia as it was in Siberia. 
 
 When I left the headquarters of Ekaterinburg and 
 the G. H. Q. of the western army under General Sy- 
 rovy at Cheliabinsk in December, the Czecho-Slovak 
 forces were still the mainstay of the "Ural front," al- 
 though they were being withdrawn gradually, after 
 seven months of continuous, ceaseless fighting, to make 
 room for the new Russian army organized by Admiral 
 Koltshak. 
 
 At the offices of the Czecho-Slovak National Coun- 
 cil I obtained a copy of the official version of the break 
 between the Czecho-Slovaks and the Bolsheviki. This 
 statement, which was submitted to the Allied govern- 
 ments, is interesting hi all its detail because, in addition 
 to the light it throws upon the activities of the two
 
 AT CZECHOSLOVAK HEADQUARTERS 109 
 
 armed forces in Russia, it illustrates pertinently the 
 oft-repeated assertion of the present Bolshevist leaders 
 of European Russia that "agreements" made by the 
 Bolsheviki are lived up to only so long as they serve 
 the purpose of Moscow and Petrograd ! 
 
 This diplomatic document, entitled "The Czecho- 
 slovak Incident," follows: 
 
 "An authorized and verified translation of the of- 
 ficial version of the incident given by the Temporary 
 Executive Committee of the Czecho-Slovak army, 
 into whose hands the direction of military operations 
 and political negotiations was placed by the Assembly 
 of Czecho-Slovak Soldiers at Cheliabinsk, May, 1918. 
 See signature and seal below. 
 
 "The principle of the neutrality of the Czecho- 
 slovak army as regards the internal conflicts and 
 battles of Russia was definitely expressed and recog- 
 nized both in the agreement and treaty made by the 
 Czecho-Slovak National Council with the temporary 
 government of Russia, and in that arrived at later 
 with the government of the Ukraine Republic, the 
 Ukraine National Council. To this principle both 
 political and military leaders adhered to firmly, and 
 succeeded in implanting it so deeply in the minds of 
 the soldiers, that, in spite of the attempts made right 
 and left to induce them to break it, not a single sec- 
 tion of the army could be induced to do so. 
 
 "Later, when the Ukraine National Council was 
 defeated and gradually driven out of the governments 
 on the eastern side of the Dnieper and later out of 
 Kieff and the rest of the Ukraine, the commander-in-
 
 110 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 chief of the Soviet forces, Colonel Muravjof, and Mr. 
 Kocubinsky, the minister of war of the Soviet Gov- 
 ernment of the Ukraine, recognized the strict armed 
 neutrality of the Czecho-Slovak army. (See official 
 order to the Czecho-Slovak Army Corps No. 12, Jan- 
 uary 28, 1918, published in the Czecho-Slovenny Dennik 
 (Czecho-Slovak Daily), the official organ of the Czecho- 
 slovak National Council. 
 
 "Prior to this, when on * January 12, 1918, the 
 Ukraine Central Council adopted the 'Fourth Uni- 
 versal/ which expressed the desire of the Ukraine 
 Government to live on terms of friendship and har- 
 mony with all neighboring states, and especially with 
 Austria, it was decided at a meeting of the Czecho- 
 slovak National Council, at which Professor Masaryk 
 himself presided, to declare the Czecho-Slovak army 
 hi all parts of the former Russian state as a part of 
 the autonomous army of the Czecho-Slovaks in France. 
 This proclamation was published on February 10, 
 1918, after the arrival of the Bolsheviks hi Kieff. Soon 
 after that, simultaneously with the success of the peace 
 negotiations of the delegates of the Soviet and Ukraine 
 Governments with the representatives of the Central 
 Powers at Brest-Litovsk, definite steps were taken 
 to arrange for the departure of the Czecho-Slovak 
 army to the French front. 
 
 "The first movement was to be the concentration 
 of all our forces on the eastern side of the Dnieper, 
 and this was to be carried out on the basis of an agree- 
 ment made with the Ukraine-Soviet Government, 
 which at one time planned to establish a front against 
 the Germans in the Ukraine. (See Czecho-Slovenny
 
 AT CZECHOSLOVAK HEADQUARTERS 111 
 
 Dennik, No. 102.) In the meantime, however, the 
 Germans began to threaten the Czecho-Slovaks from 
 both flanks, and they were obliged to retire into the 
 territory of Great Russia. Again this retirement was 
 made in complete agreement with the Soviet authori- 
 ties in the Ukraine, an arrangement having been 
 reached with the Czecho-Slovak National Council and 
 the commander of the Soviet forces of the South Rus- 
 sian Republics, Antonov-Ovsejenko. On the basis of 
 this agreement an order was issued to the Czecho- 
 slovak Army Corps (No. 26, March 16, 1918) to turn 
 over to the Soviet forces all superfluous arms and other 
 military equipment, while Antonov on his part issued 
 an order to all revolutionary forces of the South Rus- 
 sian Republics (No. 92, March 16), from which the 
 following is a literal extract: 
 
 " 'Our comrades of the Czecho-Slovak Army Corps, 
 who fought so bravely and gloriously at Zhitomir, 
 Kieff, Grebyonka, and Bachmac, defending the way 
 to Poltava and Kharkoff, are now leaving Ukraine 
 territory, and are turning over to us a part of then* 
 military equipment. The revolutionary army will 
 never forget the fraternal assistance rendered by the 
 Czecho-Slovak Army Corps in the battle of the work- 
 ing people of the Ukraine against the thieving bands 
 of imperialism. The military equipment given up by 
 the Czecho-Slovaks the revolutionary army accepts 
 as a fraternal gift.' 
 
 "On the basis of this agreement, Antonov consented 
 to the departure of the Czecho-Slovaks from the 
 Ukraine, and the staff of the Soviet army of Great 
 Russia also agreed to our departure toward the East,
 
 112 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 and issued the necessary orders to the railway officials 
 who were to attend to the details of the transport on 
 behalf of the Soviet Government. Agreement to our 
 departure from Russia via Vladivostok was also ex- 
 pressed in telegrams sent by Lenin and Trotsky. 
 
 "In Penza, however, a new set of negotiations was 
 begun. The Council of People's Commissioners in 
 Moscow demanded the complete disarmament of the 
 Czecho-Slovak army. As the result of the negotiations 
 between the Czecho-Slovaks and the Moscow authori- 
 ties a telegram was sent from Moscow on March 26 
 signed by Stalin, in which a certain number of arms 
 were to be left to each echelon to provide protection 
 against attack by counter-revolutionists. In this same 
 telegram the promise was made to help in every way 
 possible the Czecho-Slovaks as long as they remain 
 on Russian territory, provided they mam tain an honest 
 and sincere loyalty. Further, the Penza Soviet was 
 ordered to appoint reliable commissioners who were 
 to accompany the Czecho-Slovak echelons to Vladi- 
 vostok, see that then- unity as an organization was 
 unimpaired, and at the same time keep the Council 
 of People's Commissioners informed as to the progress 
 of the transport. In this same telegram it was stated 
 that telegrams with necessary instructions would be 
 sent by the Council of Peopled Commissioners to all 
 interested parties. 
 
 "Our army maintained an honest and sincere loyalty. 
 But meanwhile the Soviet Government proceeded to 
 break its word at every step. The Penza Soviet named 
 but one commissioner, who went on ahead to Vladi- 
 vostok with the first echelon, and there sat down and
 
 AT CZECHO-SLOVAK HEADQUARTERS 113 
 
 did nothing. In spite of our repeated requests that 
 other commissioners be named, the Penza authorities 
 absolutely refused to do this, giving as an excuse the 
 lack of suitable men. 
 
 "The local Soviets one after another put all sorts 
 of obstacles in our path. In Samara, but 400 versts 
 beyond Penza, the local Soviet demanded that we 
 give up more of our arms. These demands were" re- 
 peated in Ufa, Zlatoust, Omsk, Irkutsk, Tchita, and 
 so on all along the line. The representatives of the 
 Czecho-Slovak National Council, as well as the com- 
 manders of the various echelons, used every possible 
 means to prevent the movement of our transports 
 from being halted. In Samara the echelons gave up 
 138 rifles apiece, leaving only thirty to an echelon; 
 in Omsk each echelon gave up a machine-gun, and 
 in Irkutsk more rifles, until there was left but twenty 
 to an echelon. The negotiations of these loyal Soviets, 
 being in clear opposition to the orders of the Council 
 of People's Commissioners quoted above, often had 
 the appearance of bargaining at the bazaar, and for 
 the Czecho-Slovak soldiers was insulting in the ex- 
 treme, and had the effect of increasing every day mis- 
 trust in the Soviet Government, and in creating a 
 disgust for them which ever grew stronger. 
 
 "One great reason for this lack of confidence and 
 disgust was the attitude assumed by the Soviet au- 
 thorities, both local and central, toward those who had 
 deserted the Czecho-Slovak army and joined the ranks 
 of the Red army. There were not many of them, and 
 they were bad soldiers and men of weak characters. 
 They went over to the Soviet army for mercenary
 
 114 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 reasons. The munificent salaries, the opportunities 
 to at once assume a position of high rank, fear of the 
 French front, petty personal spite . . . these were 
 the motives that led these men to desert their com- 
 rades. Our soldiers knew these men, and were glad 
 that they were rid of them. The Soviet Government 
 welcomed these deserters and supported them in every 
 way possible. At Penza the Soviet named some of 
 these deserters as their representatives on the com- 
 mission which had charge of receiving the arms given 
 up by the Czecho-Slovaks. Other deserters holding 
 documents from the Soviet political or military au- 
 thorities insisted on coming into the Czecho-Slovak 
 echelons to carry on agitations for the Red army, and 
 to determine if we did not have some arms hidden away. 
 
 " These deserters, who called themselves social revo- 
 lutionists, internationalists, and communists, often 
 declared that the holding up of our transport and all 
 the obstacles put in our path were for the purpose of 
 causing dissension within our ranks and gaining as 
 many recruits as possible for the Red army. They 
 declared that this was the reason why the Soviet Gov- 
 ernment wished a part of the troops to go by way of 
 Archangel; that somewhere on the way in a region 
 where no food was to be had they planned to halt us 
 and compel us from very hunger to join their ranks. 
 
 "The Czecho-Slovak National Council exercised all 
 its influence with the army to keep them from taking 
 stock in these tales, and to induce them to keep their 
 patience, and as good soldiers not to make any reply 
 to the unfaithfulness and insulting behavior of the 
 Soviet Government.
 
 AT CZECHO-SLOVAK HEADQUARTERS 115 
 
 "The atmosphere was therefore highly charged 
 with electricity when the Cheliabinsk incident oc- 
 curred. At Cheliabinsk, besides the Czecho-Slovak 
 eshelons, there stood several trains filled with prisoners 
 on their way home to Austria and Germany. The 
 relations between the Czecho-Slovak soldiers and these 
 prisoners was good, as it was uniformly whenever they 
 came in contact with one another on the road. The sol- 
 diers did carry on an agitation amongst them against 
 Austrian and German imperialism, and laughed at 
 them for returning to serve once more under Austrian 
 and German officers. But at the same tune they felt 
 sorry for them, and often shared their food with them. 
 On May 14, one of these prisoners threw a piece of 
 iron out of a train that was just leaving, wounding 
 one of the Czecho-Slovak soldiers. The soldiers imme- 
 diately surrounded the car from which the iron had 
 been thrown, and demanded that the guilty prisoner 
 be given up to them. When this was done, they imme- 
 diately killed him. In the course of the investigation 
 of this affair, the local Soviet called as witnesses the 
 members of the guard which had been on duty at the 
 station. But instead of hearing their testimony, they 
 put these men under arrest. A deputation which was 
 later sent by the Czecho-Slovaks to demand the re- 
 lease of the guard was likewise put under arrest. This 
 illegal imprisonment of their fellows was more than 
 the soldiers in the echelons at Cheliabinsk could stand, 
 and, led by then* commanders, they marched into the 
 city, released their imprisoned comrades, and returned 
 immediately to their trains. No attack by force 
 was made, the whole proceeding was conducted in
 
 116 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 an orderly and quiet manner, hardly a shot being 
 fired. 
 
 "The local Soviet proceeded to describe this action 
 on the part of the Czecho-Slovaks in lurid colors in 
 telegrams sent out in all directions. Believing the 
 information thus imparted to them, the Council of 
 People's Commissioners issued an order to completely 
 disarm all Czecho-Slovak echelons. At the same 
 time orders were issued to the Soviets of all cities where 
 our echelons were then located to proceed against 
 them by force. Accordingly, almost on the same day 
 the Soviet forces, composed for the most part of Magyar 
 and German prisoners of war, fell upon the Czecho- 
 slovak echelons, which were almost entirely disarmed. 
 At the attack made upon echelons of the Sixth Czecho- 
 slovak Regiment at Marianovka, near Omsk, the 
 Czecho-Slovaks suffered losses amounting to ten killed 
 and ten severely wounded. The staff of the First Regi- 
 ment, whose echelon was attacked at Zlatoust, de- 
 fended itself with stones against the machine-guns 
 and rifles of the Bolsheviks, but lost six men killed 
 and ten severely wounded, and was compelled to make 
 its way across the Urals on foot. Similarly the staff 
 of the Second Artillery Brigades was attacked at Imo- 
 kentjeska, near Irkutsk, when they had already given 
 up their arms. Machine-guns placed in the windows 
 of the railway-station opened up a heavy fire upon 
 the Czecho-Slovaks, but in spite of the fact that the 
 men had no arms except a few hand-grenades, they 
 succeeded in clearing the station of Bolshevist forces 
 and in capturing their machine-guns. A fourth attack 
 was made at Serodobsk, south from Penza. All of
 
 AT CZECHOSLOVAK HEADQUARTERS 117 
 
 these attacks were made on May 27 and the following 
 two or three days immediately after the issuance of 
 the order from Moscow to disarm the Czecho-Slovaks 
 at any cost. 
 
 "Prior to these events, but after the first incident 
 at Cheliabinsk, the Assembly of Czecho-Slovak Sol- 
 diers met for its annual meeting and decided that hi 
 view of the tense situation existing between the Soviet 
 Government and the Czecho-Slovaks, vigorous meas- 
 ures must be taken immediately in order to secure the 
 rapid passage of the trams toward Vladivostok. Ac- 
 cordingly delegates were despatched to all echelons 
 with instructions to proceed ahead at any cost, and 
 an executive committee was appointed to see that 
 these plans were carried out. The executive committee 
 in formulating its plans counted on the probability 
 of an armed conflict with the Bolshevik forces, but 
 felt confident that they would be able to force their 
 way through to Vladivostok in spite of any resistance 
 that might be offered by the Soviet forces. The reason 
 for their confidence in the successful outcome of their 
 new plan lay not only in the well-known weakness of 
 the Red army, but also in the fact of their knowledge 
 that the people at large were sick and tired of the Bol- 
 shevist rule, and that therefore they would not turn 
 a hand to help the Bolshevists in any possible conflict 
 with the Czecho-Slovaks. Furthermore, the Czecho- 
 slovaks, from their ultimate knowledge of political 
 conditions throughout Russia, judged that the feeling 
 against the Bolshevists was strongest in the very regions 
 where most of then- echelons were located, namely hi 
 the Urals and western Siberia. The executive com-
 
 118 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 mittee, therefore, in planning their action, took cogni- 
 zance of these facts and planned to take advantage 
 both of the weakness of the Red army and of the strong 
 popular feeling against the Bolsheviks to force their 
 way through to the East. That their action would 
 be accompanied by or followed by the overthrow of 
 the Soviet Government and the establishment of a 
 new government in western Siberia never entered into 
 their calculations, although later, when the fall of the 
 Soviet Government was an accomplished fact, the 
 Czecho-Slovaks were the first to welcome the new 
 government and to lend it their moral and armed sup- 
 port. 
 
 "The plans of the executive committee for the forc- 
 ing of the passage to Vladivostok had not been thor- 
 oughly worked out when the events of May 25 brought 
 things to an issue. By its cowardly attacks upon the 
 Czecho-Slovak echelons the Soviet Government began 
 a warfare against the Czecho-Slovaks, the object of 
 which was, according to the command of Trotsky, to 
 disarm and disband the Czecho-Slovak army corps, 
 place them in prison-camps, and there try to enlist 
 them in the ranks of the Red army or to put them out 
 at hard labor. In short, they wished to destroy en- 
 tirely the Czecho-Slovak army, that important moral 
 support of the revolutionary movement of the Czecho- 
 slovakia and the other oppressed nationalities of Aus- 
 tria-Hungary. 
 
 "After the first order to disarm completely the 
 Czecho-Slovak echelons, there still remained the pos- 
 sibility of diplomatic negotiations. But after the at- 
 tack made upon the echelons on May 25-26, the soul
 
 AT CZECHOSLOVAK HEADQUARTERS 119 
 
 of each soldier cried out for revenge for the blood of 
 their innocent comrades. And so there was nothing 
 left but war, a war which has already resulted in the 
 seizure of almost the entire Siberian Railway by the 
 Czecho-Slovaks and the fall of the Soviet Government 
 all along the line. 
 
 "The Czecho-Slovaks are convinced that the action 
 taken against them by the Soviet Government was 
 dictated from Berlin through the German ambassador 
 in Moscow, Count Mirbach. This conviction is based 
 on the opinion, very widely spread throughout Russia, 
 that the Soviet Government are the paid agents of 
 Germany. This conviction grew stronger as repeated 
 attempts were made to disarm the soldiers, for the 
 men could not but see in this disarmament real danger, 
 knowing as they did that the Central Soviet Govern- 
 ment was really powerless, and that in most places 
 the chief strength of their armed forces consisted in 
 armed German and Magyar prisoners. For example, 
 in Omsk the commander of the forces of the Inter- 
 nationalists, composed of prisoners, was an Austro- 
 Hungarian officer, a Magyar by race. This officer, 
 Ligeti by name, had all the Czecho-Slovaks and other 
 Slavs who were serving in the Red army disarmed, 
 so that Omsk was really in the hands of this Austro- 
 Hungarian officer. In Ishim the Red army was com- 
 posed entirely of Magyars. In Petropavlovsk the 
 men who came to negotiate with the Czecho-Slovaks 
 in the guise of Czech communists afterward proved 
 to be the representatives of the German section of the 
 Internationalists. The commanding officers of the 
 Red army were in many cases Germans and Magyars,
 
 120 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 judging by the orders and the curses in those tongues 
 that were heard on all sides during the battles. When 
 the echelon was attacked near Irkutsk, there was heard 
 the command: 'Schiessen.' 
 
 "The conviction that the Soviet Government wished 
 to destroy our forces was also strengthened by the 
 constant holding up of the transport, for which no 
 adequate cause could be found. At first the delay 
 was blamed upon the Amur railway, where transpor- 
 tation was reported to have been halted. The advance 
 of Semenov upon Irkutsk was given as an excuse. But 
 the Czecho-Slovaks soon learned that transportation 
 on the Amur railway had been soon resumed, while 
 the advance of Semenov existed more in the imagina- 
 tion of the Soviet authorities than in reality. Amongst 
 other excuses given was that of a lack of locomotives 
 on the Amur road, but all the while German prisoners 
 were being merrily transported toward the west, and 
 there were plenty of locomotives for them. 
 
 "On April 20 the people's commissioner for for- 
 eign affairs, Tchitcherin, sent the following telegram 
 to the Siberian Soviets: 'Transport German prisoners 
 as rapidly as possible toward the west. Hold back 
 the Czecho-Slovak echelons.' 
 
 "It was only after a long and tedious session of nego- 
 tiations that there was secured an order for the renewal 
 of our transport toward Vladivostok. One day, about 
 May 15, a member of the Czecho-Slovak National 
 Council was officially informed that the trains would 
 now be moved. On the very next day, however, he 
 learned through private conversation with the railway 
 officials that another order had been issued in Irkutsk 
 to stop the movements of the Czecho-Slovak trains.
 
 AT CZECHO-SLOVAK HEADQUARTERS 121 
 
 He finally learned that this command had issued from 
 the commander of the Soviet forces at Irkutsk, General 
 von Taube, a German, whose adjutant had issued 
 the order by 'mistake.' 
 
 "The Seventh Czecho-Slovak Regiment captured a 
 German engineer, who had been commandeered from 
 Moscow to destroy the bridges and tunnels on the 
 railroad beyond the Baikal. In Troitsk the com- 
 manders of the Soviet artillery were all Austrian 
 officers. 
 
 "From all these facts even an uninterested onlooker 
 may picture to himself the news which had been spread 
 about the Czecho-Slovak army. Inasmuch as the 
 warfare is still being carried on on all sides, it has not 
 been possible to gather all the evidence from the Soviet 
 offices, and unfortunately in many cases the Bolsheviks 
 succeeded in carrying away with them or destroying 
 all their papers before our men took possession. Later, 
 however, there will be certainly found many proofs of 
 the truth of the assertion made by the president of the 
 Cheliabinsk Soviet and the military commissioner in 
 that town, who informed our representatives in con- 
 fidence, shortly before the outbreak of hostilities, that 
 the cause of all the acts against the Czecho-Slovaks 
 was the German ambassador at Moscow. 
 
 "Translation certified to be accurate and is hereby 
 authorized. 
 
 (Signature) PROZATIMNI 
 
 (Seal) VYKONNY 
 
 VYBOR." 
 
 The Czechs were opposed, however, not only by 
 the Red army but by prisoners of war of the Central
 
 122 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 Empires. Both Germany and Austria attempted in 
 April to mobilize their citizens who were in Russia in 
 order to bring them back to central Europe to take 
 part in the fighting on the Western front. At various 
 depots, which the Czecho-Slovak armies took over 
 during their march across Siberia, they found copies 
 of telegrams of which the following is an example: 
 
 "Telegram from Berlin No. 772,650, 1918. 
 
 "To all German, Austrian, and Hungarian prisoners 
 of war in Russia: 
 
 "1. Every one who distinguished himself .during 
 his captivity by some work for the benefit of his coun- 
 try has the right to look for a betterment of his con- 
 ditions. 
 
 "2. All who obey this order will receive after their 
 return home a month's furlough and will be sent to 
 the front only after four months, if it is necessaiy. 
 
 "3. He who is not working in Russia for his country, 
 will after his return be severely punished. It is an* 
 indisputable fact that it is better to work for our own 
 culture than abroad. 
 
 "4. He who behaves unworthily in captivity and 
 betrays his country will be punished with all severity. 
 For the discovery of traitors 300,000 marks have been 
 appropriated. Officers who have not received their 
 salaries will get them upon their return home. 
 
 "5. Special officers will care for the return of 
 prisoners. I order all commandants of trains to trouble 
 themselves in providing quick transportation. 
 
 (Signed) WILLIAM II. 
 
 CHAKLES I. 
 
 "BERLIN, April 28, 1918."
 
 AT CZECHO-SLOVAK HEADQUARTERS 123 
 
 The Czecho-Slovak version of the incidents which 
 led to war with the Bolsheviki differ from the explana- 
 tions given by the various Soviets. For instance, hi 
 the railroad offices of the trans-Baikal railway was 
 found the following statement, No. 2,640: 
 
 "From Russia to Vladivostok are moving sixteen 
 echelons of Czecho-Slovaks, at the disposal of America, 
 ostensibly to be sent to France. In view of the hostile 
 attitude of international imperialism and threats of 
 a foreign landing at Vladivostok, the central executive 
 committee of Soviets in Siberia considers the concen- 
 tration there of these forces dangerous and inadmissible. 
 It has therefore applied to the Omsk military com- 
 mittee with the demand that the further movement 
 of these troops be stopped until there is further com- 
 munication with the Soviet of the Peoples' Commission 
 in Moscow. 
 
 "To our question Comrade Stalin answered in the 
 name of the Soviet of the Peoples' Commission as 
 follows: 
 
 " 'In the name of the Russian Republic there can 
 be no other armed detachments than those of the 
 Soviets,' and he advised the local Soviet to disarm 
 them. The central Siberian Government cannot be 
 satisfied with this decision. They protested again to 
 the Peoples' Commission and demanded that the 
 echelons be sent to Archangel, because the concen- 
 tration in Vladivostok, where there are large stocks 
 of arms and many thousands of unarmed soldiers, will 
 place them at the disposal of international imperialists, 
 and may turn out to be the decisive blow to the Soviet
 
 124 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 authority in Siberia, especially at the moment of the 
 advance now being prepared by Semenov. Therefore, 
 the central Siberian Government categorically de- 
 mands of all local Soviets and railway servants the 
 immediate disarmament and suspension of the move- 
 ment of the Czecho-Slovak echelons. Their arms 
 must be delivered up in full to the staffs of the mili- 
 tary district. The soldiers must be detained where 
 they are disarmed until the question of their destina- 
 tion is settled. We have again put this question to 
 the Soviet of Peoples' Commission. 
 
 " 'When will you answer our statement about the 
 impossibility of sending the Czecho-Slovaks to Vladi- 
 vostok? We categorically demand that they be sent 
 over Archangel. 
 
 (Signed) PRESIDENT, CENTRAL SIBERIAN 
 EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE, YAKOLEV, 
 SECRETARY KLINOV.' 
 
 This shows the difficulty which arose in Siberia as 
 well as in Russia because of the fact that there was 
 no responsible central government, and only local 
 governments scattered throughout the country each 
 one with different ideas about the conduct of national 
 affairs. That there should eventually be a conflict 
 between the Czecho-Slovaks and the Russian Soviets 
 was obvious because of this very fact that a Soviet 
 in Siberia would not be bound by what the Soviet in 
 European Russia might do. 
 
 The Bolsheviki, however, have always maintained 
 that the difficulties with the Czecho-Slovaks arose, not 
 from any faults of the Bolsheviki, but because of an
 
 AT CZECHO-SLOVAK HEADQUARTERS 125 
 
 unwarranted attack by several of the Czecho-Slovak 
 echelons upon local councils. There is extant the 
 following document signed by the People's Commis- 
 sariat for Military Affairs and Member of the Supreme 
 Military Council Podvolsky: 
 
 "Supreme Military Inspector of the People's Com- 
 missariat for Military Affairs. Dated Zlatoust, May 
 30, 1918. Railway car of the Supreme Military In- 
 spector. 
 
 "The Czecho-Slovak eschelons sent by the Soviet 
 authorities to Vladivostok on the Zlatoust-Cheliabinsk 
 line, insolently raised a mutiny against the Russian 
 Soviet Republic. They have thereby placed them- 
 selves in the ranks of the greatest enemies of the re- 
 public, and no mercy will be shown them if they do 
 not return to reason. 
 
 "Endowed by the workmen's and peasants' govern- 
 ment with plenal powers in military matters I order 
 the Czecho-Slovak echelons confronted with a bloody 
 penalty of being shot in masses by the Soviet troops, 
 to leave their echelon and take up quarters in bar- 
 racks, as directed by the local military authorities, un- 
 til further instructions, which will follow on comple- 
 tion of the labors of the mixed commission, and with 
 the representatives of the French military commission 
 about which all the Czecho-Slovak echelons have 
 been informed by the Czecho-Slovak representative, 
 Professor Max, whose telegram is enclosed herewith." 
 
 The telegram, which was enclosed, was as follows: 
 
 "Iz to Moscow No. 702. To commanders of Czecho- 
 slovak Echelons, President of the conference, Military 
 Commission of Cheliabinsk.
 
 126 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 "In view of the regrettable occurrences, the con- 
 flicts between the Czecho-Slovak echelons and the 
 local Soviet authorities, the Czecho-Slovak National 
 Council in order to avoid such deplorable cases orders 
 all commanders of Czecho-Slovak echelons to deliver, 
 without debate, all their arms without exception to 
 the official representatives of the local Soviets. The 
 duty of assuring the safety of the Czechs rests entirely 
 upon the Soviet institution of the Russian Federal 
 Republic. Whoever does not obey this order will be 
 considered a mutineer and outlaw. 
 
 "May 21, 1918, P. Max, Manager of Operations, 
 Section of Military Commission." 
 
 In the meantime, however, the Bolsheviki made 
 extensive preparations for an attack upon the Czechs. 
 The feeling between the two sides was very bitter and 
 all that was needed was an incident to start the war. 
 Even the Bolshevist version of the incident which 
 brought on the war shows that the actions of the 
 Czecho-Slovaks were due directly to attacks made 
 upon one of their echelons. Leon Trotsky, the Bol- 
 shevist minister of war, sent his attorney Sevkovkin 
 to the Moscow telegraph office to talk with the dis- 
 trict military commissioner Sedlutsky at Cheliabinsk. 
 Their conversation, which was written out by the 
 operator at Cheliabinsk, who received and transmitted 
 the questions and answers, was as follows: 
 
 "By direct wire Moscow-Cheliabinsk. Speaking 
 from Moscow Trotsky's attorney, M. Sedkovkin. 
 Speaking from Cheliabinsk District Military Com- 
 missar Sedlutsky. 
 
 "With you is speaking Sedkovkin, authorized by
 
 AT CZECHOSLOVAK HEADQUARTERS 127 
 
 Comrade Trotsky. Kindly tell me all you know about 
 the Czecho-Slovak formation and the object of their 
 action. Explain everything in detail. 
 
 "On May 16 there arrived in Cheliabinsk station 
 an echelon of Magyar prisoners. According to data, 
 a stone or stove-leg was thrown into a truck of Czecho- 
 slovaks. A fight took place between the Czechs and 
 Germans, enhanced by their national antipathies, as 
 a result of which one Magyar was killed. The next 
 day a delegation of Czechs went to the committee of 
 investigation in order to explain the murder, which 
 delegation was arrested. In connection therewith the 
 Czechs became excited and at six o'clock on the eve- 
 ning of May 17, having armed, they entered the town, 
 occupied all corners and streets, placed a company 
 at the building of the Executive Committee and left 
 parts of companies on other streets. Beside that, they 
 occupied the station and arrested there the commandant 
 and several commissaries. They did not enter the 
 Executive Committee. They presented a demand for 
 the immediate release of those arrested. I was per- 
 sonally among them, and they continually demanded 
 the release of the arrested ones, and when I explained 
 to them that their action was directed against the 
 Soviet authorities, they declared that they were not 
 acting against the Soviet, but only wanted the release 
 of the arrested delegation. We categorically demanded 
 that they go away in order to avoid bloodshed, for 
 we might lose control of our Red army, and they might 
 start firing, but it led to nothing. To avoid bloodshed, 
 and in view of the discipline of the Czecho-Slovaks, 
 and the unreadiness of our Red army, it was decided
 
 128 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 to release those arrested. After this they returned, 
 singing, to their cars. Our Red army was ready, and 
 occupied part of the town behind the river. At the 
 time of the occupation of the town the Czechs disarmed 
 the guard of the Military Commissary, rummaged 
 among the papers, broke the telephone wire, stole a 
 part of the arms, disarmed a part of the Red Guards, 
 and took from them two machine-guns. They in- 
 stituted searches of pedestrians, took away their arms, 
 and even the revolver of the President of the Execu- 
 tive Committee. On the part of the Czechs there 
 were three killed and two wounded by provocatory 
 shots; on our side there no losses, for it was forbidden 
 to shoot. There are altogether with us about 8,400 
 Czecho-Slovaks, of whom 1,600 are armed and they 
 have six machine-guns. 
 
 "The next day martial law was proclaimed and 
 order was restored. 
 
 "On May 18 we invited the Czechs to surrender 
 the stolen arms, and they gave up the rifles already 
 taken from the Red Guard, and two machine-guns, 
 but as regards most of the stolen arms, the command- 
 ing officers promised to return same but asked leave 
 to wait a day or two, as the mass of soldiers was in- 
 subordinate and did not trust them, since, according 
 to pledges given by the Soviet of Peoples' Commis- 
 saries, they were to travel to Vladivostok but are 
 detained here, and if they were forced to give up their 
 arms now, while still in a state of excitement, they 
 would not obey the order. We wanted to disarm them, 
 but have not sufficient strength, and they are, in ad- 
 dition very watchful. Local government and district
 
 AT CZECHOSLOVAK HEADQUARTERS 129 
 
 Soviets and Ekaterinburg cannot give forces, as they 
 have been sent from us to Orenburg. It is desirable, 
 by all means, to move the Czechs to Siberia, for in 
 future a halt of over a month in the echelons, not 
 knowing when they will go on, in the end may cause 
 in their minds a violent fermentation, and to get en- 
 tangled with them, when the Cossack action is not yet 
 liquidated, would be undesirable. 
 
 "After their outburst they posted proclamations, 
 stating that they will not oppose the Soviet authority, 
 and that they had acted because we had arrested them 
 wrongfully. 
 
 "At present all is quiet. At Ekaterinburg it has 
 been decided not to disarm them, in view of lack of 
 sufficient forces, which have been sent to Orenburg 
 and which await instructions from the Soviet of Peoples' 
 Committee. That is all I can say at present. To- 
 morrow will inform you more in detail, if necessary, 
 as I have perhaps omitted something to-day. The 
 whole matter is under investigation. 
 
 "Good, thanks. If you have any information, in- 
 form us. Keep in touch with us. Arrange regular 
 attendance at the telegraph. 
 
 "Good, will inform you of everything. Good-by. 
 "Correct translation 
 
 "Adjutant of Second Czecho-Slovak Shooting Regi- 
 ment, 
 
 "I. MESAR." 
 
 It was after this conversation that Trotsky sent 
 the following telegram to all Bolshevist representatives 
 along the Trans-Siberian Railway:
 
 130 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 "All Soviets on the railways are obliged, on pain 
 of grave responsibility, to disarm the Czecho-Slovaks. 
 Each Czecho-Slovak on whom is found arms on the 
 railway line is to be shot on the spot. Each echelon, 
 in which a single armed man is found, must be thrown 
 off the trucks, and the men confined in a prisoner-camp. 
 Local military commissariats are enjoined to execute 
 this order at once. Any delay will be equivalent to 
 dishonorable treachery, and will call down on the cul- 
 prit severest punishment. Simultaneously, reliable 
 troops, who are commissioned to teach the mutineers 
 a lesson, are being sent against the rear of the Czech 
 echelons. Those Czecho-Slovaks who lay down their 
 arms will be treated as brothers; every support will 
 be given them. Trotsky." 
 
 Siberia and central Russia became almost imme- 
 diately the scene of military operations between the 
 two contending forces. The Bolsheviki, who were 
 masters at propaganda because it was propaganda 
 which had been their main weapon for a decade before 
 the revolution, placarded Russia with appeals from 
 local Soviets to peasants, workmen, and Cossacks. 
 An appeal dated May 28, 1918, and posted on Omsk 
 is an indication of the nature of the propaganda car- 
 ried on in Russia by the Bolsheviki. It reads as fol- 
 lows: 
 
 "Comrades: Surely not because of the pretty eyes 
 of the compromising Socialists and the upstarts from 
 the ranks of the Co-operatives have the Japanese and 
 Czecho-Slovak leaders, who are in the service of the 
 French bourgeoisie, thrown their detachments into the 
 fight with the workmen and peasants authority. The
 
 AT CZECHOSLOVAK HEADQUARTERS 131 
 
 imperialistic bourgeoisie for friendship, gratuitously, 
 does nothing ! It has its own interests. In its own 
 interest, Franco- Japanese capital seizes Siberia just 
 as the German capitalists have seized the Ukraine. 
 The same object is pursued by the Franco- Japanese 
 capitalists. The riches of Siberia are necessary to them. 
 
 "But simultaneously it is imperative to them to 
 lay a steel grasp on the people of Siberia, and with ma- 
 chine-gun fire to force the working class, the peasants, 
 and Cossacks of Siberia, to again enter the ranks of 
 the imperialistic army, to again litter with their corpses 
 the field of battle, and to again become the marionettes 
 of capital. 
 
 "Indifferent attitude to the position of the Soviet 
 authority leads you to this. We summon you to pro- 
 tect the Soviet authority. 
 
 "Not for a moment should you forget that before 
 you are only two ways: Either resistance to the ad- 
 ventures, a deperate resistance, and the strengthening 
 of the Soviet authority; or the yoke of the Skoropad- 
 skie-Sazonoffs, lackeys of the imperialistic bourgeoisie, 
 and fresh colossal sacrifices of blood for strange in- 
 terests, for the interests of the still militaristic bour- 
 geoisie. There is no other way out!" 
 
 During all of this tune the Allies were playing tag 
 with the Bolsheviki and dilly-dallying with Russian 
 policies. Although the representatives of the Allies, 
 meeting in Rome in the spring of 1918, had indicated 
 their sympathies for the oppressed nations of Austria- 
 Hungary, they had not advanced to the point where 
 they were willing to take sides in Russia in the dis- 
 pute between the Czecho-Slovaks and the Bolsheviki.
 
 132 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 Officially the Czechs were under the command of the 
 French, because France was the first to finance the 
 Czecho-Slovak revolutionary movement and because 
 French officers were the first to assist the Czechs in 
 Russia. At the very beginning of the difficulties in 
 the neighborhood of Cheliabinsk, official representa- 
 tives of the Allies were involved. Even after the fight 
 at Cheliabinsk and in Omsk the Czecho-Slovaks had 
 not changed their plan of going on to Vladivostok and 
 France, but because of the unfortunate attacks by 
 the Bolsheviki a new agreement had to be drawn in 
 order to guarantee the Czecho-Slovak forces unre- 
 stricted travel to Vladivostok. The Czechs believed 
 that the attitude of the Red Guard was due to the 
 influence of the Germans. 
 
 At the very beginning of the controversy the Omsk 
 Soviets appealed to United States Consul Thompson 
 for support. Mr. Thompson pointed out that he could 
 not confer with his government because the Bolsheviki 
 had prohibited the use of cipher telegrams, despite 
 the assurance of Consul-General Poole, which he had 
 obtained from Foreign Minister Tchitcherin. The 
 Soviet, however, again requested the American consul 
 to appear at a conference between the Soviet and the 
 French-Czech delegates at Isilkul. At this meeting, 
 however, the lack of confidence on both sides in any 
 agreement was so evident that the conference could 
 not possibly come to a successful conclusion. Even 
 Major Guinet, who was representing the French Gov- 
 ernment, was so in doubt about the attitude of his 
 government and the Allies, that he sent the following 
 telegram to the Czechs:
 
 AT CZECHOSLOVAK HEADQUARTERS 133 
 
 "Your action forces the French Mission to wash 
 its hands of this affair. It will be a disgrace for the 
 Czechs to become involved in Russia's difficulties. If 
 the Czechs persist in their activities everything must 
 end between them and the French Government. The 
 Czechs must take no action whatever until the French 
 Mission arrives in Isilkul." 
 
 The conference was continued for two or three days, 
 but the difficulty which developed here was the one 
 which was present in every phase of the negotiations 
 in Russia. The Allies were not united upon either a 
 Russian policy or upon their attitude toward the 
 Czecho-Slovaks, and while the French representative 
 informed the Czechs on the night of May 31 that the 
 French Government would "wash its hands of this 
 affair," he stated the following day to the Bolsheviki 
 delegates at the conference: 
 
 "The Czechs are courageous troops. Armed, they 
 know they can attain their end, and complete their 
 journey. While en route they have no desire to shed 
 blood. Their aim is to reach France. Concessions 
 from both sides are imperative. You possess some 
 strength and they possess some strength. Safety is 
 necessary to them and must be guaranteed. At present 
 it is only a question of time. It is premature to talk 
 of the surrender of arms. This question must be re- 
 ferred to the coming conference at Cheliabinsk. Other- 
 wise the Czechs will take Omsk, and arms in hand will 
 secure their onward progress." 
 
 WTiile the Soviet adjourned to discuss the question 
 and decide upon their action the French and Czech 
 delegates received a telegram from Isilkul ordering
 
 134 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 them to leave. Before the meeting could be adjourned 
 both sides agreed that the truce should remain only 
 until both sides were notified. 
 
 Thus the war was on. The Bolsheviki were united. 
 The Czechs were united. The Bolsheviki had the 
 support of the Germans and Austrians while the Czecho- 
 slovaks, for the moment, were without moral assistance 
 or political support or the military co-operation of any 
 of the Allies. It was not until June 22, three weeks 
 after their break with the Soviet, that the'Czechs were 
 given their first intimation that they might rely on 
 the assistance of the Allies. On that date Major Guinet 
 received the following message, which had been brought 
 by courier from Perm to Cheliabinsk, dated May 18, 
 and which he delivered to the Czecho-Slovak National 
 Council: 
 
 "The French ambassador informs Major Guinet 
 that he can thank the Czecho-Slovaks for their action, 
 this hi the name of all the Allies who have decided to 
 intervene the end of June, and the Czech army and 
 the French Mission, form the advance-guard of the 
 Allied army. Recommendations will follow concerning 
 political and military points with respect to occupation 
 and organization." 
 
 One month later the acting consul of the United 
 States in Omsk received a cipher message forwarded 
 from the United States Consulate in Samara. This 
 telegram, dated July 22, 1918, read: 
 
 "Cipher despatch from consul-general assumed, 
 Moscow, to this office (Samara) dated June 18: The 
 last official news. Quote : You may inform the Czecho- 
 slovak leaders, confidentially, that pending further
 
 AT CZECHOSLOVAK HEADQUARTERS 135 
 
 notice the Allies will be glad from a political point 
 of view to have them hold their present position. On 
 the other hand, they should not be hampered in meet- 
 ing the military exigency of the situation. It is de- 
 sirable first of all that they should secure the control 
 of the Trans-Siberian Railway and second, if this is 
 assumed, at the same time possible retain control over 
 the territory which they now dominate. Inform the 
 French representative that the French consul-general 
 joins in these instructions, end quote." 
 
 Two days later the United States consul-general at 
 Irkutsk telegraphed the American vice-gonsul in Omsk 
 the following: 
 
 "Gray, Amconsul, Omsk: 
 
 "I consider this wise in view of the fact that the 
 Allies wish the Czechs to be the main backbone and 
 support of Allied action in Siberia and Russia against 
 Germany. 
 
 "HARRIS." 
 
 i 
 
 The Czecho-Slovak organization was as hopeful as 
 it was enthusiastic when these messages were received. 
 Despite the plans which had been made for the journey 
 to France, they were willing to remain in Russia to 
 fight the Bolsheviki, hot alone because the Red army 
 had attacked their echelons, not alone because, hi 
 this manner, they could fight Germany and Austria- 
 Hungary, but because they believed that the Allies 
 would be indebted to them and support their aspira- 
 tions for the establishment of Czecho-Slovakia as an 
 independent republic.
 
 136 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 But they were doomed to disappointment because 
 the messages which had been transmitted to the Na- 
 tional Council by the American representatives were 
 not authorized by the Department of State in Wash- 
 ington. President Wilson had written a confidential 
 memorandum for the department, outlining the Amer- 
 ican attitude toward Russia and, in this document, 
 which has never been published, the President states 
 definitely the opposition of the United States to mili- 
 tary intervention. Both Consul-Generals Poole and 
 Harris, however, received these instructions from Am- 
 bassador Francis, who sent them by courier from 
 Vologda to Moscow during the early summer of 1918, 
 but the United States envoy was not authorized by 
 Washington to do this. 
 
 Through this diplomatic confusion the Czecho- 
 slovaks were promised assistance which the United 
 States Government never intended and was never 
 ready to give.
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 THE BIRTH OF A GOVERNMENT IN RUSSIA 
 
 THROUGHOUT the summer, from June to September, 
 the armies of the Czecho-Slovaks fought their way 
 back and forth over Siberia, and by fall all of the 
 local Soviets in Siberia had been overthrown: the 
 Bolshevik power had been destroyed, and from Samara 
 and Perm to Vladivostok the ghost of Bolshevism 
 had disappeared. This the brave armies of the Czecho- 
 slovaks had accomplished, depending entirely upon 
 their own physical strength and upon the supplies 
 which they found in Russia and which they captured 
 from the Red army. There is no territorial advance 
 in the annals of the war as dramatic and rapid as was 
 that of the Czecho-Slovak revolutionary army in that 
 vast ex-empire of Siberia. These 50,000 Czecho-Slovak 
 soldiers had established an organization in every im- 
 portant city along the great Trans-Siberian Railway. 
 They maintained order; assumed direction of the 
 railroads without interfering with any local govern- 
 ment except those avowedly Bolshevists. 
 
 Thus, at the beginning of September, Siberia was 
 free from the Red rule, and we find the people of that 
 country getting together with the object of electing 
 an All-Russian Government. Various governments 
 had been in process of formation in the neighborhood 
 
 137
 
 138 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 of Samara and the Ural Mountains, Tomsk and Vladi- 
 vostok, but these obviously did not trust each other, 
 and the demand for a central representative govern- 
 ment was so great that delegates from all of the govern- 
 ments in Siberia, including the Siberian Government 
 itself, met in the city of Ufa and elected an Ail-Rus- 
 sian directorate with five ministers and five assistants. 
 The prime minister was Afkzentieff and his assis- 
 tants were Bolderoff, Astroff, Chiakovski, and Volo- 
 godsky. The directorate took over full power of the 
 various governments and decided to make Omsk the 
 new capital of Russia until they could move to either 
 Moscow or Petrograd, because the object of the con- 
 ference at Ufa was to found a new Russian Govern- 
 ment, which, with the support of the Czecho-Slovaks 
 and the Allies, might ultimately succeed the Bolsheviki 
 government which was at that tune co-operating with 
 the German organization in the East. The backbone 
 of this new government was the Siberian Government 
 which had been organized the latter part of June and 
 which had selected July 4, the American Independence 
 Day, as the date for their declaration of the temporary 
 independence of Siberia. This document is important 
 because of its historical interest, because the formation 
 of this All-Russian Government was the only one in 
 Russia since the March 1917 revolution, which could 
 have been considered as having a mandate direct from 
 the people. It is also important because it shows the 
 beginning of a new government, the development of 
 which was prevented entirely through the lack of in- 
 terest and support from the Allied governments. A 
 translation of the declaration follows:
 
 THE BIRTH OF A GOVERNMENT 139 
 
 "TRANSLATION OF THE DECLARATION OP 
 
 THE TEMPORARY INDEPENDENCE 
 
 OF SIBERIA 
 
 "The Siberian Provisional Government, assuming 
 plenary power in the land after the expulsion of the 
 Bolshevik usurpers, in line with other important tasks, 
 considers it imperative to bring Siberia out of that 
 undefined situation in which it was in consequence 
 of the dispersal by the Bolsheviks of the Siberian Pro- 
 vincial Duma and the continuation of the Bolshevik 
 domination of European Russia. 
 
 "The Siberian Provisional Government is clearly 
 conscious that every delay in deciding the question 
 of defining the state nature of Siberia is very pernicious 
 in its consequences in connection with the present 
 international situation; but, notwithstanding this, it 
 would not take upon itself the responsibility of de- 
 fining the future fate of its fatherland, if it did not 
 have in this respect an authoritative indication on the 
 part of the Siberian Provincial Duma, as expressed 
 in the latter's declaration of January 27, 1918. 
 
 "Supported solely by this declaration, hi which 
 the Siberian Provincial Duma definitely shows itself 
 in favor of granting Siberia the full attributes of a 
 state, the Provincial Government now holds it pos- 
 sible, in view of the acuteness of the moment, to take 
 upon itself the task of settling this question without 
 waiting for a new convocation of the Duma. 
 
 "Upon this basis, and in view of the fact that the 
 attributes of the Russian state do not exist as such,
 
 140 
 
 a considerable portion of the Russian territory being 
 in the actual possession of the Central Powers, and 
 another portion seized by the Bolshevik usurpers of 
 the people's rule, the Siberian Provisional Government 
 solemnly declares to all the world that henceforth it 
 alone, together with the Siberian Provincial Duma, is 
 responsible for the destiny of Siberia, and announces 
 full freedom of indepedent relations with foreign Powers, 
 and also declares that henceforth no other authority 
 than the Siberian Provincial Government can act on 
 the territory of Siberia or undertake obligations in 
 the name of same. 
 
 "At the same time the Siberian Provincial Govern- 
 ment considers it is its sacred duty to state that the 
 convocation of the All-Siberian Constituent Assembly, 
 to which it will hand over its authority as is its un- 
 swerving intention, and to the earliest accomplishment 
 of this will devote all its strength. 
 
 "Nevertheless, the Siberian Provincial Govern- 
 ment holds it absolutely necessary to declare not less 
 solemnly, that it does not consider Siberia to be for- 
 ever torn from those territories which as a whole com- 
 posed the state of Russia, and believes that all efforts 
 must be directed to the reconstruction of Russia as 
 a state. The Provisional Government considers that, 
 when this high aim is happily achieved, the character 
 of the future relations between Siberia and European 
 Russia will be determined by the All-Siberian and Ail- 
 Russian Constituent Assemblies. Bearing this in mind 
 the Siberian Provisional Government enters upon its 
 responsible work with the firm assurance that it will be
 
 THE BIRTH OF A GOVERNMENT 141 
 
 supported therein by all the patriotic and thinking 
 elements of the country. 
 
 The President of the Council of Ministers and 
 Minister for Foreign Affairs, VOLOGODSKY; 
 
 Minister of Interior, KROUTOFSKY; 
 
 Minister of Justice, PATOUSHINSKY; 
 
 Minister of Finance, MICHAILOFF; 
 
 Minister of Native Affairs, SHATILOFF. 
 
 " July 4, 1918." 
 
 From the report of an official who was in Siberia 
 throughout the first and second revolutions, I obtained 
 the following account of the events preceding my ar- 
 rival in Omsk: 
 
 "The Provisional Duma at Tomsk was a body which 
 had been selected by the different political parties in 
 January, 1918, and had not been elected by popular 
 vote. It consisted of about ninety members, the larger 
 portion of the extreme Social Revolutionary party. 
 This Duma had given instructions to Vologodsky to 
 make a government consisting of Social Revolution- 
 ists, but Vologodsky had not carried out instructions 
 and had formed a government consisting of the various 
 political parties, which action had met with the ap- 
 proval of all classes, but, of course, had displeased the 
 Duma. At a secret meeting of some forty of the Duma, 
 they selected ministers and an organization for a gov- 
 ernment of their own, and awaited an opportunity to 
 get control of affairs. 
 
 "This opportunity occurred when Ivanov-Rinov and 
 Serebrenikov were at the Ufa meeting at the be- 
 ginning of September while Vologodsky was in Vladi-
 
 142 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 vostok conferring with the Allies. Ministers Kru- 
 tovsky and Shatilov, who were at that time hi Tomsk, 
 and who were of the Duma party, arrived in Omsk 
 with the president of the Duma, Jakushev, and an- 
 other member, Novosilov. The latter was a Cossack 
 and had worked with the Bolsheviks. A meeting was 
 called of the ministers, consisting of Michailov (the 
 only other minister in town), Krutovsky, and Shatilov, 
 and the latter two named insisted upon giving Novosilov 
 a portfolio. Michailov would not agree to this and 
 left the meeting. Nevertheless, Krutovsky and Shati- 
 lov attempted to carry through their programme in 
 order to secure the balance of power in the government 
 for the extreme Social Revolutionary party, in which 
 event it would be an easy matter to exclude all other 
 political parties from the government. This plot was 
 discovered by the commander of the city, Volkov, 
 and without instructions from higher authorities, dur- 
 ing the night of the 20th-21st September, with armed 
 officers he arrested Krutovsky, Shatilov, Novosilov, 
 and Jakushev, who were living at the railroad-station 
 in cars. They were taken to Volkov's private house, 
 put in separate rooms, and each, under penalty of 
 death, were given three minutes to sign resignation 
 papers which had been prepared for them. Krutov- 
 sky, Shatilov, and Jakushev were released in the morn- 
 ing, but Novosilov was retained. It was reported 
 that orders were given to transfer him to the prison, 
 and two Cossack officers were detailed as guards. En 
 route, in conversation he told the guards he had worked 
 for the Bolsheviks, but with the intention of helping 
 to eventually overthrow them, and that he knew where
 
 THE BIRTH OF A GOVERNMENT 143 
 
 a considerable quantity of arms were buried on the out- 
 skirts of the town. The officers agreed to let him show 
 them the place, but after he had walked them around 
 for three hours they came to the conclusion he was 
 endeavoring to escape and therefore shot him. The 
 testimony of a forester says that two officers and a 
 civilian were seen at the place where the body was 
 found in heated conversation, and that one of the offi- 
 cers stepped behind the civilian and fired one shot from 
 a revolver. The body was then thrown into the bushes 
 and several more shots fired in that direction. This 
 murder was undoubtedly an act of revenge on the 
 part of Cossacks upon one they considered had tried 
 to betray the Cossacks to the Bolsheviks. 
 
 "The first information the Czechs received regard- 
 ing these happenings was from agents of the Territorial 
 Duma and, being Social Revolutionists themselves, 
 they naturally sympathized with that party. In re- 
 porting the matter to Chehabinsk the Czechs had 
 evidently jumped to the conclusion that Michailov 
 had ordered the arrests. The Czechs immediately re- 
 ceived instructions from General Syrovy to arrest 
 Michailov, as any disturbances in the rear of their army 
 could not be tolerated. Michailov had received warn- 
 ing and could not be found. However, Assistant 
 Minister of Interior Gratzianov was arrested by the 
 Czechs. All classes were very much upset and ener- 
 getically protested against the arrest and against the 
 interference of the Czechs in Russian internal affairs. 
 The Cossacks were also angered, and the slightest 
 provocation would have started a battle between them 
 and the Czechs in Omsk. The pressure was so great
 
 144 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 that the Czechs cancelled their order for the arrest 
 of Michailov and released Gratzianov. 
 
 "In the meantime, General Ivanov hurried back 
 from Ufa, and upon his arrival took control of Omsk, 
 and arrested Volkov, and started an investigation into 
 the whole affair. Orders were given for the Provincial 
 Duma to dissolve. However, the relations between 
 the Siberians and Czechs were so strained that Ivanov 
 was about to resign when an Allied consul pointed 
 out the serious results which would occur from any 
 such action on his part, and convinced him that he 
 must use his influence to smooth matters over while 
 the Allied representatives promised to mediate with 
 the Czechs and point out to them the necessity of not 
 mixing into Russian internal politics and preventing 
 such incidents hi the future. The ceaseless efforts of 
 the Allies were successful in preventing any drastic 
 actions and matters were smoothed over somewhat, 
 but the Siberians did not forget the incident. 
 
 "Whether the Ail-Russian Directorate would make 
 Omsk or Ekaterinburg their headquarters was the next 
 worry of the political parties. It was felt that should 
 they decide on Ekaterinburg they would be put under 
 the influence of the working class in that territory, 
 and would not be able to carry out their intended pro- 
 gramme. However, the directorate decided on Omsk 
 and arrived there on September 9. Negotiations were 
 immediately started between the directorate and the 
 Siberian Government as to the formation of an All-Rus- 
 sian Government and the giving over of power of the 
 Siberian Government. The Siberian Government 
 was loath to compromise without certain guarantees.
 
 THE BIRTH OF A GOVERNMENT 145 
 
 "The wages of workmen had increased very con- 
 siderably since June, but their individual output de- 
 creased. It was therefore necessary to do something 
 to bring up the standard, especially on the railway. 
 The Siberian Government therefore passed a resolu- 
 tion that workmen on the railway should be paid, 
 wherever practicable and possible, by piece-work in 
 other words, the workmen would have to earn their 
 wages. Trouble started on the Tomsk railway but 
 was quickly put down. On September 18 a general 
 strike was declared by railway workmen here in Omsk. 
 The Czechs, Cossacks and military organizations under- 
 took to guard the railway yards but not before the 
 strikers had managed to damage twelve out of the 
 eighteen engines in the local yards. Several of the 
 leaders were caught and immediately shot. The gov- 
 ernment and military people issued strict orders and 
 took the necessary measures to prevent trouble, and 
 the workmen were forced to go back to work. How- 
 ever, with so many locomotives out of service, train 
 traffic was seriously interfered with. 
 
 "The railway strike seemed to have been suppressed, 
 but on the 19th a sympathetic strike of all workmen, 
 factory employees, teamsters, barbers, bakers, etc., 
 was declared. The situation was serious but the au- 
 thorities took the matter in hand and gave no quarter. 
 On Monday, the 23d of September, most of the work- 
 men had returned to their work. General Dietrichs, 
 a Russian chief of staff of the Czechs, sent a telegram 
 to Omsk in the name of the Czech staff stating strikes 
 in their rear would not be tolerated and ' that it was no 
 time to enforce piece-work.' This statement, coming
 
 146 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 just at the time the strike had successfully been put 
 down, caused very hard feeling amongst the authori- 
 ties toward the Czechs. It gave the impression that 
 the Czechs were taking the side of the workmen against 
 the government. Captain Kozek, the Czech diplomatic 
 representative in Omsk, sent a telegram to the Czech 
 staff to the effect that they should not mix into internal 
 affairs and that the matter had been liquidated. 
 
 "The formation of the All-Russian Government 
 was meeting with considerable opposition. It was 
 proposed to have the directory composed of the five 
 elected at Ufa, and under them would be a working 
 cabinet composed of the various ministers. However, 
 there were several contestable points between the 
 directorate and the Siberian Government which were 
 necessary to settle before the Siberian Government 
 would agree to give over their power. About the 24th 
 of October an agreement was reached between the 
 directorate and Siberian Government on ten out of 
 eleven points as follows: 
 
 "1. Formation of an Ail-Russian Government was 
 agreed upon, therefore the Provincial Government 
 (Siberian Temporary Government) no longer exists. 
 
 "2. The principle of Provincial Governments was 
 agreed to, but districts would be agreed upon at some 
 future date. 
 
 "3. All-Russian Government takes over and uses the 
 organization of the Siberian Government. 
 
 "4. Composition of the Working Cabinet to be 
 made by the Siberian and Directorate, but in the fu- 
 ture ohe Directorate would only have the power to 
 make appointments to vacancies in the Cabinet.
 
 THE BIRTH OF A GOVERNMENT 147 
 
 "5. Members of the Cabinet will only be answerable 
 to the Directorate. 
 
 "6. President of the Cabinet must be a member 
 of the Directorate. 
 
 "7. New laws regarding the election of the Con- 
 stituent Assembly will be drawn up by a special com- 
 mittee, one of whom must be the President of the Pro- 
 vincial Duma, and the laws must be ratified by the 
 Directorate before becoming effective. 
 
 "8. After European Russia is freed, the various 
 Provinces will have the right to have their own local 
 governments. 
 
 "9. Directorate accept all laws made by Provincial 
 Governments to date, but will look them over and 
 make changes where necessary. 
 
 "10. Army will be All-Russian and wear Russian 
 cockade, but Provinces may wear their colors across 
 the cockade. 
 
 "11. Directorate wishes the Provincial Duma at 
 Tomsk to assemble, with the understanding that it 
 will pass a vote of confidence in the All-Russian Gov- 
 ernment and dissolve immediately, and this to be their 
 only reason for assembling. Siberians, however, con- 
 sider the Duma as dissolved and therefore have no right 
 to assemble. 
 
 "This last point was finally settled by the Siberians 
 giving in. However, in choosing candidates for the 
 Working Cabinet very serious differences arose as to 
 the Minister of Finance. The Siberians insisted on 
 having Michailov, while the Directorate refused his 
 nomination. Both sides remained firm and the Di- 
 rectorate gave the Siberian Government until a
 
 148 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 specified time to decide the matter definitely. The 
 Czechs were backing the Directorate as they also did 
 not wish to have Michailov as Minister of Finance. 
 The Directorate offered the post as Minister of Com- 
 merce to Michailov but neither he nor the Siberian 
 Government agreed to this. The controversy became 
 so acute that Afkzentieff and two others of the Director- 
 ate threatened to resign. In order to avoid such a cat- 
 astrophe the French Consul, British Vice-Consul, and 
 United States Vice-Consul appealed to both sides to 
 compromise. Upon these representations the crisis 
 was overcome without any drastic actions on either 
 side. A final agreement was signed the evening of 
 November 1, and this Working Cabinet was named: 
 
 VOLOGODSKI, Chairman. 
 
 KOLCHAK, Minister of War. 
 
 SHEKIN " Foreign Affairs. 
 
 GATTENBERGER, Interior. 
 
 MICHAILOV, " Finance. 
 
 USTRUGOV, Communications. 
 
 PETROV, Agriculture. 
 
 SEREBRENIKOV, Supplies. 
 
 ORLOV, Commerce (temporary). 
 
 ZAPOZHNIKOV, Education. 
 
 STARENKEVITCH, Justice. 
 
 KRASNOV, Control. 
 
 "Considerable opposition to the All-Russian Gov- 
 ernment, especially from the Monarchist party, de- 
 veloped. The peasant class as a whole were indifferent 
 and knew little about political affairs. They could
 
 THE BIRTH OF A GOVERNMENT 149 
 
 be swung by the party offering the best promises to 
 their personal welfare, and there was the additional 
 danger that the church, which sympathized with the 
 extreme Monarchist group, could swing the peasants 
 their way, for the peasants were superstitious and could 
 be influenced by the church, as has been the case for 
 centuries in the past. The Monarchist party believed 
 the future of Russia lay with General Denekin and the 
 army fighting hi Southern Russia. It believed that, 
 when those forces and the Siberian forces joined, 
 Denekin would become dictator or a monarchy would 
 be declared." 
 
 The All-Russian Government struggled along 
 through the summer and fall. Envoys were sent to 
 the Allied countries in an effort to obtain their sym- 
 pathy and support. Prince Lvoff, who had been 
 premier in the provisional government in 1917, was 
 sent to the United States as a special representative 
 of the All-Russian Government. Russians throughout 
 the Allied countries gave this government their moral 
 support. Alexander Kerensky, who had been minis- 
 ter of justice and premier of the provisional govern- 
 ment, telegraphed his support to Omsk, and it looked 
 as if Siberia was to witness the birth of a real Russian 
 representative democracy. The new government, how- 
 ever, was confronted at home by the following con- 
 ditions: 
 
 1. While it had the support of the Czecho-Slovak 
 National Council and the military backing of that 
 revolutionary army, it could not obtain the whole- 
 hearted support of the Allied representatives in Si- 
 beria, and
 
 150 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 2. The government had to struggle immediately 
 with the problem of reconstruction in the industry 
 and social life of the nation. 
 
 Although the Allies, the French, British, and Amer- 
 ican representatives, had promised to support the 
 Czecho-Slovaks, several months had passed before 
 troops were landed at Vladivostok and Archangel, 
 and after they were landed, instead of their co-operat- 
 ing with the Czecho-Slovak forces, they remained in 
 eastern Siberia as an army of occupation in fact, if 
 not in principle. After the Czechs had been fighting 
 four months they began to ask why the Allies did not 
 hurry their armies across Siberia, and they began to 
 doubt whether they could rely upon Allied assistance. 
 
 Meanwhile the living conditions of the people grew 
 worse. Millions of refugees rushed to Siberia from 
 central Europe and from Asia and other parts of the 
 world. Siberia became densely overcrowded, food 
 increased in price as it became more and more im- 
 possible for Siberia to feed the influx of citizens. The 
 factories had been closed because of a lack of raw ma- 
 terials and capital to operate them. The railroads 
 were badly demoralized. The Allies could not agree 
 upon a method of operation or control and the new 
 government, with hundreds of questions of adminis- 
 tration to decide every day, soon found it could not 
 keep up with the public demands. It was faced by 
 a certain collapse unless the Allies assisted whole- 
 heartedly in the reorganization and reconstruction of 
 Russia. How this was to be accomplished was the 
 issue which again divided the Allies. England, France, 
 and Japan maintained that the only hope for the re-
 
 c3 
 O
 
 THE BIRTH OF A GOVERNMENT 151 
 
 organization of Russia lay in a strong military organiza- 
 tion, and urged the creation and development of an 
 All-Russian army. Admiral Koltshak had been brought 
 to Siberia by representatives of Great Britain because 
 of his great ability as an organizer and executive, which 
 he had displayed as commander of the Russian Black 
 Sea fleet, and because of his loyalty to the Allies, which 
 had been tested both before and during the revolution. 
 Admiral Koltshak had been made the minister of 
 war of the All-Russian Government, and had begun 
 the reorganization of a Russian army with the co- 
 operation and assistance of General Knox, the British 
 commander, who had been for seven years military 
 attach6 of the British embassy in Petrograd. 
 
 Representatives of the United States, under instruc- 
 tions from their government and also because of their 
 own ideas, had been contending that Russia could 
 never be assisted in her reconstruction period unless 
 the economic organization was first given new life. 
 This is where the policies differed. One group of Allies 
 maintained that Russia's hope lay in military, inter- 
 vention. Another group of Powers insisted that eco- 
 nomic rehabilitation should be the beginning, and that 
 the question of a large army should be left entirely 
 to the Russian people and the Russian Government. 
 
 The All-Russian Government was in a quandary. 
 With the Allies apparently hopelessly divided and 
 with conditions growing worse and the public demands 
 for order and bread multiplying every hour there de- 
 veloped a struggle among the Russians themselves as 
 to the best means of bringing about the rebirth of 
 Russia.
 
 152 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 In Omsk I met Afkzentieff, who had been elected 
 the president of the directorate, and who was looked 
 upon as the dominant figure in the new All-Russian 
 Government. During a long interview he explained 
 these difficulties which confronted the directorate and 
 said that the question would come to a head in a very 
 short time, and that the government in Omsk would 
 either become a military dictatorship to co-operate with 
 General Denekin, who was commanding an army of 
 Cossacks in southern Russia, or the All-Russian Gov- 
 ernment would continue with the economic and finan- 
 cial assistance of the Allies. 
 
 The fight between these two factions was directly 
 accentuated by the Allied representatives in Siberia 
 who, despite the instructions from then- governments, 
 took part in Russian internal affairs. The issue reached 
 a climax during a dinner given in honor of the Allies 
 in Omsk early in November, 1918, by the All-Russian 
 Government. Official representatives of the United 
 States, France, and England were present at the dinner. 
 After speeches by representatives of the government 
 the band began to play "God Save the Tzar." Cap- 
 tain Kozek, who represented the Czech National 
 Council in Omsk and who had attended the dinner 
 on behalf of this council, arose from the dinner and 
 warned the chairman of the meeting that the Czechs 
 would withdraw from the hall if the band played this 
 old Russian national anthem again. Similar warnings 
 were expressed by the other Allies, but within a few 
 moments the band played again, "God Save the Tzar." 
 The Allied representatives left the hall in a body. 
 
 The following morning the British and American
 
 THE BIRTH OF A GOVERNMENT 153 
 
 vice-consuls called at the Foreign Office, demanding 
 an explanation. By noon they had addressed an official 
 note to the All-Russian Government stating that un- 
 less the government immediately apologized for the 
 events of the previous evening and punished the Cos- 
 sack colonel who at the point of a revolver had 
 forced the band to play the former national hymn, 
 the Allied representatives would inform their gov- 
 ernments. This the All-Russian directorate knew 
 would injure the chances of recognition, and the 
 members also felt, that while they would eventually 
 have to take drastic steps against the militarists in 
 Omsk, they were not prepared at the moment to do 
 so. 
 
 These were critical days in Siberia, and decisive days 
 for Russia, too. Before a week had passed, the mili- 
 tarists had succeeded in overthrowing the Ail-Russian 
 Government. President Afkzentieff and two other 
 members of the directorate were arrested, compelled 
 to sign statements of their resignations, which had 
 been prepared for them, and ordered to leave the coun- 
 try. Admiral Koltshak was made the dictator, or 
 supreme commander, of the government of Omsk, and 
 the old directors were taken to Harbin, Manchuria, 
 under guard of Russian and British soldiers. 
 
 The constituent assembly which had been organized 
 in Ekaterinburg was immediately abolished; an attempt 
 was made to assassinate the chairman of the assembly 
 and some sixty members were taken to Ufa under the 
 protection of the Czechs. 
 
 These developments did more than destroy the 
 great hopes of Russia's friends. They also brought
 
 154 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 about the disintegration of all of the governments of 
 Siberia and Russia outside of the Bolshevist area. 
 They divided the Czech army and Czech National 
 Council. General Gaida supported Koltshak, while 
 the National Council condemned the November coup 
 d'e"tat. Until this time the All-Russian Government 
 had not only the official support but the co-operation 
 of all of the political parties of Russia excepting the 
 extreme left of the Social Democrats, which was sup- 
 porting the Bolsheviki. After the organization of 
 the dictatorship a new civil war broke out in Siberia. 
 General Semenov, who controlled an army of Cossacks 
 in the neighborhood of Tchita and General Kalmykoff, 
 the ataman of the Usuri Cossacks, refused to support 
 the new government. General Horvath, vice-presi- 
 dent of the Chinese Eastern Railway and the chief 
 political factor in Manchuria, and the Amur, withheld 
 his support. The Japanese had been openly hostile 
 to Admiral Koltshak who was commander of Port 
 Arthur at one period of the Russo-Japanese War. 
 The British were enthusiastic in their support. The 
 French representatives did not approve of the turn of 
 events but were ready to co-operate with any Russian 
 government which had for its object the beginning of 
 a new order in Russia. The American representatives 
 were disappointed but powerless, and looked upon the 
 change as the beginning of a new Monarchist movement 
 because of the support which the followers of the Tzar's 
 Government gave the new cabinet of Admiral Koltshak. 
 There were many indications in Russia at the time 
 that the Allies were on the verge of recognizing the 
 All-Russian Government, but the possibility of this
 
 THE BIRTH OF A GOVERNMENT 155 
 
 action disappeared when it became known in official 
 circles in Vladivostok that the American Government 
 had turned down the recommendations of its officials 
 that a small force of Americans be sent to the Ural 
 Mountains. (The details are given in Chapter IX.) 
 
 After the birth of the All-Russian Government it 
 was not doomed to death, but done to death by the 
 failure of the Allies in uniting upon a Russian policy. 
 The history of Russia to-day might be totally different 
 if this mistake had not been made, because at this tune 
 the strength of the Bolsheviki government was con- 
 stantly decreasing, and Russians of all political faiths 
 were looking forward to the new government in Omsk 
 as being the beginning of a Russian democracy. But 
 immediately after the appointment of Admiral Kolt- 
 shak not only the influence of the Allies in Siberia 
 and Russia decreased, but the sympathy of the Czecho- 
 slovaks disappeared, the civil war recommenced, and 
 the Bolsheviki agitators again came from their hiding- 
 places. 
 
 And thus we find Bolshevism appearing again upon 
 the scenes of Siberia as a direct result of the chaotic 
 conditions. It was another proof of the contention 
 that Bolshevism develops where governments fail, 
 and the reason the Bolsheviki are considered the strong- 
 est force in Siberia and in Russia, is because all other 
 Russian governments have not succeeded and because 
 the Allies themselves have not been able to get to- 
 gether upon a policy of assistance. 
 
 Everything was changed, too, by the armistice. 
 The hope of the Czecho-Slovaks and of the Allies, as 
 well as of the Russians, was that with the collapse of
 
 156 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 Germany would follow the downfall of the Red army 
 reign in European Russia. But Bolshevism was not 
 weakened by the armistice but rather strengthened. 
 Before the armistice military intervention in Russia 
 might have succeeded. Before the armistice economic 
 rehabilitation could have been successful. But after 
 the cessation of hostilities in Europe military inter- 
 vention in Siberia became not only impracticable but 
 impossible. For the Allied soldiers the war was over 
 and they desired to leave. For the Russians, they 
 wished no more fighting and desired only order and 
 an opportunity to live and work. All of the things 
 which might have been done before the llth of No- 
 vember in the interest of Russia and on behalf of the 
 Russian people became impossible after that date. 
 
 So the world is to-day confronted with a new set 
 of conditions in Russia. The Bolsheviki have gained 
 strength, not alone because of the failure of those op- 
 posed to Bolshevism to unite, but because authority 
 has also tempered the policies of the Bolshevist govern- 
 ment, and the leaders find that they cannot be as radical 
 in office as they can on the platform. Between the 
 statement of an ideal and its realization is a gulf which 
 can only be bridged by co-operative effort of those 
 who direct and those who execute. Thus far the Bol- 
 sheviki have not been able to succeed with their in- 
 dustrial programme as Lenin himself admits. 
 
 But Russia remains what it has always been, a world 
 problem of reconstruction, and the solutions are the 
 same as those to be used the world over. There is the 
 local Soviet of working men and there is the national 
 and international organization of governments. The
 
 THE BIRTH OF A GOVERNMENT 157 
 
 nations of the world will either co-operate in an effort 
 to rebuild Russia, not by military means, but by eco- 
 nomic assistance, or Russia will be left temporarily in 
 the hands of the Bolsheviki and Russia will go through 
 a long period of regeneration as a sort of international 
 exile. And out of this condition almost anything may 
 develop. Russia may be the bridge to connect Ger- 
 many and Japan, for there are military parties still 
 existing in these two nations and a military dictator- 
 ship may follow the Bolshevist dictatorship in Rus- 
 sia. From the Atlantic to the Pacific such a strong 
 military government may develop to threaten not 
 only a league of nations or any union of world gov- 
 ernments, but also to threaten individual nations if 
 these nations do not now unite in an international 
 organization and follow a definite plan of constructive 
 action in Russia. 
 
 The advantages of a world organization of repre- 
 sentative governments are not only the advantages 
 of an international organization for the reconstruction 
 of the world, but also advantages of national protec- 
 tion against the formation of any future union of 
 military governments. A league of nations can only 
 exist where its authority is supreme and where its 
 support is international. 
 
 The failure of the Allies hi Russia cannot be held 
 against the Allies as an organization but only against 
 these nations as individuals, because the Allies did not 
 work in Russia as a unit. The collapse of Bolshevism 
 in the summer of 1918 in Siberia was due not alone 
 to the military assistance of the Czecho-Slovaks, but 
 to the fact that a government was organized which
 
 158 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 represented the different political parties and had the 
 confidence of the people. Bolshevism redeveloped 
 when these factors disappeared. This is true of Bol- 
 shevism everywhere. The Bolsheviki obtained con- 
 trol of Hungary because of the failure of the Karolyi 
 and the Allies. When Bolshevism has appeared upon 
 the horizon of Germany it has been always where the 
 government or the industries had failed. 
 
 This is where the arguments of the Bolsheviki gained 
 ground. Their officials maintain that all of the govern- 
 ments which the world has had during the past five 
 or, six centuries have failed to develop with conditions, 
 and that Bolshevism represents the new era. But 
 the fallacy of this argument is that wherever Bolshevism 
 has developed so far it has only been in countries where 
 there was previously a strong autocracy or a military 
 government. Europe has never really seen democratic 
 or representative governments on a great scale ex- 
 cepting in England and France, and the Bolshevist 
 agitation in these countries is not against the demo- 
 cratic form of government but against the influences 
 which are back of the present government. In Ger- 
 many, Austria-Hungary, and Russia, where Bolshevism 
 has gained its greatest strength, there were previously 
 monarchies where there was no representative gov- 
 ernment. 
 
 Those who are working for a league of nations in 
 Europe are mostly the representatives of governments 
 where the people have an opportunity at regular inter- 
 vals of expressing themselves by ballot upon govern- 
 ment policies. Then- object is to apply this demo- 
 cratic national principle to world politics, and if they
 
 THE BIRTH OF A GOVERNMENT 159 
 
 succeed we shall see a union of world governments 
 organized with public opinion as its chief support. 
 But the contest between this new force of reaction, 
 which is Bolshevism, and of progress, represented by 
 a league of nations, is only beginning and is certain 
 to continue during the next decade.
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 AMERICAN AND ALLIED EXILES IN RUSSIA 
 
 INTO this whirlpool of Russia the American and 
 Allied soldiers came in August and September, 1918, 
 on the dual and confused mission of aiding the Czecho- 
 slovaks and assisting the Russian people. The war 
 with Germany was approaching a crisis. The Bol- 
 sheviki were declared to be agents of the Central Em- 
 pires, and the break between the Red army and the 
 Czechs seemed to confirm this. There was talk among 
 military men of a new Eastern front. Transportation, 
 commerce, and industry had collapsed. The revolution 
 had reached the summit of destruction. Chaos was 
 king and misery the vassal in the new order of life. 
 
 The Doughboys, Canadians, Frenchmen, Japanese, 
 and Britishers were eager and excited over the pos- 
 sibilities of fighting in Russia for a speedy termination 
 of the war. Russia was a part of the war theatre. The 
 Bolsheviki were considered enemies. The Czechs and 
 Slovaks had been combating Bolshevism in Siberia 
 and Russia for four months and were weary and ex- 
 hausted. Apparently the Allied governments were 
 united upon a Russia policy. Apparently there was 
 to be action after more than a year of hesitation and 
 indecision. There was, at least, hope; and Russians 
 and Allies were one in their optimistic forecasts. But, 
 in less than two months the situation again was prac- 
 
 160
 
 AMERICAN AND ALLIED EXILES 161 
 
 tically hopeless. Troops which went to fight remained 
 idle. High commissioners and "experts" who were 
 sent to advise and direct became entangled in the red 
 tape of official instructions from Washington, Paris, 
 London, and Tokyo. Instead of action there was 
 delay; in place of decision there was diplomatic dis- 
 cussion, and the American and Allied soldiers became 
 exiles in Siberia and Murmansk. 
 
 "If there ever was such a thing as an abandoned 
 ship of state," I wrote in The Independent, "it is Rus- 
 sia. While the Bolshevist crew has been attempting 
 to run the ship itself, thousands of friends of Russia, 
 including Russians and Allies, have been attempting 
 to direct the course of the ship from the outside, by 
 giving constant advice and criticism in a sort of cease- 
 less wireless communication. Experiments directing 
 the course of a craft at sea from some firm point on 
 land have not been limited only to ships, but have 
 been extended to ships of state as well. 
 
 "For considerably over a year attempts have been 
 made to run Russia by wireless but Russia is still 
 on the rocks, and all the efforts of the crew in one di- 
 rection, and the friends of the ship and passengers 
 from another, have been unable to rescue it, and it 
 seems high time for those who are really interested 
 hi salvaging Russia to stop experimenting and to begin 
 considering, first, the facts regarding the present situa- 
 tion, and second, practical means of launching Russia 
 again on the sea of politics and commerce. 
 
 "In Vladivostok I saw a number of Russian war- 
 ships and merchantmen lying at anchor in the bay. 
 Since the counter-revolution of the Bolsheviki these
 
 162 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 ships have belonged to the crews and their families. 
 Stokers and sailors alike have converted these former 
 vessels into floating residences, but they never put out 
 to sea. These ships rise and fall with the tide. Barna- 
 cles cover the hulls, the gray coats of paint are scaling 
 off, and the rusting craft is at the mercy of rigorous 
 winters and sultry summers. 
 
 "How typical of Russia to-day. That nation is 
 simply a huge ship of state taken over by the crew; 
 tossing in the sea of international political and indus- 
 trial turmoil. All of the old officers, all of the former 
 leaders, most of the sane elements have left the coun- 
 try for the safety of foreign shores. The friends of 
 Russia no longer go near the ship, but stand on the 
 shore and try to tell the Russian people how it should 
 be run. The crew has not been successful either in 
 managing the ship itself, or in steering it; and certainly 
 those who have been experimenting from the outside 
 and attempting to run Russia by wireless have not 
 had much success." 
 
 Why? One reason is that the Allies in Russia are 
 exiles exiled by the politics of their own governments 
 and by the Russians, too. 
 
 To comprehend the causes which brought about 
 American co-operation in limited military intervention 
 in Russia, the chronicler must go back to the events 
 of March, 1918, when the German armies broke through 
 the British front in France and swarmed back of the 
 line. On the night of the 20th of March I left Switzer- 
 land for Paris, arriving in the capital on the morning 
 of the first day's bombardment by the long-range gun, 
 and remaining until the crisis of the first great attack
 
 AMERICAN AND ALLIED EXILES 163 
 
 had been passed. It was so obvious that the Allies 
 were worried over the military situation that the leaders 
 were grasping for final straws to avert a catastrophe, 
 and suggestions of statesmen and generals ranged from 
 a united general staff under one Allied commander 
 to the recreation of the Russian front and a new Allied 
 offensive in 1919 and 1920. There was serious talk 
 of five years more of war ! Criticism of all nations was 
 so universal, gossip so wide-spread, that the days of 
 March seemed to be the forecast of another Waterloo 
 with the victory on the other side. 
 
 The German high command, calculating upon an 
 easy victory, delayed the second blow long enough 
 for the Allies to form a single general staff, and for 
 the relaunching of a campaign to permit the Japanese 
 to invade Russia via Siberia for the purpose of attack- 
 ing the Germans from the rear. 
 
 When the military staffs were united under Marshal 
 Foch, the diplomatic centre of controversy shifted from 
 Paris to Tokyo and Washington, and, led by France 
 and England, ceaseless pressure was brought to bear 
 upon the United States Government to take part in 
 military intervention in Russia or consent to a military 
 campaign by the Japanese. The obvious intention 
 of those who were placing their plans before the United 
 States was the establishment of an Eastern front, an 
 object which the United States General Staff did not 
 approve because it was believed to be impossible and 
 impracticable. At this juncture in the negotiations 
 there developed again the fundamental difference 
 between the policies of the Allied governments and 
 that of this country. The United States looked upon
 
 164 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 the Russian problem as one of reconstruction, while 
 the European Powers and Japan were insistent in 
 considering it a belligerent question until the war was 
 over everywhere. Judging from the attitude of Presi- 
 dent Wilson and the Department of State, it is obvious 
 that there were grave fears surrounding the plan of 
 exclusive Japanese intervention because of the more 
 or less confirmed reports that the German military 
 party and the Japanese military party were, at least, 
 unofficially and strictly confidentially, in communica- 
 tion with each other, and there was a danger of Russia 
 being made a bridge between the militarism of Japan 
 and Germany. 
 
 The first intimation I had of any such an arrange- 
 ment was during December, 1917, and January, 1918, 
 when I was in Switzerland making a study of internal 
 conditions in Germany. At that time I learned through 
 trustworthy sources that Germany was making every 
 effort to come to an understanding with Japan, and 
 when I noticed in the German press, early in 1918, the 
 names of the diplomatic, consular, and military officials 
 Germany was sending to Russia, I observed that such 
 men as Baron Mumm von Schwarzenstein, former im- 
 perial ambassador to Tokyo and chief of the Far-East- 
 ern propaganda department in the Berlin Foreign 
 Office, were being sent to Russia. Associated with 
 him were Germans who had had experience in Japan 
 and China. All of them were what the Germans called 
 "experts" on the Far East, and only one or two had 
 ever been in Russia before. This was the type of men 
 Germany sent to revolutionized Russia. 
 
 The intention was obvious. Germany, which was
 
 AMERICAN AND ALLIED EXILES 165 
 
 always careful to select men for foreign posts who 
 had had experience in the country to which they were 
 accredited, was not sending German " experts" on 
 Japan to Russia for Russia alone. Later there came 
 the famous Terauchi interview in The Outlook, in which 
 the prime minister of Japan showed decided leanings 
 toward the Central Powers. Still later came the the 
 interview with Leon Trotsky in which he claimed that 
 he had seen documents in Russia to show that there 
 was a secret treaty between Japan and Germany re- 
 garding Russia, to the effect that Germany was to have 
 European Russia and Japan the trans-Baikal district 
 after the war. In the Far East one of my colleagues 
 had an interview with the Japanese minister of for- 
 eign affairs in which he asked whether there was an 
 agreement between Japan and Germany, and the 
 minister replied that if Trotsky had made such a state- 
 ment the only answer he (the minister) cared to make 
 was that Trotsky had given Germany part of Russia, 
 but had not given Japan anything ! 
 
 In both Japan and Siberia I made every effort to 
 learn the basis for the charges which were being made 
 so freely against Japan. The most reliable informa- 
 tion I received was to the effect that the German mili- 
 tary party, during the winter of 1917-1918, did make 
 proposals of separate peace to certain military circles 
 in Tokyo, but that when the " Peace party" and busi- 
 ness interests learned of this they quickly destroyed 
 any possibility of either an agreement or an exchange 
 of definite communications. 
 
 I do not doubt but that one of the chief reasons the 
 United States vetoed the Allied proposal of an hide-
 
 166 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 pendent Japanese campaign in Russia was because 
 of the possibilities of a Japanese-Russian-German 
 Alliance. 
 
 But the European Powers were so insistent and 
 public opinion was so determined in demanding that 
 something be done in Russia, that the United States 
 finally agreed to the landing of Allied troops in Russia, 
 at Vladivostok and Archangel, although the American 
 Government never changed its policy of non-inter- 
 ference in Russian affairs, and adhered to the plan of 
 economic rehabilitation. Accordingly, under the agree- 
 ment between the Allies, a limited number of troops 
 were landed. 
 
 In this way Allied intervention in Siberia began 
 under the direction of the Japanese General Kitsuzu 
 Otani, Commander of the Fourth Army division in 
 Manchuria during the Russo-Japanese War, and later 
 commander of the Garrison of Tsing Tau after the 
 Japanese seized this German stronghold in China. 
 
 At this time there were three American officials in 
 Vladivostok under strict orders from Washington 
 to execute the American programme in the Allied plan 
 of limited co-operative intervention. Admiral Knight, 
 commander of the U. S. Asiatic squadron, had been 
 living aboard the Brooklyn in Golden Horn Bay 
 throughout the summer, reporting on conditions in 
 Russia and interviewing all classes and representative 
 Russians who visited or lived in this city. The United 
 States Expeditionary Force was commanded by Major 
 General William S. Graves, a former General Staff 
 officer in whom both the President and the War De- 
 partment had absolute confidence, and upon whose
 
 From a U. S. official photograph 
 
 Lt.-Col. O. P. Robinson, Chief of Staff, A. E. F. 
 
 From a U. S. official photograph 
 
 General Otani, Commandor-in-Chief of (ho Allied Forces
 
 AMERICAN AND ALLIED EXILES 167 
 
 judgment they could depend in handling a delicate 
 diplomatic situation. General Graves had received 
 his instructions verbally from Secretary of War Baker. 
 He knew this government's Far-Eastern policy, and 
 he was a general whose ability would be an asset to 
 the Allied staff if extensive military operations were 
 decided upon later. Through his chief of staff, Lieu- 
 tenant-Colonel 0. P. Robinson, the American com- 
 mander had a staff officer with years of experience and 
 judgment in transporting and supplying troops; a 
 man whose ability as an organizer was demonstrated 
 when, in one week before the Americans sailed from 
 San Francisco, he purchased and placed on transports 
 sufficient food, clothing, and supplies to last the ex- 
 peditionary force more than two months, an accom- 
 plishment the significance of which can be realized 
 when one considers the importance of the question of 
 tonnage at that state of the war. Associated with 
 these two army men were officers from the Military 
 Intelligence division, led by Lieutenant-Colonel Bar- 
 rows, who had spent years in the diplomatic and army 
 service in Russia and the Far East. 
 
 In Tokyo, for more than a year previous to the land- 
 ing of American forces, Ambassador Roland S. Morris 
 had been making a study of the Russian situation, 
 and during the Allied campaign for intervention dur- 
 ing the summer of 1918 he was the centre of all nego- 
 tiations in Japan. Because of the reliability of his 
 reports and the confidence which the administration 
 had in his judgment he was made in fact, although 
 not in name, the United States high commissioner to 
 Siberia, and from the time of his arrival hi Vladivostok
 
 168 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 to co-operate with Admiral Knight and Major-General 
 Graves our activities in Russia, with one exception, 
 which I shall discuss in the chapter "Decisive Days 
 in Siberia," the United States Government relied ex- 
 plicitly upon his suggestions and recommendations. 
 
 Another American official of importance was Briga- 
 dier-General John F. Stevens of the United States Rail- 
 way Service Corps, who was sent to Russia with a 
 staff of experienced railroaders from the Northwestern 
 States under an agreement with the Kerensky govern- 
 ment, to take over and operate the Russian railroads, es- 
 pecially the Trans-Siberian line. Stevens and his chief 
 assistant, Colonel George Emerson, were, however, 
 without a railroad by the time they landed in Vladi- 
 vostok, because the provisional government had been 
 overthrown in Petrograd, and the Bolshevist regime did 
 not recognize agreements made by that government. 
 
 England and France, at this time, were represented 
 by high commissioners. Sir Charles Eliot, who rep- 
 resented Great Britain, had been in Russia some tune, 
 and was ably assisted by General Knox, former attache* 
 to the British Embassy in Petrograd, and a staff of 
 British officers who had been attached to the Russian 
 army during the war. Ambassador Eugene Regnault, 
 the French representative, had been for five years 
 ambassador of the Republic of France to Japan, and 
 was to the French Government what Ambassador 
 Morris was to the United States. Later the military 
 tasks of the Allied intervention programme, as far as 
 France was concerned, were delegated to General Janin, 
 who had been sent from Paris in August to succeed 
 General Paris, of the French staff, who was attached
 
 From a U. S. official photograph 
 
 General Knox (seated) with his Chief of Staff
 
 AMERICAN AND ALLIED EXILES 169 
 
 to the Czecho-Slovak army as the chief military ad- 
 viser and foreign director of the new army. Janin 
 and Paris co-operated thoroughly until the spring of 
 1919, when General Paris returned to France to report 
 on the situation in Siberia to the Peace Conference. 
 
 Upon these men, all of whom, with the exception 
 of the British high commissioner, I met on numerous 
 occasions in Russia, rested the responsibility of doing 
 something with the restricted Allied programme. Upon 
 these officials the Allied governments depended for 
 their information and recommendations. These men 
 would seem to be the ones to bear the responsibility 
 for what the Allies did and failed to accomplish in 
 Siberia, but what actually happened, was what so often 
 develops under similar circumstances, the governments 
 listened and read the reports but seldom approved 
 them. And the natural outcome was that these men, 
 all reporting to their governments their view-points 
 and information, received conflicting instructions from 
 Tokyo, Washington, Paris, and London, and their 
 plans clashed. 
 
 After the landing of Allied troops Vladivostok be- 
 came the political centre of the Far East. It was a 
 dual city. Diplomatically Japan and the Allies met 
 for the first time, attempting to solve by co-operative 
 action one Far-Eastern question. Militarily the Allies 
 met in Vladivostok to help Russia. Thus the city be- 
 came not only the base for Allied operations and pro- 
 grammes in Russia, but the political centre in which 
 many of the serious differences between the policies of 
 the Allies in China and the Amur were to conflict in 
 actual practice.
 
 170 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 At the beginning of Allied operations it was a won- 
 derful experience to witness the nucleus of a league of 
 nations already at work hi harmony in Russia. It 
 made optimists of confirmed pessimists, and of the Al- 
 lies at this tune it may justly be said: "They came, 
 they saw, and they conquered" until they reached 
 the inevitable stumbling-block, the restrictions placed 
 upon the Allied commanders and officials by their 
 governments, both as regards military operations and 
 political and economic policies. 
 
 In Vladivostok, early in October, I had conversations 
 with numerous representatives of the Allies, and learned 
 from them that the original plan of establishing a new 
 Eastern front had been abandoned. Even General 
 Knox, who had been one of the original advocates of 
 such a plan, declared hi an interview that the recon- 
 struction of a Russian front similar to the one which 
 collapsed with the second revolution was an impossible 
 task. General Otani voiced the same opinion, but 
 both officers contended that the Allied task was to 
 train and equip a new Russian army to fight the Bol- 
 shevists and thus, indirectly, take part hi the World 
 War against Germany. While the French, British, 
 and Japanese representatives were united upon this 
 plan the American officials were united in their belief 
 that the Russians were war-weary, and that a new 
 army could not be built in time to make itself felt in 
 the campaign against the Central Powers. 
 
 Within a few weeks after their landing the Allied 
 plans had so materially changed, and the situation in 
 Siberia had been so altered, that the Allied govern- 
 ments were faced by the necessity of making new plans
 
 AMERICAN AND ALLIED EXILES 171 
 
 in Russia. It was at this time that all of the American 
 representatives united in recommending to Washington 
 that the United States join the Allies in sending a small 
 detachment of troops to Omsk for its moral effect upon 
 the Czecho-Slovaks, who were discouraged and who 
 had been waiting four months for Allied assistance, 
 and because the strengthening of the All-Russian 
 Government hi Russia itself would develop from such 
 action. (For the details of this I shall again refer the 
 reader to the following chapter: " Decisive Days hi 
 Siberia.") 
 
 While the American representatives had recom- 
 mended to the United States Government the sending 
 of a small force to the Ural Mountains, then* previous 
 recommendation that the Trans-Siberian Railway be 
 placed under the full control and jurisdiction of the 
 American Railroad Service Corps had been approved 
 and the consent of nearly all of the Allies had been 
 obtained. England, France, and Italy had given the 
 United States power of attorney to reorganize the 
 railroad and run the trams. To those who were watch- 
 ing developments in Russia it was obvious that the 
 backbone of the nation was the railroad, and that 
 unless it was reorganized there was no opportunity 
 either for military intervention or economic rehabilita- 
 tion. Everything depended upon the railroad, so when 
 England, France, Italy, and the United States came 
 to an agreement the matter was placed before the 
 Japanese and Chinese Governments because one of 
 the main lines of the road crossed Chinese territory 
 and another line, while in Siberia itself, was looked 
 upon by Japan as being within her sphere of influence.
 
 172 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 Allied unity was necessary in any case, and the per- 
 mission of China and Japan was as essential to the opera- 
 tion of the railroad as the consent of any other Power. 
 How difficult it is for any group of nations to act to- 
 gether was indicated in the diplomatic discussions 
 which followed the American proposal that the rail- 
 road be operated by the Allies through the American 
 commission. But Japan could not bring herself to 
 the point of approving the policy and made various 
 counter suggestions and, in the meantime, brought 
 pressure to bear upon Peking, inducing the Chinese 
 Government to withhold its consent. The long argu- 
 ment which followed these developments is discussed in 
 another chapter on the Japanese activities in Siberia. 
 The incident is mentioned here only because of its 
 effect upon the American plans and policies and upon 
 the attitude of the American engineers. These men 
 had left important positions in the United States. 
 All were practical railroad workers from general mana- 
 gers to engineers and section hands. They knew every 
 angle of the railroad business. They had learned it 
 by experience in the northwest, and they had joined 
 the American Railway Service Corps at the sacrifice 
 of permanent, responsible positions in the United States 
 and good incomes, with the idea of helping their coun- 
 try during the war. When they reached Siberia they 
 found they were handicapped every place. The rail- 
 roads were not turned over to them to be operated. 
 They were given no authority. Their recommenda- 
 tions were unheeded. The only thing they were per- 
 mitted to do was to ride the trains or sit in the telegraph 
 or train despatchers' offices at the various depots. They
 
 AMERICAN AND ALLIED EXILES 173 
 
 were active men on a lazy job. They saw the intrigue 
 and opposition of the Japanese everywhere, but they 
 lived in the hope that ultimately they might be given 
 permission to take over the job which had been 
 promised them. 
 
 These engineers I met in Siberia and Manchuria. 
 They rode some of the trains that I travelled on. I 
 rode with Stevens and Emerson on one of their trips 
 from Harbin to Vladivostok. I heard their comments 
 upon the operation of the railroad and understood 
 their feelings of distress because the railroad, which 
 was like a toy to them because it was so easily mas- 
 tered, was going to pieces under their very eyes and 
 they were powerless. Instead of a hundred trains 
 going in and out of Vladivostok every day the number 
 had dwindled to six or eight. Instead of regular fast 
 passenger service across Siberia hi five days there was 
 now only an intermittent service in nineteen and 
 twenty-one days. Instead of sleeping-cars and com- 
 fortable coaches there were now dilapidated box-cars 
 and filthy old passenger-wagons to accommodate the 
 public. 
 
 In the factories of Vladivostok and Harbin, where 
 the American-made locomotives were assembled and 
 the freight-cars built upon the trucks shipped from 
 the United States, the capacity had dropped from 
 thirty locomotives a month to three and from over a 
 hundred freight-cars to less than twenty, depending 
 upon the feeling of the Russian workmen as to the 
 number of hours a week they should work. 
 
 The railroad was disintegrating because no one had 
 the authority to do any repair work, and everything
 
 174 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 depended upon the attitude of the Japanese. Almost 
 every one realized after the fatal days of October that 
 nothing would be done in either Russia or Siberia with- 
 out the railroad, but while this question was being 
 discussed and considered by the Foreign Office and 
 business interests of Japan there were other grave 
 problems confronting the Americans. 
 
 As soon as the armistice was signed the troops be- 
 came restive and wanted to go home. The morale 
 had been weakened, not by lack of action, because 
 the men were constantly drilled and disciplined, but 
 because of the lack of a definite policy which made 
 not only Americans but all Allies in Siberia feel that 
 they were there on a futile mission; that they were 
 wasting their own time and that of Russia as well. 
 Ambassador Morris, General Graves, and Admiral 
 Knight had accepted the final decision of the Presi- 
 dent with good grace and had notified both the Allies 
 and the Czecho-Slovaks that the United States under 
 no circumstances could be expected to take part hi 
 any military activities in Siberia. Aid was promised 
 the Czecho-Slovaks through the Red Cross and the 
 Y. M. C. A., and the Russians were informed that the 
 War Trade Bureau would be hi a position to license 
 imports and exports, and that special ships had been 
 set aside by the United States Shipping Board for the 
 explicit purpose of bringing supplies to Siberia and 
 taking raw products from Russia to the United States. 
 This information came as such a surprise to the Czecho- 
 slovaks that when they were informed in Vladivostok 
 by Colonel O. P. Robinson that the United States 
 would not send an army to the Ural Mountains and
 
 AMERICAN AND ALLIED EXILES 175 
 
 by Major Slaughter in Ekaterinburg, they were afraid 
 of the moral effect upon their own army and withheld 
 the information. The result was that when I reached 
 the interior of Russia I found every one expecting 
 American troops to come and no one telling either the 
 public or the Czechs the truth as to America's atti- 
 tude. 
 
 Then came the armistice and the whole situation 
 changed in Russia. It was so clear to every one in 
 Siberia that the Allied governments were making such 
 great mistakes in handling the Russian problem that 
 nothing constructive could be expected, and the whole 
 attention of Allies and Russians was centred upon the 
 Peace Conference at Paris. In the meantime affairs 
 developed from bad to worse. The Bolshevist govern- 
 ment gained strength in European Russia by modify- 
 ing its policies and the Bolshevist agitation in Siberia 
 increased as the funds for propaganda were advanced. 
 
 The English and French representatives, however, 
 had not given up their hope of a strong Russian army. 
 France had sent General Janin with a staff of officers 
 from Paris to Siberia to organize a Russian army. His 
 instructions from his government were the same as 
 the instructions given to General Knox by England. 
 Apparently England and France had sent representa- 
 tives to Russia to do the same thing without either 
 government consulting the other. General Knox had 
 been at work in Siberia for several months. He had 
 established officers training-camps and had succeeded 
 in getting the support of the Omsk government for 
 his plan of mobilizing a Russian army. As General 
 Janin arrived it was obvious that there might be two
 
 176 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 generals working in different ways for the same thing, 
 which would eventually lead to a conflict unless there 
 was some understanding between the two military men. 
 In December they met in Vladivostok for a confer- 
 ence and divided Siberia, as far as their work was 
 concerned, into two spheres, one from Vladivostok to 
 Lake Baikal and the other one from the lake to the 
 Ural Mountains. By agreement between the two 
 officers General Knox was to have command of the 
 Russian army in eastern Siberia while General Janin 
 was to be the commander in western Siberia. This 
 step by the two Allied generals was taken without 
 consultation with representatives of the other Allied 
 armies, with the possible exception of the Japanese, 
 and the others were apprised of this move only after 
 it had become an accomplished fact, and, after the 
 "treaty" had been signed by the two generals. By 
 this time there was not -the slightest evidence or in- 
 dication of Allied unity hi Siberia. The only nations 
 to live up to the terms of the original agreement were 
 the United States, Italy, and China. England, France, 
 and Japan had long since adopted their own policies 
 in Siberia, and Russia continued to crumble. 
 
 It is not my object to fix the blame for any of the 
 steps which were taken, but only to point to the facts 
 and the consequences. There were capable officials 
 of the Allies in Siberia who might have been in a posi- 
 tion to help Russia get together if their own govern- 
 ments had supported them, and if they had not been 
 handicapped by the individual activities of the mili- 
 tary officials. I doubt whether the Allies or the League 
 of Nations will ever select more capable men to study
 
 AMERICAN AND ALLIED EXILES 177 
 
 an international problem and to carry out instruc- 
 tions of organized governments than the men like the 
 following, who were sent to Siberia : Ambassador Morris, 
 General Graves, Colonel Robinson, Ambassador Eu- 
 gene Regnault, Sir Charles Eliot, John F. Stevens, 
 Vice-Consul Palmer, and Mr. Matsudaira, chief of the 
 political division of the Japanese General Staff, and a 
 representative of the Japanese Foreign Office in Vladi- 
 vostok. But the colossal task which faced these men 
 was made impossible of execution because of the lack 
 of the very thing which will make a league of nations 
 successful, namely, unity of purpose and of action. 
 The Allies failed in Siberia because they were not united. 
 They were not even agreed upon fundamental prin- 
 ciples. Men who represented the Powers hi this coun- 
 try needed authority to accomplish anything, and 
 this was withheld. 
 
 That the Allies will eventually be compelled to with- 
 draw then- armies from Siberia and Russia as belligerent 
 forces is the only outcome of a situation created by 
 limitless mistakes. It may be necessary for them to 
 make an agreement with the Bolsheviki, or any other 
 de facto goverment of Russia, in order to begin the 
 actual work of reconstruction. They may send food 
 in the beginning and end by recognizing a Soviet Gov- 
 ernment in Russia, but neither the Allies nrr a League 
 of Nations will remain or endure if th<y recognize 
 the principles of Bolshevism. But they are faced by 
 this predicament because of past indecision. This is 
 the reason the goblins of Bolshevism hovered over 
 the Paris conference and the statesmen warned the 
 world that "the Bolsheviki will get you if you don't
 
 178 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 watch out." Bolshevism is a world force which has 
 grown in Russia under the very eyes of the Allies and 
 former Central Powers. 
 
 Departing from Vladivostok for Harbin my last view 
 of the foreigners hi the city was of the Allied sentries 
 at the railroad-station. Three of them, one Czech, 
 one American, and one Japanese, were standing in the 
 entrance to the depot, bored, idle, and silent. Sym- 
 bolical of the Allies they were helpless spectators of 
 the tragedy of Russia; military exiles in Siberia.
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 DECISIVE DAYS IN SIBERIA 
 
 THE days of October, 1918, were critical days for 
 Siberia and decisive days for Russia. The Allies had 
 landed small forces at Vladivostok in August, but 
 after two months practically nothing had been done 
 either for or against Russia. The demands for more 
 extensive military operations, which in its final analysis 
 meant action, reached a climax during the first days 
 of the tenth month. 
 
 That the United States had not been at war with 
 the Bolsheviki was obvious; that the Allies were not 
 planning to attack the Red army along the Ural Moun- 
 tain "front" was equally evident. The opaqueness 
 of the Allied policy was causing so much criticism that 
 the American leaders hi Siberia held a conference and 
 made recommendations to Washington, which, when 
 acted upon, had the effect of changing the whole course 
 of Russian events. 
 
 The story of the Americans in Siberia is the narra- 
 tive of one contest after another, one conflict of opinion 
 upon another, and differences in the attitude of our 
 own officials and the Allied governments. Instead 
 of landing a belligerent force in Siberia, with definite 
 objects and clear instructions to cover a longer period 
 of time than the first days or weeks after lading; in- 
 stead of giving the army and officials something to do, 
 the Americans who landed there became, after a very 
 
 179
 
 180 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 short period, our first political exiles. That all of these 
 Americans should wish to leave; that the Russians 
 should be anxious to have them go, are the two only 
 outcomes of the developments in Siberia. Not only 
 the men but the officers wished to leave. Why ? That 
 is the story of the decisive days in Siberia. 
 
 Shortly after the first American troops were landed 
 in Siberia I arrived in Vladivostok as a correspondent 
 with the Allied armies. As the ship pulled into the 
 harbor, I saw on the shore American sentries guard- 
 ing warehouses and war materials scattered along the 
 banks of the bay. Five thousand miles away from 
 the Pacific coast, these men were hi Russia, so they 
 thought, to fight the Bolsheviki, but instead they found 
 themselves there as spectators. Not far from where 
 the Japanese passengers-ship docked were the war-ships 
 of the Allied nations^ swimming at anchor. In the 
 middle of the bay was a Japanese war-ship. Closer 
 to the shore was the U. S. S. Brooklyn, with Admiral 
 Knight aboard, the British Cruiser, H. M. S. Sussex, 
 a French cruiser, and a Chinese gunboat. 
 
 Vladivostok, being situated on the hills, appeared 
 to be a great amphitheatre as one entered the harbor. 
 From the tops of the tallest buildings could be seen 
 the flags of the Allies. Along the docks were Chinese 
 "coolies," a few Russian merchants, some of whom 
 spoke German, a few American and French marines, 
 and a half-dozen or so of lazy Russian workmen. 
 
 I sauntered up the hill to one of the tallest buildings 
 in the city from which the American flag was flying 
 and in front of which stood a Yankee sentry. This 
 was the headquarters of Major-General William S.
 
 DECISIVE DAYS IN SIBERIA 181 
 
 Graves, Commander of the A. E. F. in Siberia. Four 
 miles up Golden Horn Bay in huge frame storehouses, 
 built by the Czar's officials, were housed the American 
 troops. This was the base and the whole works of 
 the American army in Siberia. German prisoners 
 were busy along the dock stacking hay which had been 
 unloaded from the United States Transport Dixie. 
 Along the temporary tracks which the engineers had 
 built ran small locomotives our army had found idle 
 and out of repair in the yards of the city. 
 
 Svetlanskaya is the name of the main street of this 
 city which was once "The Czar of the East." Not 
 only the business but the military and political affairs 
 of Vladivostok and of Siberia were centred here. Mo- 
 toring into the city from the American Base I passed 
 the barracks where 600 Chinese soldiers were en- 
 camped; farther on were Japanese barracks, an Amer- 
 ican Red Cross hospital, barracks which the United 
 States Railroad Service Corps had taken over, and a 
 large, white cement apartment-house, on the first floor 
 of which the American Red Cross had its head- 
 quarters. 
 
 On the other side of the street stood the five-story 
 red-brick building which was used as the French head- 
 quarters and from the top of which could be seen French 
 marines, wigwagging their signals to another station 
 across the bay. Not far from the French headquarters, 
 and practically across the street from the Vladivostok 
 offices of the Czecho-Slovak army, was the headquarters 
 of the Japanese army, a two-story stone structure 
 which had been a German department store. Near 
 the railway depot was the British headquarters and
 
 182 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 the offices of the Siberian Government. The Allied 
 consulates were scattered about the city, as their in- 
 terests were scattered. There were Japanese, Amer- 
 icans, Chinese, and Russian shops. Two German 
 department stores were still in operation. British 
 interests had opened a branch bank and everywhere 
 the money lenders and money changers were to be 
 seen, because, with the arrival of the Allied forces, 
 Vladivostok became a sort of money stock exchange 
 where there was continuous speculation in roubles, 
 dollars, and pounds. 
 
 When the Americans arrived there was what was 
 called a Bolshevist nest in the neighborhood of Kha- 
 barovsk and Blagovestchensk, and, under the command 
 of General Oii, Japanese, American, French, and Brit- 
 ish Forces were sent down the Usuri and Amur River 
 valleys. Khabarovsk had been a prison-camp for 
 German and Austrian prisoners. Before the war it 
 was the headquarters for the Third Siberian Army 
 Corps, and after the European War broke out some of 
 these barracks were fenced off by fourteen-feet barbed- 
 wire fences. Into these stockades went the prisoners 
 of war, whose suffering can only be compared to that 
 of the Russians under the most unfavorable condi- 
 tions in Germany. After the revolution the barbed 
 wires were cut (the ends dangle in curious fashion in 
 the air to-day), and from the camp fled several thou- 
 sand former soldiers of the Central Empire. Under 
 orders from Berlin and Vienna these men joined the 
 forces of the Bolshevist army operating in the Amur, 
 and they put up a strong fight against the combined 
 forces of the Allies marching from Vladivostok.
 
 DECISIVE DAYS IN SIBERIA 183 
 
 Some days after the first and only engagements 
 between the Americans and the armed forces of the 
 Red Guard, I journeyed 800 versts with General 
 Graves and his staff. 
 
 These were the early days of October and Siberia, 
 famed for its cold, was wanner than San Francisco 
 a month before, when I sailed for the Far East, although 
 not as comfortable as it is during the summer months 
 that period of the year which had made Vladivostok 
 a favorite summer resort in the Far East. 
 
 After I had been in the city a few days I was invited 
 by General Graves to accompany him on his first jour- 
 ney into Siberia. Upon the appointed day I drove to 
 the railroad-station, walked out through the yard look- 
 ing for the general's train. There were scores of other 
 cars and special trains standing along the siding, but 
 no one could tell me where the train was which had 
 been selected to take the American commander. After 
 searching around the yard for some time I encountered 
 Major Eichelberger, the assistant chief of staff, accom- 
 panied by several staff officers, inquiring for the same 
 train that I was. 
 
 Searching for trams is one of the chief pastimes of 
 any one who stays in Siberia and travels; so I learned 
 by experience. It is not an unusual thing to lose your 
 home on wheels, and later, on another occasion, I spent 
 every hour and every moment from ten o'clock in the 
 morning until ten at night searching for the car which 
 I had left standing at a certain spot in one of the rail- 
 road yards. 
 
 The night before General Graves was to depart, 
 Major Eichelberger had, after two days' work, sue-
 
 184 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 ceeded in obtaining one sleeping-car and one dining- 
 car, which he had had connected up and cleaned in 
 preparation for the journey. But when he arrived 
 in the yard the following morning the cars had dis- 
 appeared, despite the orders which the Inter-Allied 
 Railroad Commission had given, designating these 
 two cars to General Graves for his inspection trip. It 
 was a long hot journey up and down the track be- 
 tween the rows of cars, through the yard, before they 
 were found. In the meanwhile a Chinese "coolie" 
 who was lugging my sleeping-sacks and suitcase stum- 
 bled along over ties and tracks in a frantic effort to 
 keep up. 
 
 After the major succeeded in corralling a switch en- 
 gine the two cars, when located, were hitched together 
 again and American sentries were placed at the doors 
 with fixed bayonets and strict orders not to permit 
 any one to enter or move the car without written in- 
 structions from American headquarters. The cooks 
 from headquarters came to the train with their pro- 
 visions for the week's journey, and, many hours after 
 the schedule time of departure, the special was pulled 
 up to the depot, two large American flags were nailed 
 on the sides of the diners, a big American locomotive 
 was brought over from the roundhouse, and General 
 Graves and his staff stepped aboard. 
 
 Not all of the American troops were in Vladivostok 
 at this tune. About 3,000 of them were stationed at 
 Kharborsk and in the towns along the Amur railroad, 
 but outside of this section there were no American 
 army units in any other part of Siberia, although the 
 zone of activity as defined in the agreement between
 
 185 
 
 the United States and the Allied governments ex- 
 tended from the Pacific to Lake Baikal. Altogether, 
 there were only a few more than 7,000 Americans in 
 Siberia, about half this number being in Vladivostok 
 and the other half in small units along the Amur line. 
 Journeying with General Graves, I had an opportunity 
 of not only following him everywhere on his inspection 
 trip, but I was permitted to see the side-lights of the 
 expedition, which brought out the objects and the 
 policies of the United States clearer than they could 
 have been in any other way. Every tune the train 
 passed a group of Americans the general would stop 
 to speak with them. I recall my first introduction to 
 these meetings in a little town where forty-two sol- 
 diers were stationed. The men were living in box- 
 cars along a siding. They were commanded by a young 
 lieutenant. The men were all regulars, while the officers 
 had been schooled in one of the war training-camps, 
 and had taken a sort of post-graduate course on the 
 transport coming over. The general answered his 
 salute, and said: 
 
 "Good morning. I have come to inspect your 
 quarters." 
 
 (In the dialogues which follow I have reported the 
 conversations as recorded in my note-book, kept dur- 
 ing the journey. I believe them to be accurate, but 
 I could not have their inclusion in this book verified 
 by General Graves because, at this writing, he is still 
 in Siberia.) The lieutenant saluted, turned and led 
 the way to the cars. The general climbed into each 
 car, inspected the beds, the floors, and the provisions, 
 the stoves, and the men, pointed out his criticisms or
 
 186 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 comments to the young officer, and asked him whether 
 there was anything he wanted. 
 
 This was the general's method of inspection. He 
 saw every American who was along the railroad or 
 in any of the towns off of the railroad. He talked to 
 the men and to the officers. He inspected their quar- 
 ters, their food-supplies, and asked them what they 
 were doing. The invariable reply to these questions 
 was that they were doing nothing but guarding rail- 
 road-stations or bridges, and that they wanted shot- 
 guns and extra ammunition so they could hunt bear, 
 ducks, and pheasants, which were abundant in the 
 neighborhood. But the general was interested in more 
 than the mere details of their rather routine day. Fre- 
 quently he would approach an officer or a "non-com" 
 and ask the blunt question: 
 
 "What are you here for?" 
 
 That question was frequently answered by a salute 
 and a statement: 
 
 "I am here to fight the Bolsheviki." 
 
 "Are those your orders?" the general would ask. 
 
 "Yes, sir." 
 
 "Where did you get those orders?" 
 
 At this point hi the quiz the men were usually in 
 such an uncomfortable position they were prepared 
 to make a quick retreat, both by statement and body. 
 But the general's questions came like bullets from a 
 machine-gun, although at heart he was very human 
 and not stern beyond the point of being firm and ex- 
 acting. 
 
 "Who are the Bolsheviki?" the general would ask. 
 
 It was seldom that any man or officer gave the same
 
 DECISIVE DAYS IN SIBERIA 187 
 
 reply. One lieutenant, looking the general square 
 in the face, remarked boldly and confidently: 
 
 "The Bolsheviki are the men who are trying to de- 
 stroy Russia by killing off the good people and burn- 
 ing the property." 
 
 "Have you seen any Bolsheviki around here?" the 
 general asked. 
 
 "Yes, sir." 
 
 "Well, what do you do with them?" 
 
 "We arrest them, sir." 
 
 "Have you any in jail now?" the general asked. 
 
 There was in one town a Russian in the army prison, 
 and I walked with the general to see my first Bolshevik. 
 As we walked over to the basement of the building, 
 which was being used as a guard-house and prison, 
 I thought of some of the questions the general had 
 asked another officer when he asked him to describe 
 the Bolshevik. 
 
 "Does he have a long black beard, long hair, dark 
 eyes, torn clothing, and big hands?" 
 
 The customary answer was in the affirmative, so, 
 as I entered the prison, following the staff of the gen- 
 eral, I found two American soldiers standing in front 
 of a heavy wooden door; about four feet from the floor 
 was a hole, about six inches square, through which 
 one could see into the cell. 
 
 All of us took a good look at the prisoner. He was 
 nothing more than a replica of the type of Russian 
 peasant which one sees by the hundred thousand in 
 all parts of Siberia. He was seated on a bench against 
 the wall and looked resignedly at the faces which peered 
 at him through the opening.
 
 188 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 After we had all seen our first Bolshevik, and saw 
 no difference between him and thousands of Russians 
 we had already seen in Vladivostok and along the 
 railroad line, we stood in a circle while the general be- 
 gan to requestion the young American officer. 
 
 "What did that man do?" General Graves asked. 
 
 "Why, nothing, sir," the officer said hesitatingly. 
 
 "Why do you have him under arrest then?" 
 
 "Why, he said he was a Bolshevik." 
 
 "Do you have orders to arrest the Bolsheviki?" 
 
 "Yes, sir." 
 
 "Where did you get those orders?" 
 
 This left the officer in the quandary the general ex- 
 pected to place him. To this young warden the gen- 
 eral made the following statement: 
 
 "Whoever gave you those orders must have made 
 them up himself. The United States is not at war 
 with the Bolsheviki or any other faction of Russia. 
 You have no orders to arrest Bolsheviks or anybody 
 else unless they disturb the peace of the community, 
 attack the people or the Allied soldiers. The United 
 States army is not here to fight Russia or any group 
 or faction in Russia. Because a man is a Bolshevik 
 is no reason for his arrest. You are to arrest only those 
 who attack you. The United States is only fighting 
 the Bolsheviki when the American troops are attacked 
 by an armed force." 
 
 This was my first intimation that the United States 
 did not consider the Bolsheviki everywhere as enemies 
 of the Allies. But as I travelled into the interior I 
 found that while General Graves had very definite 
 ideas, and very exacting orders, that not all of the
 
 DECISIVE DAYS IN SIBERIA 189 
 
 Americans representing our government in different 
 capacities were acting as he was. The outcome of this 
 visit to the army prison was that the Bolshevist prisoner 
 was turned loose, as were all others along the line 
 wherever the general encountered them, unless they 
 were soldiers of the Red army who had engaged 
 in a conflict with either the United States or Allied 
 troops. 
 
 The world has seen experiments throughout the 
 war between Great Powers in an endeavor to act to- 
 gether both in military, political, and commercial af- 
 fairs. To obtain united action is a far more difficult 
 task than to plan an attack on an organized enemy. 
 The interests of all the countries are totally different be- 
 cause each has a different history, different obligations, 
 and different financial interests. We have a league 
 of nations at work in the United States. All nationali- 
 ties are represented here, but our government is suc- 
 cessful because there are well-defined functions for 
 the different departments of the government and be- 
 cause every one can have a voice hi affairs at the reg- 
 ular elections. But imagine the United States as a 
 nation without a government and without a funda- 
 mental law and all of the races of peoples coming from 
 all parts of the world getting together in an effort to 
 unite upon a government policy and a plan of action, 
 and you will have in a small way an example of the 
 difficulties which confronted the Allies, acting as a 
 society of nations, in Siberia and Russia. Not only 
 were the interests of the governments greatly at vari- 
 ance with each other, but the individual representatives 
 of the Great Powers interpreted their instructions dif-
 
 190 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 ferently, and there were personal as well as national 
 differences of opinion. 
 
 The fundamental principles which formed the basis 
 for action in Siberia were, briefly, the following: 
 
 1. Each Ally should land about 7,000 soldiers; 
 
 2. Until further discussion between the Allied gov- 
 ernments the sphere of activity for the belligerent 
 armies should be east of Lake Baikal, and, 
 
 3. These limitations were placed upon the move- 
 ments of the Allied forces because of the gulf which 
 separated the policy of the United States toward Rus- 
 sia and that of the other Allies. The United States 
 was reluctantly brought around to the plan for mili- 
 tary intervention. Our government considered Russia 
 essentially a reconstruction problem and not a war 
 question, while England, Japan, France, and Italy 
 hoped to see Russia as a belligerent fighting Germany 
 along an eastern front. The United States believed 
 that Russia's salvation lay in her ability to recommence 
 work. The Allies contended that Russia could never 
 become a Great Power without a strong army, and that 
 an army must be built immediately by the Allies for 
 the Russians. 
 
 These differences were not eliminated nor even' 
 bridged by the landing of troops at Vladivostok and 
 Archangel. They were rather accentuated, because 
 there was a general feeling among our Allies that if 
 American troops could be landed in Russia there would 
 be no end to the number who might be sent later. The 
 result was that as soon as the high commissioners, 
 ambassadors, and generals of the Allies met in Vladi- 
 vostok each had a different idea of what should be
 
 DECISIVE DAYS IN SIBERIA 191 
 
 done. General Knox, of the British staff, had been 
 sent to Siberia by his government to raise a volunteer 
 army of Russians to fight with the Czecho-Slovaks 
 against the Red army along the Ural Mountains. Al- 
 though he was attached to the Japanese General Staff 
 as a military observer, he was not to be under the au- 
 thority of the Japanese army in this work. General 
 Otani, who had been named as commander-in-chief 
 of the Allied forces in Siberia, was commander only 
 as far as Lake Baikal, and as the Russian army was 
 not under his jurisdiction he had nothing to say as 
 to the plans of General Knox. 
 
 But one day at a meeting of the generals command- 
 ing the Allied armies at Japanese headquarters, Gen- 
 eral Knox proposed that all of the war materials, with 
 an estimated value of nearly $1,000,000,000, should 
 be turned over to the new Russian army which was 
 being formed. This met with the immediate objec- 
 tion of General Graves, who had been instructed by 
 our government under no circumstances to give his 
 consent for the use of these war materials on the ground 
 that they were not the property of the Allies but of 
 the Russian people; that no government had a right 
 to them except the Russian Government, and that 
 inasmuch as there was no recognized Russian Govern- 
 ment, and the primary object of the Allied landing 
 was to help Russia, the only thing the Allies could 
 do was to protect these materials. Before this meet- 
 ing the city of Vladivostok had been divided into inter- 
 Allied zones, and each Ally undertook the respon- 
 sibility of guarding the supplies in its zone. 
 
 The outcome of this conference was that the Allies
 
 192 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 did not vote upon the Knox proposal, and after that 
 the question was never brought up again, although 
 the Czecho-Slovaks, on the ground that they were 
 fighting for Russia, commandeered automobiles and 
 other supplies which they needed for their poorly 
 equipped army. 
 
 The French and British campaigned incessantly for 
 military intervention. They are carrying out the in- 
 structions of then* governments and the recommenda- 
 tions of their military leaders, whose object was the 
 recreation of an Eastern front. They were panicky 
 after the March and May offensives of Germany in 
 France, and forecasted a military disaster for the Allies 
 unless a two-front war was re-begun via Russia. 
 
 American representatives were sceptical of the prac- 
 ticability of extensive military intervention, but they 
 were reporting all the facts and their observations 
 directly to Washington and following only the instruc- 
 tions which they received from their department chiefs. 
 Although they were in as close contact with Russian 
 affairs as any of the Allied representatives, they weighed 
 more carefully than the others the objections and points 
 in favor of intervention, because they realized, and 
 the Allies knew, that if there was to be an extensive 
 military campaign in Russia the burden would fall 
 upon the United States and Japan, because neither 
 England nor France had the troops to spare for a Rus- 
 sian campaign. Great Britain was so short of effec- 
 tives, for instance, that when General Knox arrived 
 in Siberia and inspected the British soldiers who had 
 been sent there he called them his " hernia battalion," 
 because every man had been previously discharged
 
 DECISIVE DAYS IN SIBERIA 193 
 
 from active military service because he had been 
 "gassed." While well-equipped, the French soldiers 
 were from tropical countries and unaccustomed to 
 European warfare, and the Italian troops, upon their 
 arrival in Harbin from South China in late October, 
 nearly froze to death because they had no whiter equip- 
 ment of any kind. 
 
 But Ambassador Morris, General Graves, and Ad- 
 miral Knight were making a special study of the situa- 
 tion. The American Government had already tested, 
 in difficult positions in the past, the opinion of each 
 man and each was known to be vitally interested in 
 helping his country help Russia through the difficult 
 period of reconstruction. The pressure which was 
 brought to bear upon these three men in favor of mili- 
 tary intervention and against the policy of the United 
 States Government was as tremendous as was the 
 influence from Washington and the government in 
 favor of a "sit-tight policy." Each official had been 
 in Russia several months, had read all of the reports 
 from American representatives in all parts of Russia, 
 and had conferred with thousands of Russians and 
 Allies. Each had held the individual opinion that the 
 United States should not take part in military inter- 
 vention, on a great scale, for various reasons. With 
 the exception of Admiral Knight they held that the 
 United States needed to concentrate all of her atten- 
 tion and strength hi France in order to win the war; 
 they believed Bolshevism could not be defeated by 
 an army, and they believed the Russian people would 
 consider an Allied army an enemy and not a friendly 
 force.
 
 194 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 In October events were moving rapidly in France 
 and Belgium and no less rapidly in Russia. It was 
 quite evident that the All-Russian Government which 
 was in power in Omsk had the support of the people. 
 It was equally clear that the Bolsheviki authorities 
 had practically reached the limit of their strength 
 and public support. At any moment the Czecho- 
 slovaks expected to see developments in European 
 Russia follow the same line as those in Austria and 
 Germany when there were demands from the Central 
 Powers for an armistice. 
 
 In order to understand the military situation it 
 should be made clear that the Czecho-Slovak forces 
 had been fighting in Siberia since May; that they had 
 had nothing but the moral support of the Allied rep- 
 resentatives; that they had been promised definite 
 military assistance, but that after six months of fight- 
 ing they were so exhausted as to be incapable of further 
 aggressive action. The Allies had landed at Vladi- 
 vostok ostensibly to help the Czechs but so far nothing 
 had been done. The Czech soldiers and members of 
 the Czecho-Slovak National Council in Russia were 
 not only disappointed but discouraged, and they 
 realized that unless the Allies assisted them they would 
 be forced to withdraw from Russia, and that if they 
 withdrew the All-Russian Government would fall and 
 the Bolsheviki would succeed to authority in Siberia. 
 
 All of these elements entered into the consideration 
 of the Russian problem by the American representa- 
 tives. They had also the instructions of their govern- 
 ment. They knew the attitude of the Allies. They 
 knew the stupendous and almost unmeasurable dif- 
 ficulties confronting the problem of transporting and
 
 DECISIVE DAYS IN SIBERIA 195 
 
 supplying an army in Siberia. They knew, for in- 
 stance, that the United States could land a hundred 
 thousand soldiers in France to a thousand in Siberia 
 because of the lack of ships on the Pacific. 
 
 Despite all of these objections, and after consider- 
 ing the situation as it existed in Siberia, these three 
 representatives cabled a joint report to the State, War, 
 and Navy Departments for the President, going into 
 great detail and recommending, not that the United 
 States send a large army to Siberia but that a small 
 detachment of men be sent from Vladivostok, together 
 with detachments, representing the other nations, to 
 the Ural front to assist the Czecho-Slovaks, for its 
 moral effect upon Siberia and because of the encourage- 
 ment which this would give to the armies fighting the 
 Bolsheviki in case the developments of October in Ger-, 
 many should be such as to indicate Germany's with- 
 drawal from the war. This document was probably 
 the most important American report ever sent from 
 Russia. The President himself regarded it as "the 
 most convincing document" he had read on the Rus- 
 sian problem. 
 
 For a time it looked as if it might be possible for all 
 of the Allies to unite upon this recommendation of the 
 three American observers, but after careful considera- 
 tion President Wilson replied to his representatives in 
 Vladivostok that the chief of staff of the army had 
 vetoed the plan of action which was proposed. 
 
 This decision was probably the gravest and most 
 decisive as far as Russia is concerned, for the events 
 which followed the failure of the United States to join 
 the Allies and do what obviously should have been 
 done, and what the American representatives them-
 
 196 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 selves recommended, changed the whole course of 
 Russia's future. The events which followed this de- 
 cision, which in light of recent developments was the 
 greatest mistake in the whole Allied programme toward 
 Russia, brought about the downfall of the All-Russian 
 Government, the Koltshak dictatorship in Omsk, the 
 complete discouragement of the Czecho-Slovak forces, 
 and their gradual withdrawing from the front. It was 
 followed by the growth of Bolshevism in Siberia, and 
 instead of the war ending in Russia, as dramatically 
 and suddenly as it ended in Europe, we find the civil 
 war continuing and the Allies still discussing what 
 should be done in Russia. 
 
 October, 1918, was the decisive month in the his- 
 tory of Russian independence as expressed by the 
 revolution. The decision of one government had the 
 effect of the decision of a Roman Emperor when he 
 turned down his thumb before a gladiator. 
 
 It is pathetic to describe the effect of this decision 
 upon the Czecho-Slovak soldiers in Russia. They had 
 great expectations. They had been promised assistance 
 by official representatives of the United States. They 
 had been encouraged to believe that the Czecho-Slovak 
 army would be "the backbone of Allied action in Rus- 
 sia," as the United States consul-general in Irkutsk 
 had telegraphed. As far back as July they had been 
 hoping. On July 4, 1918, they sent the following 
 official letter to President Wilson: 
 
 "OMSK, SIBERIA, July 4, 1918. 
 "To the President of the United States of America : 
 
 "MR. PRESIDENT : On this, the American national 
 holiday, the Czecho-Slovak army on the banks of the
 
 DECISIVE DAYS IN SIBERIA 197 
 
 Volga, on the slopes of the Urals, in the forests and on 
 the steppes of Siberia, fighting against the insatiable 
 hydra of Austro-German imperialism, sends to you, 
 Mr. President, and through you to all the noble people 
 of the United States of America and their brave army, 
 sincere congratulations. 
 
 "The revolt of the North American Colonies in 
 1776 was a struggle not only for the political freedom 
 of the individual citizen, but also for a condition of 
 natural political independence, all of which has been 
 preserved to history. 
 
 "The present war is a continuation of that revolt. 
 Therefore it is quite natural that America, together 
 with the other Allies, and the oppressed nations of 
 Central and Eastern Europe, should fight for the same 
 idea for which she fought 142 years ago. 
 
 "Please accept, Mr. President, from the Czecho- 
 slovak army hi Russia, the sincere expression of its 
 respect and thanks for your noble effort hi behalf of 
 the triumph of justice and liberty, which will be also 
 a triumph for the Czecho-Slovak nation. 
 (Signed) FIRST CONGRESS OF THE CZECHO-SLOVAK 
 ARMY AT CHELIABINSK: 
 
 K. Zmrhal, Chairman. J. Hrbek, Secretary. 
 
 EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF THE CZECHO- 
 SLOVAK ARMY : BRANCH OF THE CZECHO- 
 SLOVAK NATIONAL COUNCIL FOB RUSSIA: 
 
 B. Pavlu, Chairman. Fr. Richter, Secretary." 
 
 On the same day a letter was despatched to "The 
 Commander-in-Chief of the American Army" in Wash- 
 ington, signed by the same officials, in which the hope 
 was expressed that the Czecho-Slovak army would
 
 198 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 "soon meet its American brother soldiers on the same 
 front." This letter I shall give verbatim because it 
 was one of the numerous official communications which 
 have never been published. 
 
 "OMSK, SIBERIA, July 4, 1918. 
 " To the Commander-in-Chief of the American Army. 
 
 "Sin : In the name of the Czecho-Slovak army, 
 which, in the wide territory of the Russian Empire, 
 is defending itself against the intrigues of Austro-Ger- 
 man imperialism, we beg that you notify the brave 
 army of the United States of America on this Amer- 
 ican national holiday, the Czecho-Slovak soldiers are 
 thinking of their American brothers in arms and send 
 their ardent wish for continued success on all fronts. 
 
 "The Czecho-Slovak army is firmly convinced that 
 it will soon meet its American brother soldiers on the 
 same front, and that the unity of effort and unity of 
 aim which strengthens us will be sealed and conse- 
 crated by the blood jointly poured out for the highest 
 ideals of humanity. Eternal memory to the American 
 heroes who laid down their lives for liberty! Glory 
 and success to the brave warriors who to-day are carry- 
 ing their blood to the altar of humanity!" 
 
 The enthusiasm of the Czecho-Slovaks for the United 
 States was very real and was still as unbounded in 
 October as it was when these letters were written 
 in July. The faith of that army alone hi Russia in 
 America's help was so extensive and vital that when 
 Major-General Graves and Ambassador Morris com- 
 municated the fatal decision of Washington that United 
 States forces would not be despatched to the Urals, the
 
 DECISIVE DAYS IN SIBERIA 199 
 
 officials of the Czecho-Slovak National Council in 
 Vladivostok and the army leaders in Cheliabinsk and 
 Ekaterinburg would not communicate the message to 
 the Czecho-Slovak soldiers for fear of the reaction it 
 would have upon the morale of the soldiers. The Czech 
 officials in Vladivostok did not even telegraph the 
 announcement to the representatives of the National 
 Council in Ekaterinburg, and as late as December, two 
 months after America had decided against further 
 intervention, the officials of the Czecho-Slovak Na- 
 tional Council at the headquarters in the Ural Moun- 
 tains did not know it. They were still hoping and 
 praying for help, not knowing the " thumbs were down." 
 Having been informed of the decision before I left 
 Vladivostok, I asked both General Syrovy, the chief- 
 adjutant of General Gaida, and the vice-president of 
 the National Council whether they had received such 
 information, and they answered that all the reports 
 they had, indicated that American military aid would 
 be forthcoming, and they were further encouraged hi 
 this belief by several American officials at that time 
 in Siberia who had been campaigning for American 
 military intervention, and had ignored their instruc- 
 tions from Washington not to take part in politics. 
 
 Having observed something of the intrigue and 
 having encountered a part of the propaganda of de- 
 ception which was so extensive in Russia during the 
 fall and winter, I was not surprised when I learned 
 that the Czecho-Slovak troops had mutinied and re- 
 fused to go to the Bolshevist front. This refusal of 
 brave and trusted men to carry out the orders of their 
 commanders was a pathetic contrast to the enthu-
 
 200 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 siasm in which they entered the first battles against 
 the Red army of European Russia, when the Soviets 
 broke the treaties which were made in April. 
 
 I was in Ekaterinburg at the time at the head- 
 quarters of Major-General Gaida when he announced 
 that he had ordered several regiments to the northern 
 front in preparation for an attack on Perm, which 
 was held by the Red army. Gaida's staff had been 
 laboring for several weeks on a plan of campaign, which, 
 as explained at the tune, appeared to be a simple opera- 
 tion. Gaida's orders were for an advance on November 
 24. When his orders were transmitted to the troops 
 they refused to obey and sent representatives to the 
 National Council to protest against further fighting 
 against the Bolsheviki. General Syrovy had already 
 informed me in an interview that the Omsk coup d'etat 
 "had killed his soldiers," because they believed that 
 Admiral Koltshak represented the old Russian Gov- 
 ernment and not the Social Democrats. The colonel 
 of one of the Czech regiments committed suicide when 
 his troops refused to obey his orders. And because 
 some five regiments mutinied there was a decisive 
 crisis in the Czecho-Slovak armies which demanded 
 immediate attention. 
 
 On the night of the 24th, after his plans had been 
 made useless by this action of the troops, Major-Gen- 
 eral Gaida left for Cheliabinsk to confer with his col- 
 league, Major-General Syrovy, an heroic commander 
 who had already lost an eye in his fighting with his 
 troops against the Bolsheviki. At this conference the 
 date of the offensive was advanced to the 27th, and 
 the following night when Gaida returned to Ekaterin-
 
 DECISIVE DAYS IN SIBERIA 201 
 
 burg he had regained his confidence and plans were 
 made for the new attack. 
 
 On this quick journey I had accompanied Gaida, to- 
 gether with Major Slaughter of the United States army, 
 who had had been attached to the Czecho-Slovak army 
 by Major-General Graves early in May, and who had 
 accompanied them throughout all of their campaigns 
 in Russia and Siberia. Slaughter was a young regular 
 army officer, who, as military attache, had seen more 
 of the Czech fighting than any other American. As 
 an observer he was powerless to do more than report 
 the developments to the American headquarters hi 
 Vladivostok, because he had already been informed by 
 Graves that the American army would not reach the 
 Urals, but he followed with intense sympathy and 
 interest every move of the military chessboard of Cen- 
 tral Russia in his second-class railway coach, which 
 was his travelling home, and which he held in readiness 
 for the American consul in Ekaterinburg and his family 
 in case of a break hi the "front." 
 
 The reasons for the Czecho-Slovak troops' refusal 
 to fight was more fundamental than a mere objection 
 to the changes in the Omsk government. Ever since 
 the armistice the Bolshevist propagandists had been 
 active along the fighting-line, distributing leaflets and 
 posters appealing to the Czechs to return to Bohemia 
 via Russia. These documents, copies of which I saw 
 in Ekaterinburg, informed the Czecho-Slovak soldiers 
 that there was a revolution in Austria-Hungary; that 
 all property was being divided ; that the workers were 
 seizing everything from palaces to factories, and that 
 unless the Czecho-Slovak soldiers hi Russia returned
 
 202 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 home they would not share in the "new distribution" 
 of wealth and property! These appeals were very 
 similar to those sent abroad to the American and Brit- 
 ish forces in Murmansk which resulted later in the 
 mutiny of American troops on that front. 
 
 October was a decisive month for Russia, and 
 November was the critical month for the Czecho- 
 slovaks. The first destroyed all possibility for an 
 overthrow of the Bolshevist Government in Moscow 
 and Petrograd, and the second was the beginning of 
 the withdrawal of the Czecho-Slovak troops from the 
 Ural front to guard the railways of Siberia for the new 
 Russian army under Koltshak.
 
 CHAPTER X 
 VAGABONDING BACK TO VLADIVOSTOK 
 
 EVEN at forty degrees below zero there is an unusual 
 fascination about a vagabond journey through Siberia. 
 One forgets the trail of the Bolsheviki and follows the 
 route of the revolution. Often during my stay in Eka- 
 terinburg, after driving about the city in an open sleigh, 
 bundled in furs and breathing the sharp, invigorating 
 air; after walking through the second-hand "lombards," 
 and the shops of the Russian Co-operative Union, I 
 trekked over to the headquarters of the Czecho-Slovak 
 National Council hi the " Amerikansky Nomera" 
 to chat with the revolutionists of central Europe, 
 of Prague, Pilsen, and Karlsbad about the armistice, 
 the Omsk government, the future of Russia, and the 
 glorious days of the Czecho campaign against the Bol- 
 sheviki the days which ended so tragically for Rus- 
 sia, for the Czechs and Slovaks, for the Allies, and for 
 the world. 
 
 There were reminiscences of heroic times in these 
 conversations. Earlier hi the war, as a correspondent 
 with the German and Austrian armies, I had listened 
 to the denunciations of the Czechs by the military 
 leaders of the two Kaisers when I visited their head- 
 quarters in Poland and Galicia. I heard them defamed 
 for their loyalty to Czecho-Slovakia and their hatred 
 of the Dual Monarchy. In the minds of the Mili- 
 tarists of central Europe these men were " deserters," 
 
 203
 
 204 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 "cowards," "fanatics," "revolutionists," and "an- 
 archists." What a contrast it was between those meet- 
 ings with the leaders of the "old world" and these 
 young men hi Russia, the vanguard of the "new order" 
 in central Europe ! 
 
 To meet the Czechs face to face, after listening to 
 their enemies' denunciation of them, was to meet the 
 men of the future, for the Czechs and Slovaks, although 
 revolutionists and Socialists, had a glorious past and 
 a promising future as leaders in the reconstruction of 
 the war-wrecked monarchy of the Hapsburgs. 
 
 Of their fighting in Russia, in a foreign land, for their 
 own freedom and the defeat of Bolshevism because of 
 the danger of Bolshevism in Russia to their own new 
 nation of Bohemia, I learned at first-hand from some 
 of the participants who were laboring ceaselessly at 
 the headquarters in Ekaterinburg. The tale of the 
 encounter at Penza, which one of the young men re- 
 lated in broken, colorful English, was typical of the 
 new folk-songs which, for generations to come, will be 
 handed down to the children of Czecho-Slovakia as 
 the account of an heroic moment in the fight of these 
 oppressed people for their national independence. 
 
 "I was sitting in the window of my coupe," said a 
 young Czech in relating the epic of Penza. "I looked 
 at the city of Penza, the beautiful, white town, which 
 now contains a part of the history of our army. There 
 was determined the fate of our echelons; also the fate 
 of the Soviet Government. 
 
 "This view of the white, oriental Penza always 
 awoke in me emotions," the narrator continued. (I 
 shall give his own words, jotted down at the time in
 
 U 
 
 CO
 
 BACK TO VLADIVOSTOK 205 
 
 my note-book). "Destiny sent its artists to the enor- 
 mous scene of the great Siberian Railway, on a front 
 having a length of 7,000 miles from Serdobsk to Vladi- 
 vostok. Over every mile was six of our soldiers, badly 
 armed, which the Soviet Government gave the name 
 'rebels' and 'counter-revolutionists.' 'Everyman has 
 the right to shoot them like dogs,' said the Soviet. 'If 
 they give up their arms, they are allowed to go into 
 prison-camps and shall have time enough to think 
 about then* stupid deeds, for these people will fight 
 against the German-Magyar reaction.' 
 
 "After the occupation of Cheliabinsk came the 
 official, bloody telegrams of 'Tovarish (Comrade) 
 Trotsky. They also came to us in Penza. And it 
 began the first act of the tragedy. 
 
 "Yes, it is necessary to say aloud: 'The Czecho- 
 slovak Communists were the causers. They falsely 
 informed their Russian comrades. They provoked 
 against us the simple Russian workmen and soldiers ! ' ' 
 My Czech informer was relating what the Bolshevists 
 said about the Czechs. " 'In their army,' " he con- 
 tinued to quote, 'they were soldiers with five roubles 
 a month salary, when they might go to the Red army 
 where they become colonels, etc., with 600-1,000 roubles 
 salary, four horses and servants.' 
 
 "The tune in Penza, especially the last two weeks 
 before the fight, has been the hardest of our life. Our 
 soldiers have been daily offended, and I myself admired 
 the character of them, who gave no answer to the prov- 
 ocations, having no order to do so. 
 
 "On the 27th of May, at three o'clock in the after- 
 noon, came Tovarish Kurajev on the station. He was
 
 206 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 willing to speak to our soldiers at a meeting. The 
 meeting has been prepared. Our soldiers were stand- 
 ing around a wagon he was to speak from. At the 
 meeting have been only our soldiers, no officers, so I 
 gave Kurajev the occasion to speak only to them. 
 How he thought about these soldiers he showed in 
 his oration. This oration was the most demagogical 
 I heard in my life. I felt 'How he offends our sol- 
 diers.' He thought to have before him a flock of sheep. 
 Besides him was standing the Czech Communist 
 Rausher. After Kurajev spoke Minikin, and he spoke 
 worse than his master. He told us: 'You are fighting 
 to hold the throne of the Czar. You are not going 
 to France but to Africa to fight negro workmen and 
 peasants. France only will have use of you and give 
 nothing. You are sold to American millionaires. You 
 are goat meat/ 
 
 "A part of our soldiers laughed and another part 
 cried: 'Down with the swindler, the shark!' 
 
 "Between the oration of Kurajev and Minikin spoke 
 some of our boys. They spoke shortly: 'We believe 
 our political leaders. We shall not give one rifle. Who 
 desires our rifles shall come and get them. We go 
 with our officers and we win,' said our soldiers directly 
 to Kurajev. 'We do not know the word bourgeoisie. 
 We are one family of exiles, without home, proletarians 
 without bread. We only have our rifles. Who touches 
 our army touches our revolutionary movement and 
 our existence. If it is necessary we will fight against 
 everybody, against all the world.' These were the 
 answers of our boys. 
 
 "Thunder, lightning, and wild rain interrupted so
 
 BACK TO VLADIVOSTOK 207 
 
 the meeting finished. Kurajev dropped out and I 
 had the occasion to ask how agreeable it was for him, 
 but he went to the telegraph and asked Moscow for 
 help. 
 
 "Our situation was critical. Being enclosed by the 
 influence of the hostile Soviet, a drop in the sea of the 
 enormous Russian nation, we did not know what to 
 do, in what direction we should expect the hostile at- 
 tack. 
 
 "We resolved to make an end, to take Penza, but 
 we did not fulfil this plan immediately. Perhaps it 
 was the good spirit of our nation who acted for us and 
 did not allow us to begin the fight with the disappointed 
 Russian nation, with our brethren, although the occu- 
 pation of Penza at this tune would not cost us such 
 victims as later. But we can be satisfied. We re- 
 mained true to the traditions of our nation, who raises 
 his sword only against an attack. 
 
 "But to leave Penza against the will of the Soviet 
 was impossible. Everywhere was his influence. To 
 leave the town was necessary, to destroy this influence 
 in the town and surrounding country, to take the power 
 in our hands. Against an aggression we were guarded 
 by sending night patrols, without rifles, with only a 
 hand-grenade in the pocket, and observe the enemy 
 all the way from the town to the station. The Soviet 
 endeavored to strengthen his power in the town and 
 around us. In the barracks near the station were 
 formed new companies of internationalists, of Magyars 
 and Germans. It seemed to be a madness, a few men 
 to fight against the great Russian state. Perhaps we 
 should give up the ammunition and the Soviet, though
 
 208 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 'we shall make them give up.' That we would have 
 any progress, that we could occupy the town and oblige 
 the Soviet to fulfil our will, to go to the East, they 
 did not think, but the conflict neared with every mo- 
 ment. 
 
 "On the 28th of May, about nine o'clock in the 
 morning, a new train arrived on the station, on which 
 also were three armored automobiles. One of them 
 was large, armed by an 8-cm. gun and some machine- 
 guns; the other two smaller, with two or three ma- 
 chine-guns. The train stopped directly beside our 
 train and the machine-guns, occasionally, were directed 
 on our train. 
 
 " 'These armored trains are for us. We must take 
 them.' It was the presentiment, the feeling of our 
 men who were in a dangerous position. The order 
 was given to Lieutenant Shvetz, who designated for 
 this work the Fifth Company of the First Regiment. 
 Like shadows went our boys between the trains, then 
 under the hostile train, some leap on the platform 
 and the autos are ours without a shot. The other 
 part of the company deserted the enemy, who was in 
 the wagons. No resistance was met. The order ' Hands 
 up' was sufficient. And there were also our first pris- 
 oners, fifty men, one of them wounded. The auto- 
 mobiles are hi our hands. We began the hostilities 
 ourselves but we have been obliged to do so to hinder 
 an attack. We tried to continue the conference. The 
 automobiles will be ours as long as the situation is 
 not cleared. And, to make the situation not worse, 
 we gave the first wounded back to the enemy though 
 his wound was bad. He died the same night. To the
 
 BACK TO VLADIVOSTOK 209 
 
 automobiles we gave our guards and hoped still the 
 Soviet would let us go willingly. 
 
 "The station was filled with peasants with baggage, 
 who had been waiting two days already for a train. 
 They showed their spite against the Red army in loud 
 abuses, and we were obliged to defend our prisoners 
 against the crowd. In little groups stood our brothers 
 speaking to the peasants who we are and what we 
 desire and why the Soviet detains us. 
 
 "In the town, when the Soviet had been informed 
 about the incident, began an alarm. We heard it. 
 It begins to sound a siren in a factory, without an end. 
 Then a second, third, etc. In all factories alarm. It 
 seems the town cries for help. This horrible sound 
 mobilizes the Bolsheviki workmen. The situation 
 continues all morning. The Soviet concentrates his 
 forces. 
 
 "A change began in the afternoon. From the right 
 side, near the railroad bridge, we hear some shots. 
 The Bolsheviki attacked some unarmed brothers and 
 these have been our first wounded. We are momently 
 in our positions. The second battalion captures the 
 houses near the station. Our company of the battal- 
 ion occupies the barracks on the other side. They 
 are not Communists but prisoners, Germans and Mag- 
 yars, who betrayed the Social Republic, taking their 
 old uniforms and running into the forests. 
 
 " Again silence. We get an order to remain in good 
 positions. Only on the right flank, direction Penza I. 
 (there are usually two depots in Russian cities, called 
 Penza I. and Penza II.) we hear shots. A part of 
 the battalion of the first reserve regiment (such of them
 
 210 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 who had rifles) got an order to take the station Penza I. 
 and occupy the locomotive depot. They made it. And 
 all locomotives came on the station Rjazansko-Uralsk. 
 
 "We don't shoot for there is nobody we can shoot 
 at. But in the town the shooting becomes stronger 
 and stronger, every moment appears a new machine- 
 gun and shows his presence by shooting. But they 
 shoot into the air. It seems to be a fight in the town 
 itself, in consequence of the wild shooting therein. 
 
 "An attack we could not expect being guarded very 
 well. For the Red army to attack the town from the 
 Rjazansko-Uralsk station was possible only for the price 
 of great losses. Therefore he could attack only from 
 the direction of Rtishevo, or from the northeast side, 
 from the station Penza I. After the occupation of 
 the station, Penza I., by our forces, this Bolshevist 
 battalion was obliged to retreat and he left this north 
 way into the town. He went back, further. From 
 the south side was an attack against us, also very dif- 
 ficult. In this direction was the First Battery, First 
 Regiment, of the Soviet on the station Krivozerovka 
 which got an order to attack the town from the 
 south. 
 
 "But during all the day the Bolsheviki did not at- 
 tack and Penza belonged to our soldiers. One night 
 later, on the 31st of May, we received a telegram that 
 our Third Regiment took Cheliabinsk, took more than 
 18,000 rifles, 80 machine-guns, and 20 guns. We have 
 two victories ! 
 
 "So our soldiers who were to be 'shoot like dogs/ 
 have defeated the Red army in Penza, together, also, 
 the Germans and Magyars prisoners."
 
 BACK TO VLADIVOSTOK 211 
 
 Not all of the Czecho-Slovaks recalled in such de- 
 tails the story of their Iliad in Russia. Some of them 
 had been in this country over four years. Yearning 
 for home they spoke more often of their families they 
 had left behind than about their fighting. Others, 
 who were engaged in the supply division of the army, 
 and who had been promised assistance by the United 
 States and Allies, were bitter in their denunciation of 
 the Allies' failure to send aid, and they appealed to me 
 as an American correspondent attached to their army 
 to "tell the United States to send something besides 
 money." 
 
 "We have millions of dollars and hundreds of mil- 
 lions of roubles. We have money, money, money, but 
 no supplies. What good does all this money do us 
 when there is no market in Russia where we can buy 
 food, clothing, ammunition, or guns. We can't fight 
 with money. We need help," they complained. 
 
 And they did need help, indeed, but the possibility 
 of aid ever reaching them had already been destroyed. 
 They, too, were destined to be exiles in Russia, whose 
 fate, as the fate of Russia, was soon to be placed hi 
 the hands of the statesmen in Paris and the League of 
 Nations. But they did not know this, and in order 
 to have one more frantic appeal appear in the United 
 States, they were willing to assist me on my journey 
 eastward to Vladivostok so that I might telegraph a 
 description of their predicament to the newspapers 
 which I represented. 
 
 Although I had travelled over 7,000 miles in Siberia 
 and Manchuria before I reached Ekaterinburg I had 
 never purchased a railroad ticket ! Travelling is vaga-
 
 212 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 bonding in Russia. Few travellers purchase tickets. 
 There are no regular collections and often one can 
 travel as far without a ticket as with one, but these 
 were not my reasons for travelling free of charge. On 
 the journey I took with Major-General Graves I was 
 a guest of the American commander, and he, as an 
 Allied officer, could travel wherever he wished on any 
 campaign or mission, whenever he received the ap- 
 proval of the inter-Allied railroad mission in Vladi- 
 vostok, or by simply notifying Japanese headquarters, 
 because he and all other Allied generals were officially 
 under the command of the Japanese commander-in- 
 chief . The American Red Cross had a different status. 
 This was a recognized relief organization whose object 
 was to assist the Russian people, and this society paid 
 no railroad fares, although it was said the Russian rail- 
 road officials were keeping a careful account of every 
 mile travelled by American and Allied officers so that 
 a bill could be rendered after the war ! Be that as it 
 may, on my 7,000-mile journey I had neither the 
 opportunity nor permission to pay railroad fare. 
 
 I was not alone hi enjoying these free rides. I do 
 not recall meeting any foreigner in Russia who ever 
 bought a railroad ticket, just as I do not recall having 
 seen any one travelling in Russia with a properly 
 vizaed passport, or card of identification. There was 
 no check on the travellers except in Harbin and Vladi- 
 vostok. I met Russians, frequently, who had crossed 
 the Bolshevist front into Siberia without being ques- 
 tioned. I do not doubt but that others travelled from 
 Siberia to Moscow and Petrograd. In Omsk, on my 
 way East, I met the Russian wife of a Czech soldier
 
 BACK TO VLADIVOSTOK 213 
 
 who had been back and forth into European Russia 
 several times as a " Bolshevist Red Cross sister." 
 
 But now that I was prepared to leave the Ural dis- 
 trict for the coast, I encountered every possible ob- 
 stacle. There were no Red Cross or Y. M. C. A. cars 
 returning. No Czech supply-trains were scheduled 
 to leave. No Allied officers contemplated a journey 
 in less than a fortnight or three weeks. The only pos- 
 sibility appeared to be a post train which left Chelia- 
 binsk every Thursday. I was offered a corner to sleep 
 in in one of these cars, but, because I expected to do 
 some writing during the nineteen-day journey, I ap- 
 pealed to the Czech National Council for the use of 
 one of their " office" cars. The National Council, 
 however, was anxious to keep all the cars which had 
 been commandeered from the railroad as near head- 
 quarters as possible so that, in case of an emergency, 
 they could move from one city to another, because 
 they never knew in this ambush warfare what would 
 happen from one day to the next. 
 
 I searched the railroad yards of Ekaterinburg and 
 Cheliabinsk for a car, and was about to ask for the 
 use of an abandoned and dilapidated hospital-car, 
 which was standing idle hi the yards of the former 
 city, when it was suggested that I go to the Russian 
 station-master and make an appeal. 
 
 After repeated calls with another correspondent, and 
 receiving no encouragement or help, I was on the verge 
 of deciding to travel in one of the post-cars when I 
 discovered on a siding a heavy passenger-car, in fairly 
 good condition, with heavy iron bars over the windows 
 and doors. This car, according to the sign on the out-
 
 214 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 side, was a prison-car which the officials of the Tzar's 
 government had used to transport political prisoners 
 from European Russia to Siberia in the days when 
 the will of one man was supreme over 170,000,000. 
 This car was a sort of useless emblem of the old order, 
 and the possibility of travelling through Siberia in a 
 prison-car with the freedom of an ordinary citizen had 
 its fascination, but the following morning, when I 
 called upon the station-master again, he informed me 
 that the night before a small office car had been 
 brought to town by one of the Czech officials, and 
 that if I went to the Czech National Council again I 
 might be able to obtain the use of this coach. After 
 appealing to various members of the Czech staff, my 
 colleague and I were given authority to use the 
 car. General Gaida issued an order for it to be 
 attached to the regular train leaving that night for 
 Omsk. 
 
 To have succeeded after some four or five days of 
 constant effort in obtaining a "private car" was an 
 accomplishment which can be appreciated only by 
 those who had endeavored, in a country at war and 
 disturbed by civil unrest, to travel under somewhat 
 better conditions than those confronting the public. 
 After searching for some war prisoners or baggage- 
 men to help lug my supplies to the car, and after hav- 
 ing them securely placed hi one of the berths, I saun- 
 tered off to the station to thank the Russian railroad 
 man for his help, because I felt greatly indebted to 
 him. Before I had entered Siberia I learned that ciga- 
 rettes and cigars were almost unobtainable, and I 
 carried a good supply of both with me. Walking into
 
 BACK TO VLADIVOSTOK 215 
 
 his office with several packages of cigarettes and to- 
 bacco, I asked him, through my companion, whether 
 he would permit me to give him something for his 
 assistance, and he remarked as I began to take the 
 packages out of my overcoat pocket: 
 
 "I see you know the Russian custom of bringing 
 gifts!" 
 
 I continued to take the valuable presents out of 
 my pockets and to place them on a desk, when he smiled 
 and became embarrassed, finally remarking : 
 
 "Thank you, but I do not smoke." 
 
 There were several other Russians in the office, and 
 I suggested that he give the tobacco to his friends. 
 And then I beat a hasty retreat back to my car, only 
 to find that two officers had taken possession of it in 
 the meantime, and to find a young Russian girl in a 
 heated argument with a Czech soldier as to who should 
 be the porter on the train. 
 
 It is the custom in Russia even under revolutionary 
 conditions to have a porter on all special cars. The 
 young girl had been assigned by the Co-operative 
 Conductors' Association to take this car to Vladi- 
 vostok and bring it back. The Czech soldier had 
 written orders from the Czecho-Slovak National Coun- 
 cil to do the same thing. 
 
 In order to settle the dispute we paid the girl twenty 
 roubles to leave, and then went into the other com- 
 partment to settle the matter with the officers, who 
 declared that the car belonged to them. This dispute 
 was of a much more serious character because these 
 officers had been given the number of the car by the 
 Czech soldiers who brought it to Ekaterinburg, and
 
 216 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 they were told that if they went down and took pos- 
 session of it, that possession was ten points in law in 
 Russia. We finally relied upon the order which we 
 had received from the Czech National Council and 
 from General Gaida, and delivered an ultimatum to 
 the officers, informing them that unless they left the 
 car we would appeal to the Czech staff and have them 
 ousted. 
 
 It was late at night before these domestic problems 
 were settled and we were comfortably lodged in our 
 private car with the Czech soldier as a guard, when 
 the young Russian girl again appeared with her bundle 
 of clothes and tears in her eyes to inform us that the 
 organization she worked for had threatened her with 
 court-martial unless she returned to the car and went 
 to Vladivostok and brought it back again. 
 
 The scene of our activities was then shifted from 
 the car to the headquarters of the Conductors' Union, 
 and the correspondent who accompanied me, and who 
 spoke such excellent Russian that he could argue in 
 all of the intricate ways of the Slavs, went to the head- 
 quarters to settle the dispute while I walked to the 
 station to make sure that our car would be attached 
 to the midnight train for Omsk. 
 
 Both of us were away for several hours. When we 
 returned to the siding where our car had been we found 
 another line of freight-cars and no coach answering 
 the description or the number of the car which we had 
 left. Then began the search for our private car, which 
 we were about to give up as having been lost to the 
 two officers to whom the ultimatum had been delivered 
 earlier in the evening. Walking through the yard
 
 BACK TO VLADIVOSTOK 217 
 
 during one of those black nights of Russia, for all nights 
 are not white as many imagine, we searched every 
 track in vain and decided, finally, that our only hope 
 lay in the possibility that a switch engine might have 
 picked up the car and attached it to the local train 
 at the station. 
 
 We returned to the depot, where hundreds of refugees 
 were awaiting an opportunity to take the same train. 
 About two hours after the train was scheduled to de- 
 part a switch engine appeared pulling our car and a 
 freight-car across the yard to the first track from 
 which all trains depart. "Matusick," the Czech 
 soldier-guardsman, was on board. Our baggage was 
 piled securely on the seats. Candles were lighted. 
 The stove was red with heat, and, with the ther- 
 mometer still forty degrees below zero on the outside, 
 we climbed into our "private" car, wrapped up in our 
 army blankets, and trusted to luck that the well-known 
 "cooties" of Russia would not disturb us. But that 
 night it was not only the jostling of the four-wheeled 
 coach, which finally collapsed before we reached Har- 
 bin, and the red sparks from the wood-burning loco- 
 motive, which flew in the air and bathed the train 
 with a spray of burning cinders, that kept us awake ! 
 
 In this little car with its single sleeping-compart- 
 ment, its small room with tables for office use, its 
 kitchen and wash-room, I journey from the Ural Moun- 
 tains to the capital of Manchuria with my colleague 
 of the New York Herald and two Czecho-Slovak sol- 
 diers. One of them, "Matusick," was supposed to 
 be the "guard," porter, valet, and cook, but none of 
 these tasks fitted in with his trade or ability. All he
 
 218 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 could do was to master the heating-plant and steal coal 
 from cars and bins as we travelled across the country. 
 And as none of my companions could cook the task 
 fell to me. For seventeen days I prepared three and 
 often four meals, from breakfasts to midnight lunches, 
 for four hungry vagabonds. 
 
 At the beginning of our journey we purchased some 
 rice, honey, bread, butter, and meat at the markets 
 of Ekaterinburg, and begged some coffee, tea, and 
 sugar from the Red Cross canteen. The rice was al- 
 most as expensive as platinum. Honey cost about 
 two dollars a pound. Butter was reasonably inex- 
 pensive to an American but dear for the Russians. 
 In Ekaterinburg I paid the equivalent of thirty cents 
 a pound, while later on the road I bought the best 
 creamery butter for nineteen cents. Salt could neither 
 be purchased nor begged. Coffee, tea, and sugar were 
 forgotten articles to the Siberians. The only sugar I 
 saw in Siberia was at a market-stand along the rail- 
 road. A Russian soldier brought five pounds to one 
 of the women at the stand. Where he obtained it he 
 would not say, nor did any one seem to know, but he 
 sold it for two dollars a pound. 
 
 With these supplies we travelled to Omsk where 
 we obtained chickens, geese, and the finest cuts of 
 beef at prices varying from twenty to thirty cents 
 per pound. Food in Siberia appeared to be abundant, 
 especially between Ekaterinburg and Irkutsk, but 
 between that city on Lake Baikal and Manchouli 
 Station hi Manchuria people were starving to death 
 because of a lack of food. This was but another result 
 of the revolution. In those districts where food was
 
 BACK TO VLADIVOSTOK 219 
 
 produced there was plenty. In other sections where 
 the inhabitants had been dependent upon food shipped 
 to them from other parts of Siberia there was nothing. 
 This was but one more evidence of the failure of the 
 industrial revolution. Until the overthrow of the 
 provisional government in November, 1917, food was 
 brought into these barren communities, but after that 
 it stopped and every one suffered, rich, poor, indus- 
 trious, and lazy citizens alike, for famine makes no class 
 distinction. 
 
 Along the route in western Siberia we had no dif- 
 ficulty obtaining all the provisions we needed. Often 
 at the markets we bought roast goose, boiled pork, and 
 fried veal and beef which the peasant women brought 
 to the depots, as the "regular," to which our car was 
 attached, pulled into the cities and towns. But it was 
 pathetic to travel through those districts which were 
 foodless, especially when enormous quantities of food 
 were known to be stored in various parts of Siberia. 
 An official of the Siberian Co-operatives told me that 
 these unions had 20,000,000 roubles' worth of butter 
 in cold storage and 40,000,000 roubles' worth of raw 
 materials and other food-supplies in their warehouses 
 between Irkutsk and Vladivostok. This 60,000,000 
 roubles' worth of supplies can neither be shipped to the 
 famine districts of Siberia, because of the collapse of 
 the freight traffic, nor can it be sent to foreign countries 
 in exchange for manufactured articles, such as clothing 
 and household goods, which the Russian people need. 
 
 It was a slow journey back to the Pacific coast. 
 Sometimes the train would make forty miles an hour 
 only to be delayed from one to seven hours at some
 
 220 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIK! 
 
 station. As our car was the last one of twenty-eight 
 we had the conductor with us frequently, and from 
 him we learned of the uncertainties of travel, of the 
 murders and robberies which occur in the night. 
 
 All night long the passengers would be crowded in 
 the box-cars and coaches. In the morning, at the 
 first stop, they would climb out into the snow and 
 run, like prisoners fleeing from a guard, to the shanties 
 where boiling water was kept for the travellers. After 
 their tea was brewed from chunks of "tea cake," a 
 preparation of tea dust and some solid matter, they 
 rushed back to the cars, placed their kettles inside 
 the doors, and washed their faces and hands in the 
 snow. Until the three bells were sounded, the Russian 
 railroad custom of announcing the departure of a train, 
 they would remain outside and climb into their "cells" 
 on top of each other after the train began to move. 
 
 Between my first and second journeys across Siberia 
 the armistice was signed, and although Russia was 
 not a party to the convention the end of the war in 
 Europe had its decided reactions in Siberia. One of 
 the most noticeable changes was the collapse of the 
 German Secret Service system, which fell like a house 
 of cards. In every Siberian city there had been a power- 
 ful and efficient organization under the chief direction 
 of neutral business men. In Omsk the chief was a 
 Swiss; in Ekaterinburg he was an Austrian; in Kha- 
 barovsk a Swede, and in Vladivostok a Dane. But 
 that which was evident in the remains of the organiza- 
 tion was that those who were intrusted with the direc- 
 tion of this work were experienced business men, and 
 commerce was the basis upon which the system was
 
 BACK TO VLADIVOSTOK 221 
 
 built. This was not only a symptom of the past but 
 an omen of the future. It was but another indica- 
 tion of the big business interests linked with the old 
 German military machine. 
 
 While I had encountered evidences of Bolshevist 
 propaganda in Siberia on my way West, I noticed a 
 decided growth after the signing of the armistice with 
 Germany, and representatives of the Czecho-Slovaks 
 in nearly every city confirmed the growth of Bolshevism. 
 In Irkutsk, the Czech commandant of the municipal- 
 ity said the Bolsheviki had the strongest propaganda 
 organization hi Irkutsk and, by using vast sums of 
 money, were obtaining the control of most of the news- 
 papers. While it would have surprised me to have 
 heard this statement on my first trip, it was not as- 
 tounding at this tune, because I had observed the laxity 
 of the control of travellers hi Omsk and Ekaterinburg, 
 and learned how easy it was for agitators to travel 
 back and forth between the Bolshevist districts of 
 European Russia and Siberia. 
 
 After seventeen days, travelling at the average rate 
 of seven miles an hour; after passing through Tchita, 
 where General Semenov and his 15,000 Cossacks main- 
 tained their reign of terror; after experiencing discom- 
 forts of travel the like of which I had not encountered 
 in any war country of Europe, I reached Manchouli 
 Station, to be welcomed at the depot by members of 
 the United States Railway Service Corps and a young 
 lieutenant, whom Lieutenant-Colonel Barrows, chief of 
 the Intelligence Division, had sent there as an ob- 
 server. 
 
 Manchuria seemed like a civilized nation compared
 
 222 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 with Siberia. It was busier than it had appeared two 
 months earlier. The streets were filled with Chinese 
 and Russians. The markets were overflowing with 
 supplies of every description. Tobacco was abundant. 
 Sugar, tea, rice, and other foodstuffs were plentiful, 
 and clothing could be had at any shop. But the chief 
 joy of the city to every traveller from Siberia was the 
 city bath-house, and to this monopoly of cleanliness 
 I hurried, together with scores of other travellers who 
 for more than two weeks had been vagabonding in 
 Russia. At the bath-house scores of other citizens 
 had come Chinese, Russians, Burats, Mongolians, 
 Englishmen, Frenchmen, Japanese, and Americans. 
 I bought my ticket, entitling me to one hour's standing- 
 room under a spray of hot water, and stood in line 
 with the others, waiting patiently for my turn to come; 
 but some thirty-two others were ahead of me, and I 
 went out to roam about the city until it was my turn. 
 After this recreation was over I sauntered to the 
 home of the American officer, to be treated with the 
 best of the United States army rations, which were 
 a relief even to my own cooking! And from him I 
 learned that 400 Canadians were on their way into 
 Siberia, and that, after travelling in box-cars from 
 Vladivostok, every man was begging and demanding 
 a bath, and the British representative in that city 
 had been ordered "to prepare baths for 400 men!" 
 Those who have not travelled in a revolutionized coun- 
 try cannot appreciate the feelings of those soldiers from 
 Canada, but I could. I had already experienced the 
 same discomforts that they had. 
 * Fortunately the "regular" was delayed an unusually
 
 BACK TO VLADIVOSTOK 223 
 
 long time at Manchouli Station, and in and about the 
 city I learned of the " antics" of Semenov and his 
 brigands. Semenov had refused to recognize Admiral 
 Koltshak and was believed to be supported by the 
 Japanese. My first intimation of this was during the 
 stop at Irkutsk. Two days previous to my arrival 
 there three Russian officers, said to be attached to 
 Semenoff's staff, came to the city and were arrested 
 by officers representing Koltshak. The following day 
 when they were brought to court the Japanese mili- 
 tary representative in the city appeared to ask their 
 release on the ground that they were attached to the 
 Japanese staff, and the Japanese contention was ap- 
 proved. 
 
 I had been away from Vladivostok several weeks 
 and had not heard of the change in the relationship 
 between the Japanese and the Americans, but as soon 
 as I reached Manchuria the Japanese influence was 
 felt. The delay in the departure of our train was due 
 to the movement of Japanese troops which passed 
 through the city all day and night en route to the coast 
 from Tchita and the surrounding country, and I learned 
 for the first time of the extensive withdrawal of Japa- 
 nese forces, the details of which will be given in the 
 following chapter. 
 
 After a day's delay in Manchouli Station our 
 "private" car was attached to a slow freight. Before 
 we reached Harbin the rear springs of the car broke, 
 as a result of the freight-tram "drag" and, at the peril 
 of changing to another car of the moving train or 
 being dashed to pieces hi the "private, " we abandoned 
 our eighteen-day-old "home" for the safe compart-
 
 224 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 ment of a coach belonging to the British railway mis- 
 sion, and rode into Harbin, thankful to the Czechs 
 and Fate that we were so near to Vladivostok and Pe- 
 king and so far from Siberia proper. The exodus was 
 not as fascinating as the entrance, although the way 
 station of Harbin was like a visit to America, because 
 the doors of the United States Railway Service Corps 
 barracks were opened to two correspondents, who ac- 
 cepted the proffered hospitality of Colonel Emerson 
 with the enthusiasm of wayward sons returning to 
 the shelter and food of an abandoned home. After 
 a bath and a night's rest I proceeded to Vladivostok, 
 where the "Japanese question" had long since super- 
 seded the Russian "problem" in the interests of the 
 Allies.
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 JAPANESE ACTIVITIES IN SIBERIA 
 
 To travel from Omsk to Vladivostok, after the armis- 
 tice, was to pass from one centre of politics to another. 
 The former city was the capital of anti-Bolshevist 
 Russia. The latter was the capital of the Far East, 
 and while the days of October were decisive for Rus- 
 sia, the months of November, December, and January 
 marked another critical period between the relations 
 of the United States and Japan. Before the war no 
 one would have thought of Vladivostok as a meeting- 
 place for Japan and the United States to discuss Far 
 Eastern problems and politics. No one would have 
 considered it even after the Russian revolution, but 
 during the whiter this Siberian city was as much of a 
 diplomatic centre as it was a military headquarters, 
 and Asiatic Russia was more of a political battle-field 
 than a war theatre. 
 
 Even a short residence in Vladivostok was sufficient 
 to convince one that politics was of more importance 
 than military strategy, and after a journey into the 
 ulterior and back again this city looms above the hori- 
 zon of the East, above Tokyo and Peking, as the meet- 
 ing-place for statesmen and generals of two different 
 civilizations, of the Occident and the Orient, to discuss 
 and solve the Janus-headed Siberian problem Siberia 
 and its relation to Russia and the world, and Siberia hi 
 its relation to Japan and China. 
 
 That the Great Powers understood the importance 
 
 225
 
 226 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 of Japan's relations to Siberia was indicated by the 
 men they selected as envoys and generals. Fully eighty- 
 five per cent of the Allied officials in western Russia 
 had represented their governments in the Far East. 
 The French, Italian, and American diplomatic repre- 
 sentatives were or had been ambassadors to Tokyo, and 
 most of the military men had been attached to foreign 
 posts in the East both before and during the war. 
 
 In considering Japan's activities in Siberia it is not 
 only essential, however, that the reader should know 
 the type of men selected by the Allies to deal with 
 these dual Japanese-Russian problems, but the 
 attitude of the Japanese toward Siberia. To keep in 
 touch with Japanese opinion I followed closely the 
 editorial comment of the leading Tokyo newspapers 
 as reproduced in The Japan Advertiser. One editorial, 
 which I considered a fair statement of the attitude of 
 the majority of Japanese, was published in the Chugai 
 Shogyo. I shall give it in its entirety here because of 
 the information it contains about Viscount Uchida's 
 attitude and because it reflects the general impression 
 of the East regarding the "success" of Allied interven- 
 tion a belief which was to give way very soon to 
 criticism and disappointment. 
 
 "The Allied Siberian campaign has proved a greater 
 success than was generally expected," the editor of 
 Chugai Shogyo wrote. "The Allied troops are now 
 occupying all important points in the regions which 
 have formerly been the sphere of interest of the Bol- 
 sheviks and Austro-Germans. In short, it is now re- 
 vealed that the world has overestimated the strength 
 and influence of the Bolsheviks.
 
 JAPANESE ACTIVITIES IN SIBERIA 227 
 
 "In the past, especially in an earlier part of this 
 year, there were many among the Allied diplomats 
 and publicists who entertained a view that the Bol- 
 sheviks under the leadership of Lenin and Trotzky 
 were the only political power in Russia which had a 
 possibility to organize a strong central government in 
 that country. Viscount Uchida, present foreign 
 minister, who was then the Japanese Ambassador to 
 Russia, was also one of those who overestimated the 
 Bolshevik influence hi Russia. In an interview with 
 press representatives, which took place at Harbin 
 when he was on the way home from Moscow, the vis- 
 count declared that Russia would be controlled by the 
 Bolsheviks unless some new political faction would 
 come to existence, to displace the government of Lenin 
 and Trotzky. He further said that the Bolshevik 
 influence was far stronger than the German influence, 
 so that there would be little prospect for the German 
 aggression in Siberia as was feared by many Allied 
 politicians. By saying this, the viscount apparently, 
 if not directly, opposed the scheme of an Allied ex- 
 pedition to Siberia then under consideration among 
 the Allied Powers. 
 
 "The situation in the last few months, however, 
 has shown that the view entertained by those diplo- 
 mats like Viscount Uchida regarding the Bolshevik 
 influence was entirely mistaken. The Allied campaign, 
 in spite of its comparatively small scale, was not only 
 quite enough to drive out the Bolsheviks in Siberia, 
 but has even caused the fall of the Bolshevik authori- 
 ties in European Russia. 
 
 "Now the general situation hi Siberia is still in the
 
 228 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 course of settlement, and it is hard to predict as to 
 which one of the so-called 'governments' of Siberia 
 would become the central Power to take up the ad- 
 ministration of the region. But one thing is at least 
 certain, that is, Siberia in the future will be governed 
 by a government which is extremely pro-British or 
 pro-American. Vologodski, premier of the Omsk Gov- 
 ernment, for instance, is an extreme pro-British poli- 
 tician. Admiral Kolchakov, minister of war and navy, 
 of the same government, is also known to entertain 
 friendly feeling toward Great Britain. Judging from 
 these facts, it is easy to observe that the British and 
 American influences are speedily growing among the 
 Siberians, and that these two countries would be able 
 to hold a supreme position in the affairs of Siberia 
 after the war, both politically and economically. 
 
 "What will be, then, Japan's position in Siberia 
 when the war is concluded? 
 
 "Undoubtedly, none can deny that the success of 
 the Allied campaign in Siberia was chiefly due to the 
 strength of the Japanese troops. In fact, it was Japan 
 who really saved the Siberians from the tyranny of 
 the Bolsheviks. But is it possible for Japan to main- 
 tain the prestige she has obtained through her suc- 
 cessful expedition even after the conclusion of war? 
 Lamentably enough, it is doubtful under present cir- 
 cumstances. In a word, Japan needs a wise and fair 
 policy hi Siberia if she is really desirous of maintain- 
 ing strong influence in the region after the war, and 
 it is our hope that the Hara government will exert 
 itself for the purpose by establishing a definite policy, 
 in accordance with which the Japanese Government
 
 JAPANESE ACTIVITIES IN SIBERIA 229 
 
 can handle the affairs concerning Siberia fairly and 
 successfully. Especially, we are quite anxious to hear 
 our foreign minister make public his view regarding 
 the future of Russia. Certainly we suppose that 
 Viscount Uchida has already realized the mistake he 
 has made in his judgment concerning the Bolsheviks. 
 But we hope to know as to what is the conclusion he 
 has reached through his knowledge and experiences 
 concerning Russia and Siberia in regard to the policy 
 Japan should take toward Siberia after the war." 
 
 Something which was symbolical of the importance 
 which the Japanese Government attached to the Si- 
 berian expedition was the presence of a Japanese battle- 
 ship in the centre of Vladivostok bay. The ship com- 
 manded the whole situation and could be seen from 
 every hill of the city. After I reached Vladivostok 
 almost the first information I received from Russians 
 was that this Japanese war-ship was one of those which 
 Japan captured from Russia at Port Arthur in 1904, 
 and they did not like this " flaunting" of Russia's de- 
 feat in the Russo-Japanese War at this critical hour 
 in Russia's history. The question those Russians 
 asked was: 
 
 "Is Japan coming to Siberia as a conqueror of Rus- 
 sia or as an ally?" 
 
 In that question there was the kernel of the whole 
 Siberian situation as viewed by the Russians them- 
 selves. 
 
 "If Japan has landed troops as a conquering na- 
 tion," the Russians argued, "then the United States, 
 England, France, and Italy are here with Japan to 
 exploit Russia under the guise of peaceful military
 
 230 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 intervention. If Japan is our ally why does she act 
 like our owner?" 
 
 The Russians did not state their case alone to an 
 arriving correspondent. They had already stated it 
 in much plainer words in the Siberian newspapers, 
 and their official representatives had called upon the 
 envoys and generals of the Allies to question them. 
 
 After hearing so much anti-Japanese gossip, how- 
 ever, I became immune to it for a while until I had 
 made my own investigation, because I learned that 
 the Russians were inclined to be anti-Japanese to an 
 American, and anti-American to the Japanese. They 
 would remark to an American: 
 
 "We do not like to have the Japanese here but we 
 hope the Americans will stay," and, a few moments 
 later they would bow to a Japanese business man and 
 tell him, the Americans are all "millioniares" and 
 the future of Siberia " rests with Japan." And this 
 was not confined to the Russian citizens but to gov- 
 ernment officials. General Ivanov-Rinov, former min- 
 ister of war hi the All-Russian Government, com- 
 plained to General Graves in October about the ac- 
 tivities of the Japanese soldiers and denounced the 
 Island Nation in the most hostile terms. A few days 
 later he gave an interview to the Siberian newspapers 
 in which he praised Japan as the greatest of the Al- 
 lied nations. 
 
 I did not go to Siberia harboring any anti-Japanese 
 sentiments, and I did not become hostile toward these 
 energetic people of the East during my travel hi Rus- 
 sia or the Far East, which included both China, Man- 
 churia, and Korea. One does not have to travel very
 
 JAPANESE ACTIVITIES IN SIBERIA 231 
 
 long in the Orient to learn that there are two parties 
 in Japan, a "war party" and a "peace party." Ever 
 since the United States has been a belligerent there 
 has been a herculean contest between these two 
 parties for control of the government. Shortly before 
 the signing of the armistice hi France the "war party" 
 was in control of the Cabinet. Since then the peace- 
 ful statesmen of Japan, backed by the business in- 
 terests of the country, have been in authority. At 
 this writing the "peace party" is still in power, al- 
 though the opposition is so strong that it might be 
 able to wreck the Kara government if an internal 
 crisis developed. 
 
 By a "war party" and a "peace party" I mean, 
 first, a power within the country supported by polit- 
 ical interests which believes that it should go ahead 
 with aggressive policies in Siberia and China contrary 
 to the policies and opinions of the rest of the world, 
 and, secondly, another party which has as its basic 
 principle the peaceful solution of Far Eastern prob- 
 lems through diplomatic discussions and concerted 
 action of a League of Nations. 
 
 Before I went into the interior of Russia I heard 
 many American officers comment upon their rela- 
 tions with the Japanese. With the exception of 
 individual fights between Japanese and American 
 soldiers, which were adjusted hi each instance that 
 I know of, by the trial and punishment of the guilty 
 offenders, there was complete harmony between the 
 officers of the two headquarters' staffs and between 
 the American and Japanese officers in the field. In 
 Khabarovsk I asked an American colonel, who com-
 
 232 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 manded the United States troops on the only fighting 
 expedition in which the Americans took part, what 
 kind of orders the Japanese gave. 
 
 "Their orders were as clear as a bell," was his im- 
 mediate reply. "Any officer who cannot understand 
 Japanese army orders, when issued in French as ours 
 were, knows nothing about military affairs. From the 
 time we left Vladivostok until we reached Khabarovsk 
 there was not a hitch in operations and not a doubt 
 in the mind of any officer. Our orders were perfect. 
 We never had to ask a question." 
 
 In Vladivostok I had an opportunity of interview- 
 ing General Otani, through his second chief of staff, 
 General Inagaki, but while the general expressed the 
 belief that he was "sure the Japanese- American rela- 
 tions would always continue," as they were at that 
 time he would not discuss policies beyond remarking 
 that "military operations hi eastern Siberia are ended, 
 but the Allies cannot leave, because as soon as they 
 would depart the Bolsheviki would return and become 
 very disorderly. Until Russia can organize a strong 
 army the Allies will have to remain in Siberia." 
 
 This was the chief plank hi his platform for the re- 
 organization and reconstruction of Russia. Without 
 an army the general did not believe it possible for Rus- 
 sia again to be a great Power. "And in this work," 
 the commander-in-chief of the Allies added: "I think 
 the Allies should help the Russians. To-day Russia 
 has not the power to form a militia, or army, and it 
 can be accomplished only with Allied co-operation." 
 
 One of my first observations in travelling through 
 Siberia was that there were several tunes as many
 
 JAPANESE ACTIVITIES IN SIBERIA 233 
 
 Japanese troops in Russia as those of all the other Allies 
 combined. East of Lake Baikal, Japanese soldiers were 
 stationed in every village and city. Every railroad-sta- 
 tion from Vladivostok to Tchita along both the Amur 
 and the Chinese Eastern Railway line, flew the Japa- 
 nese flag. Every railroad bridge and nearly every pub- 
 lic building was guarded by Japanese. 
 
 The Japanese literally covered Siberia with troops 
 and commercial agents. The latter leased every avail- 
 able building and bought up supplies, so that, in case 
 of extensive Allied operations, everything would be 
 under Japanese control. Whenever the commanders 
 of the British, French, or American armies would order 
 a lieutenant or captain to another village or city, away 
 from the base at Vladivostok, on some special work, 
 the Japanese would despatch a major to the same 
 place. If an Allied general sent a major, the Japanese 
 staff sent a colonel. Japan's object was to maintain 
 the seniority of the Allied agreement which made the 
 Japanese commanders of all Allied armies and mis- 
 sions in Russia. 
 
 Each time the American, French, or British com- 
 manders moved a soldier or regiment; whenever an 
 Allied soldier or officer landed in Siberia, the Japanese 
 General Staff had to be informed, but the Japanese, 
 in turn, never informed any of the Allies how many 
 soldiers they had; how many were being brought into 
 Siberia, nor where they were being sent. 
 
 At first the Allies did not protest nor question the 
 Japanese policy. They had agreed to work hi Siberia 
 under the supreme command of the Japanese, and 
 they continued to give the Japanese supreme command
 
 234 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 their respectful support until the opposition within 
 Siberia to the activities of the Japanese army became 
 so great that, hi jv "tice to the Russians and their own 
 countries, the Allies had to take cognizance of the 
 antics of the Japanese soldiers and of the policies of 
 the Imperial General Staff and its political and secret 
 military agents. 
 
 Although under the original agreement the number 
 of Japanese troops was limited to 7,000, Japan was 
 the first nation to break the agreement. Instead of 
 sending that number, the "war party," which was in 
 power hi Tokyo and had its secret agents in Russia, 
 sent 73,400 men. 
 
 When the United States and Allied governments 
 learned this, they had their suspicions confirmed that 
 Japan was not "playing the game" according to written 
 agreement, and still they made no diplomatic repre- 
 sentations. 
 
 Meanwhile the Japanese seized all caravan routes 
 and blockaded all ports. Japanese gunboats and moni- 
 tors were sent up all navigable streams and rivers into 
 the interior. No caravan could move into or out of 
 Manchuria, Mongolia, or Siberia without passing 
 Japanese guards. No railroad could be run without 
 being under the constant scrutiny of the Japanese. 
 No ship could arrive or depart except under the ever- 
 present gaze of a Japanese naval officer. By October 
 Japan had Siberia and Manchuria entirely under her 
 power. Japan was in a position at any tune to chal- 
 lenge Russians and Allies combined, because the mili- 
 tary and naval strength of Japan was greater than 
 that of all the other Powers combined.
 
 JAPANESE ACTIVITIES IN SIBERIA 235 
 
 By the middle of October this situation was causing 
 a great deal of concern. The war was at its height, 
 and the Allies could not understand this policy of Japan, 
 especially hi view of the constant reports that the Ger- 
 man military party and the Japanese military party 
 had come to a secret understanding. There were re- 
 ports also that Japan and Germany had a secret agree- 
 ment under the terms of which Japan was to be given 
 control of Siberia from Lake Baikal to the Pacific. 
 This was immediately denied by the Tokyo govern- 
 ment, and I do not know of any responsible people hi 
 the Far East who believe that the Japanese Govern- 
 ment ever listened seriously to the separate peace 
 proposals which were being sent from Berlin at regular 
 intervals. 
 
 The Allies, however, could not help but observe 
 that, even if there were no grounds for these reports, 
 nevertheless the Japanese army and navy hi Siberia 
 and its ports were in a position where they could defy 
 the Allies at any time. Their hold was so firm that 
 if the war was compromised or if the Germans were 
 to win, nothing in the world could force Japan from 
 Siberia, and that country would become what Korea 
 is to-day. 
 
 Still the Allies were silent. The fighting in France 
 was attracting all of their attention and demanding 
 all reserves. 
 
 There were in the Far East, however, some men 
 who went there for the purpose of helping Russia. 
 These men, after making thorough investigations, re- 
 ported to their governments that the Russian rail- 
 roads were hi a terrible state of disorder, and that
 
 236 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 Russia could never be helped militarily or economic- 
 ally unless the Trans-Siberian Railway was reorganized 
 and placed upon an efficient business basis. At this 
 time there was present in Harbin and Vladivostok 
 about 200 experienced American railroad men under 
 John F. Stevens and George Emerson. These men 
 had been brought to Siberia under an original agree- 
 ment with the Kerensky government, but they had 
 been waiting patiently nearly a year for something 
 to do. 
 
 The Japanese attitude, however, toward the Trans- 
 Siberian Railway, which differed from that of the other 
 Allies, was reflected in an editorial in the Hochi, one 
 of the leading newspapers of Tokyo, which commented 
 as follows on the " Future of Siberian Railroads." 
 
 "When America sent Mr. Root and his mission to 
 Russia, we sincerely hoped that the Japanese people 
 would realize the importance of that mission and its 
 effects upon the commercial and political situation in 
 Siberia. But, strangely enough, our countrymen over- 
 looked the activities of the American mission hi 
 Russia, paying no attention to the outcome of nego- 
 tiations between the mission and the Kerensky gov- 
 ernment. Then, as the consequence of an agreement 
 concluded by the mission, an American railway corps 
 headed by Mr. Stevens came to Siberia. Undoubt- 
 edly, the event was of special importance, as it 
 was necessary for Japan to watch, as carefully as she 
 could, what the railroad men from America were going 
 to do. But even then the public in general paid no 
 special attention to the event. Of late, the question 
 relating to the administration or management of rail-
 
 JAPANESE ACTIVITIES IN SIBERIA 237 
 
 roads in Siberia has become one of the most signif- 
 icant current topics of the Far Eastern politics. It is 
 reported that Mr. Morris, American Ambassador to 
 Japan, is now in the course of an important diplomatic 
 negotiation with the Tokyo Foreign Office, and there 
 is reason to believe that the question now pending 
 between Japan and America chiefly concerns railroad 
 business in Siberia. Foreigners, especially Americans, 
 are paying much attention to the outcome of the nego- 
 tiations, and what they want to hear is what the Japa- 
 nese people are thinking about the problem. But, 
 strangely enough, no definite opinion regarding Si- 
 berian railroads has yet been expressed by men in pub- 
 lic life here, as if they were entirely indifferent to the 
 future of their great neighbor. 
 
 " Certainly, the question relating to the manage- 
 ment of railroads in Siberia is complicated, but we 
 can simplify it by separating the question regarding 
 the Chinese Eastern Railway from that hi regard to 
 the trunk line of the Trans-Siberian Railway. The 
 territory where the Chinese Eastern Railway is run- 
 ning is not Siberia but China. Secondly, the railway 
 is financed not by Russia alone, but by France and 
 China too. And lastly, the southern terminal of the 
 railway is directly connected with the Japanese rail- 
 way. Recently, a rumor was in circulation that Amer- 
 ica has concluded a loan of $5,000,000 with the officials 
 of the Chinese Eastern Railway, but the rumor is 
 indeed too absurd to believe, as such things cannot 
 be realized, entirely regardless of Japan's paramount 
 interests in China, especially in Manchuria. 
 
 "As to the question relating to the management
 
 238 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 of the trunk line of the Trans-Siberian Railway, our 
 opinion is that the urgent question is to make the rail- 
 way efficacious for military purposes. We think that 
 it is not advisable to begin negotiations as regards 
 the future of the railway at the present moment. It 
 is too early, and it is at the same time doubtful as to 
 who can represent the interest of the Russian people 
 in the negotiation with the other Powers. 
 
 "We are confident that America would not ignore 
 the prestige and interests of Japan by secretly con- 
 cluding agreements with the officials of the Russian 
 railways in Siberia. We are convinced that America 
 knows the gravity of the problem, and, indeed, it is 
 our earnest hope that the governments of both America 
 and Japan carefully avoid any troubles which will 
 endanger the friendly intercourse of the two nations." 
 
 This editorial, while evidently written to influence the 
 negotiators, was intended, nevertheless, to strengthen 
 the influence in Japan which was working against 
 exclusive American control. Despite this, however, 
 England, France, Italy, and later China, together with 
 the new Russian Government which had been formed 
 in Omsk, gave the United States power of attorney 
 to take over the Trans-Siberian Railway and run it 
 for the benefit of Russia. These six Powers realized 
 that nothing of importance could be accomplished in 
 Siberia until the railroad was in efficient hands. When 
 Japan was asked whether she would give her consent 
 she asked time to consider the proposal. 
 
 For two months, September and October, the ques- 
 tion was debated in Tokyo. The "war party" ob- 
 jected to any control which was not Japanese from top
 
 JAPANESE ACTIVITIES IN SIBERIA 239 
 
 to bottom, and through an "invitation" from Ataman 
 Semenov, in Tchita, sent 150 railroad men to Siberia. 
 This party maintained that Siberia was one of Japan's 
 spheres of influence and that no other nation and no 
 group of nations had a right to interfere with what 
 the Japanese military party was doing. Another group 
 of Japanese statesmen, backed by all of the Chambers 
 of Commerce and big financial institutions of Japan, 
 wanted to compromise with the Allies. But the mili- 
 tary party won its point, and Japan made counter 
 proposals which destroyed all possibilities of an Allied 
 agreement regarding the Trans-Siberian Railway. 
 
 For the first time the Allies were convinced by the 
 attitude of the Tokyo government that Japan's policy 
 in Siberia could not be reconciled to the Allied policy. 
 
 Meanwhile, also, there were other developments 
 to cause international apprehension. Two Cossack 
 atamans, Generals Semenov and Kalmykoff, in Tchita 
 and Khabarovsk respectively, were carrying on ob- 
 structive work. They were terrorizing every Russian 
 community through which their armies passed. Under 
 the guise of fighting the Bolsheviki they were doing 
 the same things the Bolsheviki were doing in European 
 Russia. They were robbing banks and murdering 
 peaceful, respectful Russian citizens with impunity. 
 Although Russians themselves, they were terrorizing 
 their own country. Their activities, however, came to 
 a head when they interfered with the rights of 
 foreigners. 
 
 In Khabarovsk, Kalmykoff arrested three members 
 of the Swedish Red Cross on the ground that they 
 were German agents. When word reached Sweden
 
 240 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 the Stockholm government protested to the Allied 
 governments. The Allied consuls in Vladivostok were 
 instructed to appoint a committee to investigate the 
 charges and the conditions of the imprisonment of 
 the three Swedes. Before the committee was organized 
 a report reached Vladivostok from Khabarovsk to the 
 effect that the Swedes had escaped from jail and "dis- 
 appeared." The last word was significant. Whenever 
 any one "disappears" in Siberia, he never reappears. 
 Within a few days came other reports to the effect 
 that the Cossacks had murdered the Swedes and 
 destroyed their bodies. 
 
 It was obvious then that the Allies had to make an 
 investigation, and the committee was ordered to pro- 
 ceed to Khabarovsk at once, but it received word from 
 the Japanese General Staff before leaving Vladivostok, 
 that an Allied investigation was not necessary because 
 the Japanese staff in Khabarovsk was making a thor- 
 ough investigation. The result was that the Allies 
 were never permitted to investigate, and they never 
 received a report from the Japanese investigators. 
 
 At this time a Japanese officer, General Nakashima, 
 was working in Siberia in a secret capacity under orders 
 from the Japanese War Office in Tokyo. He had a 
 large secret fund at his disposal, and he was known 
 to have very close connections with both Kalmykoff 
 and Semenov although he was technically not under 
 the jurisdiction of General Otani, the Allied supreme 
 commander in Vladivostok. The Allies soon obtained 
 proof that General Nakashima was using money hi 
 Siberia in a way which was calculated to bring about 
 more disorder and confusion.
 
 o
 
 JAPANESE ACTIVITIES IN SIBERIA 241 
 
 By November 2, there were so many activities of 
 the Japanese in Siberia which were causing dissension 
 and disunion that Secretary of State Lansing, having 
 all the data in his possession, sent for Viscount Ishii, 
 the Japanese ambassador hi Washington. The envoy 
 came to the State Department about four o'clock one 
 afternoon, and Mr. Lansing called his attention to 
 various facts which he had about the obstructive tac- 
 tics of the Japanese military party in Siberia, pointing 
 out the violation of the original agreement regarding 
 the number of troops, showing how the settlement of 
 the railroad problem was being postponed by Japan's 
 opposition, and calling the ambassador's attention to 
 the work of General Nakashima. The secretary of 
 state pointed out the obvious outcome of the develop- 
 ments in Siberia if the Japanese military party was 
 permitted by the Japanese Government to continue 
 its policies and activities in Siberia. Just what words 
 the secretary used to impress Viscount Ishii with the 
 seriousness of the situation I do not know. One 
 version is that he told the Japanese ambassador that 
 he hoped the work of the military party would not 
 cause a break in the good relations between the United 
 States and Japan, and another version says that the 
 secretary pointed out how the activities of the Jap- 
 anese military party were very similar to those of the 
 German war party, and that the latter had already 
 led to a war between Germany and the United States. 
 
 Viscount Ishii returned to the embassy in Washing- 
 ton, and despatched a long code message to Tokyo 
 which arrived there on Sunday night. As is customary, 
 Secretary Lansing sent a copy of his remarks to Am-
 
 242 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 bassador Roland S. Morris, in Tokyo, for the informa- 
 tion of the ambassador. 
 
 On Monday morning Ambassador Morris called 
 at the Tokyo Foreign Office only to be informed that 
 the minister of foreign affairs could not see him for 
 two or three days. 
 
 During these critical days of early November there 
 was a political storm in Japan. Information as to the 
 attitude of the United States quickly reached the Japa- 
 nese statesmen and business men, through the Foreign 
 Office. Word was sent, too, to the Japanese War and 
 Navy Departments, and a series of conferences were 
 begun which were to determine the future relations 
 between the United States and Japan. The "war 
 party" was in favor of defying America. The business 
 interests and peace statesmen, who learned for the 
 first time of the activities of the Japanese army in 
 Siberia, sided with the United States. For three days 
 the debate continued and during this period no one 
 knew whether war or peace was ahead. 
 
 But the sane elements of Japan triumphed. The 
 "war party" met its first great defeat at the hands 
 of its own people. The Japanese Government tele- 
 graphed new orders to General Otani immediately. 
 He was instructed to send back to Japan 35,000 sol- 
 diers. A few days later another order was sent to him 
 in Vladivostok ordering the return of 17,000 men. 
 Another order still was despatched recalling General 
 Nakashima to Tokyo. 
 
 After most of these troops had left Siberia General 
 Inagaki, second chief of staff of the Japanese Gen- 
 eral Staff in Vladivostok, a gentleman and a diplomat
 
 JAPANESE ACTIVITIES IN SIBERIA 243 
 
 who was with General Otani, was not in thorough sym- 
 pathy with the tactics of General Nakashima, called 
 upon Major-General William S. Graves, the American 
 commander, to express the regrets of the Japanese 
 staff for past practices and to state that hereafter Japan 
 and the United States would work together hi com- 
 plete harmony in Siberia. 
 
 For the present it looked as if the victory in Japan 
 over the "war party" was complete, but those who 
 thought all difficulties were at an end underestimated 
 the influence of General Nakashima. He was the 
 chief politician of the Japanese military party. He 
 was Japan's " General Ludendorff," and when he ar- 
 rived in Tokyo another political storm appeared which 
 resembled a typhoon in its suddenness and effect. All 
 of the anti-American sentiment in Japan came to his 
 support. The military and naval parties united, and 
 for a time it looked as if the Cabinet might fall be- 
 cause of the opposition of these two groups. In the 
 United States, perhaps, the extent of this power is 
 not realized but it can be easily explained. 
 
 According to the Japanese custom and law no Cabinet 
 can be formed without a secretary of war and a secre- 
 tary of the navy, chosen from the highest ranking 
 officers in the War and Navy Departments. These 
 two departments, combined, lead the "war party." 
 They control the secretaries of war and navy as long 
 as they are members of the Ministry, and they decide 
 whether a new forming Cabinet shall have their sup- 
 port. Thus, in practice, no Cabinet can be formed 
 and no Cabinet can live without the support of the 
 War and Navy Departments or the "war party."
 
 244 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 This club was in the hands of General Nakashima, 
 and many well-informed people believed that he was 
 on the point of wielding it with great power when 
 Germany collapsed and the armistice was signed. The 
 fall of the German military party was something 
 which the Japanese military and naval leaders never 
 expected and their power was so great, their astonish- 
 ment so complete that they would not believe the tele- 
 graph news of Germany's humiliation. For twenty- 
 four hours they prohibited the Japanese newspapers 
 from printing the terms of the naval armistice, and 
 withheld the details of the land armistice. Finally 
 when the news despatches were confirmed by official 
 telegrams they realized that, for the time being, their 
 fight was at an end and the "peace party" in Tokyo 
 could not be overthrown. 
 
 By the first part of January, however, the war 
 party again appeared on the political horizon, and 
 had a sufficient amount of influence with the Tokyo 
 Cabinet still to block the efforts of the United States, 
 acting on behalf of all other Allies, to bring about an 
 agreement as to the reorganization and operation of 
 the Trans-Siberian Railway. The Japanese military 
 party had been working secretly in Siberia despite 
 the events of early November. Through financial 
 and moral support of the Japanese, General Semenov 
 in Tchita was interfering with the transportation of 
 supplies to the Czecho-Slovak armies. Semenov was 
 refusing, also, to recognize the Kolchak dictatorship. 
 At one time the Czecho-Slovaks were on the point of 
 attacking Semenov when the Japanese stopped their 
 military trains. Major-General Gaida had already
 
 JAPANESE ACTIVITIES IN SIBERIA 245 
 
 sent a curt note to the Japanese commander in Tchita, 
 asking what attitude Japan would take if the Czechs 
 were forced to move against Semenov. 
 
 In January the State Department in Washington 
 was compelled again to bring the issue of the operation 
 of the Trans-Siberian Railway to a decision. Again 
 the attention of the Japanese Government was called 
 to the fact that a policy which the Allies had agreed 
 upon seven months previous was still undeveloped 
 because of the opposition of Japan's "war party." 
 
 At this time every Chamber of Commerce hi Japan, 
 every large importing and exporting house, every large 
 financial institution, and every statesman who had 
 been working for Japanese-American friendship united 
 in supporting that party in Japan which sought a 
 solution for the difficult Russian railroad problem and 
 an agreement was reached the understanding which 
 was announced by Acting-Secretary of State Polk in 
 Washington. By this agreement the Trans-Siberian 
 Railway was to be operated under the direction of an 
 Allied board and under the protection of an Allied 
 military staff. The Japanese "war party," for the 
 present at least, was impotent. 
 
 Now that the League of Nations is in process of 
 formation another important question develops with 
 regard to the policies of the league in Russia, and 
 one of the first questions which may face the league 
 may be whether the Japanese military party is to be 
 permitted to send these forces into Siberia. It will 
 be a concrete issue which will test, almost immediately 
 after its formation, the power and authority of the 
 league. Japan has been sharply divided by the ques-
 
 246 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 tion of a League of Nations. The present Japanese 
 Government supports it, but the "war party" con- 
 tinues its opposition and the influence of that party 
 with the anti-American press of Japan is very great. 
 
 The great peace leaders of Japan, however, are ex- 
 pected to win out in any fight which develops in Japan 
 in the future with the militarists. 
 
 It is not necessary to go into further detail about 
 Japan's activities in Siberia, for in this volume my 
 object is not to discuss Japanese- American politics, 
 but to follow the trail of the Bolsheviki. The past 
 attitude of Japan's military party was one of the 
 reasons the Allies could not agree upon policies in Si- 
 beria and Russia. It was one of the reasons for a lack 
 of Allied unity, and one cause for the growth of Bol- 
 shevism and the resumption of the trail of the Reds 
 across Siberia. Happily at the Paris Conference many 
 of the disturbing questions of Siberia and the East 
 have been discussed, and the "war party" of Japan is 
 expected to disappear with the jingo parties of the 
 other Powers.
 
 CHAPTER XII 
 BOLSHEVISM OUTSIDE OF RUSSIA 
 
 BEFORE the revolution of March, 1917, most of the 
 ties which bound the United States to Russia stretched 
 across the Atlantic. Before the war our interests in 
 Russia were centred hi Petrograd and Moscow. Si- 
 beria was a name but not a nation in reality. 
 
 To-day, while we still have a news interest, a polit- 
 ical interest, and, to a limited degree, financial interests 
 in European Russia, there are shuttles busy on the 
 Pacific stitching our western seaboard to the coast of 
 the extreme Northwest. New ties bind us to Russia 
 via the West. Sailing from San Francisco and Seattle, 
 Portland and Vancouver to-day are government trans- 
 ports and privately owned freighters and steamers 
 bound for the beautiful, deep-water harbor of Vladi- 
 vostok and Golden Horn Bay. Within a fortnight, 
 three weeks, or a month, depending upon the speed 
 of the vessels, they will be tied up to the docks of Si- 
 beria. As they swim across the arc of the Pacific they 
 pass other ships bound for the United States and 
 Canada; ships which a short while before left the rocky 
 cliffs of Russia for the Sea of Japan and the Pacific. 
 These ships are weaving a net of trade routes between 
 western America and eastern Russia, a net of trade 
 which is the garment of progress. They span the 
 Pacific from the Golden Gate to the Golden Horn. 
 
 247
 
 248 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 Sailing from San Francisco for Siberia I was im- 
 pressed, as many Americans are, by the distance be- 
 tween the two continents, but as I returned to Seattle, 
 believing that I had left the trail of the Bolsheviki in 
 Russia, I crossed it again in that seaport city of Wash- 
 ington, and I realized that Bolshevism had crossed 
 the Pacific and that the distance of space and time 
 were no longer barriers to the radicalism of the East. 
 Russia and Bolshevism were not as far from the United 
 States as I had imagined. Bolshevism had spread to 
 Seattle, via Siberia, as it had crossed European 
 Russia to Austria, Rumania, Germany, Bavaria, 
 France, England, and Italy. Siberia, the land of "Nit- 
 chevo," which was a vision before I went there, was a 
 reality when I returned, a real country, inhabited by 
 real people with desperately real problems and pos- 
 sibilities. Bolshevism which seemed to be an Eastern 
 menace only last year, now threatened America and 
 the world. 
 
 With the signing of the armistice, instead of col- 
 lapsing with the Central Powers, as was expected, and 
 as might have happened, had their been action, instead 
 of Allied indecision in Siberia, Bolshevism spread 
 throughout the universe so that its trail glistened over 
 the face of the globe like the tracks of the silkworm. 
 Beginning in Minsk, Russia, at a conference in 1898, 
 the trail extended over plains and mountains from 
 Russia to Scandinavia and Europe; from Siberia to 
 the United States and Canada. 
 
 Bolshevism is spreading to-day because it is a revo- 
 lutionary movement similar to a world storm, which 
 gains strength and volume as it travels; which de-
 
 BOLSHEVISM OUTSIDE OF RUSSIA 249 
 
 stroys as it goes and which leaves unstable social, in- 
 dustrial, and political conditions in its wake. 
 
 Why does this revolution succeed? 
 
 Why are efforts made to have the League of Na- 
 tions recognize the Bolshevist regime in Russia? 
 
 What is the secret of Bolshevism which makes it 
 succeed where other policies and governments fail? 
 
 If Bolshevism follows the failure of other policies, 
 what will follow Bolshevism? 
 
 One is disturbed by these questions in Russia. When 
 I arrived in Vladivostok in the late summer of 1918, 
 I found the sentiment almost unanimous against the 
 Bolsheviki. The Allies, the Czechs, and the Russians 
 neither sympathized with nor approved of the Bol- 
 shevist platform. Still, after they had been there a 
 few months, after they had seen the difficulties before 
 the reconstruction o^ Russia, after they had seen the 
 limits of their own ability, they had tempered their 
 judgment of the Bolsheviki, and by the beginning of 
 1919, most of the Allied soldiers wished to leave Rus- 
 sia. The sentiment among the Allied officials was 
 still divided, but the feeling was growing that the Allies 
 would ultimately have to withdraw and let Russia 
 work out her own reconstruction problems without 
 either the assistance or the handicap of foreign bel- 
 ligerent forces. 
 
 It is not difficult to understand the reasons for this 
 change of sentiment. It may be illustrated by an 
 incident which happened to me in Khabarovsk. I 
 was riding hi a droshky from the station through the 
 village to the headquarters of the American regiment 
 under command of Colonel Styer. The old man who
 
 250 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 was driving the carriage was an ex-soldier. His home 
 had been hi European Russia, but after the revolution 
 when he left the army he returned to his home, and 
 finding a great deal of unemployment, he decided to 
 venture into Siberia. I asked him, as I asked a number 
 of droshky drivers, why he did not join the Russian 
 army to fight the Bolsheviki. 
 
 "Nitchevo," he said. He did not wish to worry 
 abojut fighting any more when he could earn a living 
 with his Siberian pony and Odessa carriage. 
 
 "Well, how did you like it here when the Bolsheviki 
 were in power?" I asked him. 
 
 "Not so bad," he answered. 
 
 "You know the Bolsheviki made a droshky driver 
 one of the commissars!" 
 
 The confession of this poor workman shed an in- 
 teresting and true light upon one of the chief reasons 
 for the success of Bolshevism in Russia. The Bol- 
 sheviki made the common people government officials, 
 gave them part of the responsibility of administra- 
 tion a voice in the affairs of the government. 
 
 Russia, for centuries, has been not only an oppressed 
 nation, but a country where none of the poor or 
 middle-class and even thousands of educated citizens 
 had anything to do with the government itself. The 
 idea of the Russian state before the revolution was 
 that the mass of humanity was made to be ruled 
 by a small class. Following the revolution, the idea 
 of democracy appeared, and the situation was changed. 
 There was a feeling that the mass should rule itself 
 and determine its own government by election. But 
 the radical change from an autocracy to a democ-
 
 BOLSHEVISM OUTSIDE OF RUSSIA 251 
 
 racy brings with it tremendous handicaps because 
 success in government is essentially a matter of pre- 
 cedent, and there were no precedents to guide the 
 new democracy of Russia. So the provisional gov- 
 ernments failed, and the Bolsheviki came into power 
 with their platform that society as it had existed was 
 founded upon the wrong basis, and that the future 
 could only be made secure if the past were forgotten 
 and the present destroyed. The Bolsheviki carried 
 the nation from one extreme to another, instead of 
 arguing that the mass was created to be led by a class 
 which it maintained by its work, the Bolsheviki said 
 that the mass was created to work for itself and to 
 maintain only its own leaders in power by military 
 force. What the old Russian of Khabarovsk meant 
 when he said that -he approved of Bolshevism, was 
 not that he approved the doctrine of Bolshevism but 
 he approved of the democracy of government, which 
 enables the simple, uneducated, inexperienced car- 
 riage-driver to have a part in the government. 
 
 One can understand how Bolshevism might readily 
 succeed in autocratic countries, but why Bolshevism 
 should develop and increase in countries where there 
 are parliamentary and representative governments is 
 more difficult to explain. We find Bolshevism growing 
 in the United States, and we imagine that it is due to 
 the propaganda of the Soviet representatives in this 
 country. But what we have in the United States is 
 not a party which believes in the Bolshevism of Rus- 
 sia, but a class of working people and factory directors, 
 school-teachers and college professors who are dis- 
 satisfied with the present government, and disap-
 
 252 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 pointed because of the imperfections of the democracy, 
 the slow methods of change, and a system of party 
 "bosses" who control the government for business 
 interests. 
 
 The trail of the Bolsheviki in the United States goes 
 through our factories and our schools. It is some- 
 thing of a fad. Any one who says anything against 
 the existing order is called a Bolshevik. Those who 
 talk of great industrial changes are placed in the same 
 class. In a drug-store in New York I heard the pro- 
 prietor shout to the boy behind the soda-water counter, 
 "You are a Bolshevik" because the boy had burned 
 the bottom out of the hot chocolate cooking utensil, 
 because he had failed to fill it up the night before with 
 water, and turn out the gas. 
 
 In a professional office in New York in March, two 
 employees who had been with the concern over ten 
 years asked for a conference with the president. One 
 of the men was earning a salary of $14,000 and the 
 other had an income of $20,000, annually, out of this 
 business. They informed the head of the concern 
 they believed his business was run on the wrong prin- 
 ciple, and that the 250 employees had decided that 
 the business really belonged to them, because they 
 had been the ones to build it up, and that they thought 
 the business should be reorganized and run by a com- 
 mittee appointed by the employees. The president 
 was informed that he would be considered one of the 
 employees, and that he would have a voice with the 
 others in the management of the business ! 
 
 One can easily imagine the astonishment of a suc- 
 cessful business man when he was confronted by such
 
 BOLSHEVISM OUTSIDE OF RUSSIA 253 
 
 a statement from two of his oldest and most successful 
 employees. He asked them whether they felt that 
 they ought to have an increase in salary, but neither 
 of them desired an increase. He asked them what 
 had given them the idea that they had a right to ask 
 for the business, and they said that they had just been 
 discussing the matter with the other employees and 
 they felt that in the reorganization of industry in the 
 United States all businesses should be turned over to 
 those who work and taken out of the hands of the old 
 directors. 
 
 The proprietor of this business house waited several 
 weeks to watch the developments and discuss the 
 matter with his employees because he was anxious to 
 know what was responsible for this radical suggestion. 
 Finally in conference with his general manager he 
 learned that the employees knew that he was carry- 
 ing a balance of one quarter of a million dollars in the 
 bank, without interest. They knew that this money 
 had been earned by the corporation, and they felt 
 that if this money was not needed by the directors 
 and not needed to run the business, because money 
 could always be borrowed from the banks to conduct 
 the business, that the surplus ought to be divided 
 among the employees ! 
 
 In Cleveland, the board of directors of a large manu- 
 facturing institution held a meeting to decide about 
 the disposition of a surplus fund which they were carry- 
 ing. The directors had practically agreed upon the 
 voting of an extra dividend, when the general manager 
 of the business, who is also a director, arose and in- 
 formed the directors that it would be impossible for
 
 254 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 them to dispose of this fund in the manner contem- 
 plated. 
 
 "I have been the general manager of this business, 
 and you gentlemen have relied upon me to keep labor 
 in line," he said, in substance, to his fellow directors. 
 
 "I have been able to do this only by explaining to 
 the workers your balance-sheet by showing them 
 that the profits of this business have been divided 
 equally between employees and employers. The em- 
 ployees know by your balance-sheet that you have 
 this surplus on hand, and they are watching to see 
 what disposition you will make of it. 
 
 "If this surplus is divided, gentlemen, it will have 
 to be on a fifty-fifty basis, one-half to labor and one- 
 half to capital." 
 
 These two incidents of what we look upon as Bol- 
 shevism in the United States, I encountered trailing 
 the Bolsheviki upon my return from Siberia. 
 
 After I had travelled from Seattle to New York and 
 from the Atlantic coast west again to Philadelphia, 
 Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Indianapolis, St. Louis, Chicago, 
 Des Moines, and Kansas City, I learned that there 
 was a definite revolutionary organization at work in 
 the great industrial centres striving to bring about 
 national strikes, set at present for July fourth and No- 
 vember first as demonstrations for Debs and Mooney. 
 I learned that "masked balls" were being organized 
 among the working people, and that after the dancing 
 and celebrating an agitator spoke of the plans for a 
 national strike. By May, I was reliably informed, 
 four million letters had been sent to workers by this 
 strike organization.
 
 BOLSHEVISM OUTSIDE OF RUSSIA 255 
 
 In Switzerland I found similar tracks. Switzerland 
 is an industrial country. The life of Switzerland is in 
 her industries. Business is the power which drives 
 the nation ahead, and still there is the trail of Bol- 
 shevism hi that country despite its democratic form 
 of government and despite the fact that Switzerland 
 is the k oldest republic in the world. The employees 
 of the big factories have been in communication with 
 the Russian revolutionists hi Switzerland, and there 
 is a strong anticapitalistic sentiment growing in that 
 country. Bolshevism in Switzerland is not caused 
 by a lack of food, nor by a lack of work nor because 
 of a scarcity of the comforts of life. Food and cloth- 
 ing, all kinds of household articles and supplies, are 
 obtainable in Switzerland, but prices are extremely 
 high, as they are all over Europe. So we cannot look 
 for the causes of Bolshevism hi this little republic as 
 being due to chaotic conditions or an imperialistic 
 form of government. The explanation can be found 
 elsewhere, and it is hi the simple belief of the working 
 people that the factories and industries belong to them, 
 just as the government belongs to them. Essentially 
 it is a Socialistic movement, just as Bolshevism orig- 
 inally sprang from the Socialist platform of Karl 
 Marx. But the new Socialists contend that they can 
 only be successful in then* industrial revolution by 
 completely overturning society and business and gov- 
 ernment by destroying the world in order to rebuild 
 it. 
 
 In England, what is spoken of as Bolshevism, is 
 essentially not Bolshevism at all, but a demand of the 
 working people for a greater share in the profits of
 
 256 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 industry and for greater responsibility in the manage- 
 ment of business. 
 
 Thus, Bolshevism as a world doctrine is assuming 
 a different form all over the world, but the trail which 
 it makes is everywhere the same, the trail of revolu- 
 tion. That there must be and will be a great change 
 in industry and business, in government and society 
 during the next decade is obvious: the change is 
 inevitable. But the growth of Bolshevism outside of 
 Russia and possibly central Europe is artificial. Those 
 who talk Bolshevism in this country, or in England, 
 or in Switzerland merely use the Russian word to de- 
 fine this extensive public demand for changed con- 
 ditions. The solution of these industrial problems, as 
 a solution of international political dispute, cannot 
 be forecast. Only the tendency of the times may be 
 indicated, and the one factor which appears at the 
 bottom of nearly every political and industrial dis- 
 pute is secrecy. Where there has been secret diplo- 
 macy practised by the world governments, there has 
 been suspicion among the people and foreign Powers. 
 In a sense, a similar secrecy has been practised in our 
 industries, and we are only now beginning to notice 
 the decided reaction. 
 
 Secrecy is one of the fascinating facts of life. Russia 
 has been fed on secrecy for so many decades that the 
 temperment of the people has been affected to a serious 
 extent. Even before the war, there was a press censor- 
 ship in Russia, and during the war this censorship 
 was extended to such ridiculous proportions that the 
 mass of people relied upon rumor for information about 
 the war, conditions in the country, and the policies of
 
 BOLSHEVISM OUTSIDE OF RUSSIA 257 
 
 the government more than upon the statements hi 
 the newspapers or the official announcements. All 
 information travelled by rumor, and the result was 
 that there was suspicion of government authorities 
 everywhere and a lack of confidence in anything the 
 government stated. This was one of the greatest fac- 
 tors in the revolution. The censorship which was 
 organized for the purpose of keeping information from 
 the enemy and of sustaining the morale of the people 
 became a sort of cloak under which the Bolshevist 
 agitation developed and spread. Wherever there is 
 secrecy, in government or business, the result is the 
 same. 
 
 In the industrial centres of such representative gov- 
 ernments as the American, the British, and the Swiss, 
 Bolshevism as an industrial doctrine has been spread- 
 ing because of the censorship of the directors of our 
 industries, which they have maintained by withholding 
 information from the employees about the factory 
 itself. The employee has been considered, too often, 
 simply as a tool to be used so many hours a day and 
 paid for the day's work. But employees are human 
 and they have naturally had an interest in the business 
 itself, even if that interest has been the interest of an 
 employee who was wondering how much the directors 
 were making out of his labor. This secrecy has bred 
 suspicion and nourished radicalism. 
 
 John Galsworthy declared in New York that "un- 
 derstanding is one of the greatest things in life," 
 and designated the chief qualities of the Anglo- 
 Saxon peoples as " energy and common sense." Un- 
 derstanding is what the world is coming to, because
 
 258 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 of the universal feeling of its need. A League of Na- 
 tions is only the name for an organization to bring 
 about an understanding between world governments. 
 Bolshevism is only a Russian name for a revolutionary 
 movement to bring about an understanding among 
 the proletariat. 
 
 The world movement which is discernible in every 
 country is basically an expression of human sentiment 
 seeking understanding. It has been suggested that 
 open diplomacy will solve many international disputes, 
 but it will be decades before anything like open diplo- 
 macy may be practised because suspicion is not national 
 but personal, and wherever there are suspicious officials 
 there will be suspicious governments. The only way 
 such a situation can be effected is through public 
 opinion. The inclination of statesmen is the same 
 as that of industrial leaders who are looking forward 
 to the time when free diplomacy may be not only prac- 
 tised in foreign politics but applied to industry. The 
 quintessence of world-wide revolutionary movement 
 is mutual understanding. 
 
 That trail of the Bolsheviki which I have crossed 
 and recrossed in Europe, Asia, and United States, is 
 not only a trail of discontent but the track of expec- 
 tancy. To swing from autocracy to Bolshevism is to 
 go from one extreme to the opposite, and neither of 
 them are related at all to the normal. The senseless 
 demands of the radicals find no support among the 
 great mass of people in any country where the facts 
 can be shown. Facts are the deadliest arguments 
 against reaction and revolution, but the Bolshevists 
 are masters at propaganda because in Russia, for in-
 
 BOLSHEVISM OUTSIDE OF RUSSIA 259 
 
 stance, their campaign has been conducted for twenty- 
 one years entirely by propaganda. The success of 
 Bolshevism is closely related to the propaganda ap- 
 peals which they distribute throughout the country. 
 In Russia I found a copy of an appeal addressed to 
 Hungarian prisoners by the Magyar section of the 
 Russian Communalistic party. This document will 
 show something of the propaganda methods of the 
 Bolsheviki, and in every line one can discern not the 
 statement of facts but of opinions. 
 
 A translation of this " Appeal to Hungarian Prisoners 
 to take Arms," reads: 
 
 "Comrades! An enormous danger is approaching 
 us. The Czech formations which were bought by the 
 Tzar, and afterward by the government of Kerensky, 
 have sold themselves to the counter-revolutionary 
 Russian bourgeoisie. Under the pretense of being 
 despatched to the French front, they are travelling to 
 the heart of Siberia, to the grain-producing regions. 
 When they saw they were many, they treacherously 
 fell upon the Soviet authority and introduced in Chel- 
 iabinsk a regime of terror. They shot and robbed 
 the town, and the Soviet who attacked unexpectedly, 
 were not in a position to resist. Seizing the power, 
 they began a bloody reckoning with the prisoners. 
 If some Magyar or German prisoners of war fell into 
 their hands, not one was left alive. They murdered 
 mercilessly under the influence of national hatred. 
 This corrupted miserable band sprang from Chel- 
 iabinsk to Omsk. The Omsk-Soviet of workmens' 
 and soldiers' deputies took steps to prevent this dan-
 
 260 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 gerous company from reaching here. To meet them 
 was sent out a delegation for negotiation accompanied 
 by two hundred Red Guards. According to the order 
 of the commissary for foreign affairs, they were told 
 to lay down their arms. The rascals did not submit 
 to the order, and began to fire at the Red Guards. A 
 fight- ensued Comrades Rakop and Babka were taken 
 prisoner and slaughtered without mercy. In every 
 place hitherto occupied by them, they have opened 
 fire on the German-Magyar prisoners and slaughtered 
 mercilessly whoever fell into their hands. Savage 
 national hatred has transformed them into mad ani- 
 mals, and now they wish to take into their hands our 
 fate. 
 
 "Comrades! It must not be permitted that we sit 
 idly like dolls while this band fastens itself on our necks. 
 The Soviet has decided to defend itself. The Omsk 
 proletariat is fighting against the Czech formations 
 at Marianofka. But the Soviet forces are insufficient. 
 Every moment threatens danger, and therefore we 
 must prepare for defense in the widest measure. Be- 
 fore us stands open the question: To exist or not to 
 exist. The Soviet has placed at the disposition of the 
 central organization 1,000 rifles. These thousand 
 rifles we must use if we wish to guard ourselves and 
 the Russian revolution, which is our ally and the basis 
 of our future revolution. 
 
 " Comrades ! The leaders of the country call to arms. 
 Every organized workman must take arms. As soon 
 as we shatter the formations, peaceful relations will 
 again ensue and we will lay down our arms, but until 
 then we must hold them in our hands.
 
 BOLSHEVISM OUTSIDE OF RUSSIA 261 
 
 "Comrades! The innocent blood of our brothers 
 must be avenged. Our lives and the salvation of future 
 proletarianism demands that we honorably take our 
 place in the fight of the Omsk proletariat. 
 "Each foreign organized proletarian to armsP 
 "Long live the world revolution begun by the Rus- 
 sian proletariat ! 
 
 "Away with the corrupted troops falling upon us! 
 "Long live the victorious proletariat dictaturel 
 "Long live the arrned foreign proletariat! 
 
 'THE MAGYAK SECTION OF THE RUSSIA 
 COMMUNALISTrC PARTY." 
 
 In Canada and the United States the Bolshevist 
 propaganda spreads like proverbial wild fire. The 
 head of the Canadian Department of Public Safety 
 stated in February that there was a large Bolshevist 
 element in that country, which if not dealt with 
 promptly "will almost of a certainty lead to trouble 
 which may assume most serious proportions and con- 
 sequences." When I arrived in Seattle a revolutionary 
 strike had been declared there by strikers who were 
 only prevented from taking over the city government 
 by the sanity of union labor and the courage of the 
 mayor. The Department of Labor in Washington 
 estimates that there are 6,000 Bolshevist agitators in 
 the United States, and the American Government per- 
 mits official representatives of the Bolsheviki to open 
 offices in New York although neither Lenin nor Trotsky 
 will permit any American officials in Petrograd or 
 Moscow. 
 
 In April the American public was astonished by
 
 262 
 
 reports of the mutiny of United States troops in the 
 Archangel district of northern Russia, and the War De- 
 partment, confirming press despatches, gave out copies 
 of propaganda documents appealing to class hatred of 
 Allied troops. 
 
 One appeal was addressed directly to the British 
 soldiers sent against the Russian Reds. It was of- 
 ficially issued by the " Russian Socialist Soviet Repub- 
 lic," and was signed by "Lenin, President of the Coun- 
 cil, People's Commissary", and "Tchitcherin, People's 
 Commissary of Foreign Affairs." This appeal said: 
 
 'Fellow Worker: Do you thoroughly realize what 
 you are doing when you advance against us? 
 
 'You have not come here to fight for liberty. You 
 have come here to crush it. You have not come here 
 to establish the rule of the people. You have come 
 here to overthrow it. 
 
 "You know that Russia was, up till last year, ruled 
 by the most brutal, tyrannical and corrupt autocracy 
 known to history. You have known of the terrible 
 struggle we have had against our tyrants; of the im- 
 prisonments, of the hangings, of the deportations to 
 the mines of Siberia. 
 
 "You, British fellow workers, sympathized with us 
 then, and often helped us. 
 
 "Did you not rejoice when we overthrew Tzarism? 
 You did. Yet you have come here to restore it. 
 
 "It is the intention of the Tzarist officers who are 
 attached to your General Staff. When you obey their 
 orders you are carrying out their object. They are 
 not democrats. They are militarists and monarchists. 
 They have a supreme contempt for the people, and
 
 BOLSHEVISM OUTSIDE OF RUSSIA 263 
 
 they believe that they alone have the right to rule. 
 They hate our revolution and want to crush it. 
 
 "English fellow workers, don't do it!" 
 
 A second poster signed by the same officials gave 
 these reasons which they said the Allies had advanced 
 for having sent troops to Russia: 
 
 "That they have come to stamp out anarchy and 
 restore order. 
 
 "That they have come to help the Russian peo- 
 ple. 
 
 "That the Allied invasion of Russia is welcomed by 
 the Russian people." 
 
 These declarations are printed in large type, each 
 followed by the words "It is Not True." 
 
 The British and French Governments are said to 
 be "responsible for what disorder there is in Russia. 
 Your government does not want to help the Russian 
 people. It is helping to fasten the yoke of capitalism 
 and Tzarism on them again." 
 
 Nothing is said regarding the assassination of Tzar 
 Nicholas and his family which the Bolsheviki officially 
 announced. 
 
 "Do not put your trust in this reactionary gang," 
 continues the second poster. "Do not permit your- 
 selves to be used as tools of the enemies of liberty. 
 Fellow workers, be loyal to your class and refuse to 
 do the dirty work of your masters. 
 
 "Fellow workers, here is positive evidence of the 
 real purpose for which you were brought to Russia. 
 Be honorable men I Remain loyal to your class and 
 refuse to be accomplices of a great crime." 
 
 And Company I, 339th Infantry U. S. A., refused
 
 264 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 to go to the Bolshevist front in Russia as the Czecho- 
 slovaks refused six months earlier in Siberia ! 
 
 In following the trail of the Bolsheviki I have 
 found the propagandist always in the vanguard with 
 his appeal to class hatred. Bolshevism, he states, is 
 the rule of the proletariat, and the proletariat he 
 recognizes, is only one class of working people, but 
 there is something besides this propaganda of class 
 strife which causes Bolshevism to spread; there is 
 something more fundamental than the failure of gov- 
 ernments and the directing forces of industries. The 
 basis upon which Bolshevism makes its appeal to work- 
 ing people in such countries as England, France, and 
 the United States, Canada and Australia, if not in 
 Italy and Germany since the overthrow of the Kaiser, 
 is the Bolshevist claim to the slogan "an industrial 
 democracy." That is the bottom rock upon which 
 Bolshevism, as a political and industrial programme, 
 bases its success in democratic foreign countries. And, 
 "an industrial democracy" to the Bolshevists means 
 the destruction by revolution of all classes excepting 
 the labor element of society and the creation of an 
 industrial state where everything is taken over by 
 the Soviet. 
 
 In Article One, Chapter Two, Section 3 of the 
 Constitution of the Russian Socialist Federated Soviet 
 Republic, under the title "Declaration of the Rights 
 of the Laboring and Exploited People," is the follow- 
 ing: 
 
 "Bearing in mind as its fundamental problem the 
 abolition of exploitation of men by men, the entire 
 abolition of the division of the people into classes, the
 
 BOLSHEVISM OUTSIDE OF RUSSIA 265 
 
 suppression of exploiters, the establishment of a So- 
 cialist society, and the victory of Socialism in all lands, 
 the third All-Russian Congress of Soviets of Workers', 
 Soldiers' and Peasants' Deputies further resolves: 
 
 "A. For the purpose of realizing the socialization 
 of land, all private property in land is abolished, and 
 the entire land is declared to be apportioned among 
 husbandmen without any compensation to the former 
 owners, in the measure of each one's ability to till it. 
 
 "C. As a first step toward complete transfer of 
 ownership to the Soviet Republic of all factories, mills, 
 mines, railroads, and other means of production and 
 transportation, the Soviet law for the control of work- 
 men and the establishment of the Supreme Soviet of 
 National Economy is hereby confirmed, so as to as- 
 sure the power of the workers over the exploiters. 
 
 "D. With reference to international banking and 
 finance, the third congress of Soviets is discussing 
 the Soviet decree regarding the annulment of loans 
 made by the government of the Tzar, by landowners, 
 and the bourgeoisie, and it trusts that the Soviet Gov- 
 ernment will firmly follow this course until the final 
 victory of the international workers' revolt against 
 the oppression of capital." 
 
 These clauses hi the Bolshevist constitution confirm 
 the indictment of Bolshevism, that it proposes to "take 
 from those who have and give to those who have not" 
 by revolution not by readjustment, or compromise 
 or gradual change. There is no mistaking either the 
 method or the object of Bolshevism. Both are stated 
 clearly in the fundamental law of the Soviet Republic. 
 
 And, Bolshevism spreads in every country where
 
 266 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 there is discontent and dissatisfaction, social unrest 
 and agitation. 
 
 The red flag is the red emblem of revolution and it 
 may be seen to-day in practically every nation in the 
 world. I saw it in Russia, in Germany, in Seattle, in 
 Chicago, in France, in Switzerland, in Austria, in Mex- 
 ico, and in Spain. The flag of Soviet internationalism 
 has preceded the establishment of every revolutionary 
 government in Europe, and the grave problem facing 
 world governments and world peoples to-day is: 
 
 "Can a League of Nations, or democratic represen- 
 tative national governments or reorganized industrial 
 standards stop the revolution?" 
 
 That there is a conflict between Bolshevism and a 
 union of world governments is evident. That the 
 trail of Bolshevism encircles the globe is equally clear, 
 and in this crisis in the development of the world to- 
 day the decision as to the final outcome does not rest 
 alone upon those who direct governments and indus- 
 tries but also upon those who vote and labor. 
 
 Under these circumstances what will be the out- 
 come?
 
 CHAPTER XIII 
 THE RUSSIAN CO-OPERATIVE UNIONS 
 
 BECAUSE the trail of the Bolshevik! is world-wide 
 does not mean that all days of the future will be 
 sinister ones. Even hi Russia there are clouds with 
 silver linings. Despite appearances and the propa- 
 ganda of the Bolshevists there is one organization in 
 that country which is stronger numerically, financially, 
 economically and morally than the Soviets. It is the 
 Russian Co-operative Unions, or Consumers' Societies, 
 with a membership of 20,000,000 heads of families, 
 controlling 50,300 shops, stores, factories, mills, and 
 warehouses in all parts of Russia. And this group of 
 business units is not alone important for its material 
 strength, but because during the past two years it has 
 been fighting the Bolshevist decree abolishing private 
 ownership in property a contest which resulted in a 
 victory for the Co-operatives whose members refused to 
 permit the Soviets to confiscate their holdings in 
 Russia. 
 
 At a time when the situation in Russia was about 
 as discouraging and hopeless as it ever was, or could 
 be, there appeared in England, France, and the United 
 States representatives of this non-political organiza- 
 tion with a plan of action in Russia which was con- 
 sidered at the Paris Conference, and which may be 
 the means for a League of Nations to begin its recon- 
 struction work in northern Europe and Asia. 
 
 267
 
 268 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 In an earlier chapter I referred to the conflict be- 
 tween the Soviet and the Co-operatives over the opera- 
 tion of the mills of Moscow. Representatives of these 
 unions who have arrived in New York confirm the 
 reported outcome of the struggle over the question of 
 the confiscation of the union property in Russia. 
 They state that although the Soviet Federal Consti- 
 tution provides for the confiscation of all property 
 this was not executed against the Co-operatives. 
 
 This is, in fact, the biggest defeat the Soviet Gov- 
 ernment has suffered in Russia. It was a direct blow 
 to their plans for an industrial democracy which Lenin 
 himself acknowledged in a recent pamphlet which he 
 wrote to explain why Bolshevism as an industrial pro- 
 gramme had failed. The Bolsheviki, however, have 
 been endeavoring to obtain support outside of Russia 
 by contending that the industries which are now being 
 operated in Russia are being operated by Soviets and 
 workers, which is not a statement of fact. What in- 
 dustrial life there is in Russia to-day is due entirely 
 to the work of the members of the Co-operatives, who 
 have steadfastly refused to work for the Bolshevist 
 government and who have been and are now running 
 their factories, stores, and mills entirely on behalf of 
 the unions without any help or interferences from the 
 Soviets. 
 
 This utter failure of the Bolshevist industrial mil- 
 lennium, as planned by Lenin and Trotsky, is un- 
 doubtedly the greatest indictment of the practicability 
 of Bolshevism as an industrial reconstruction pro- 
 gramme about which the outside world has been able 
 to learn. And the credit for this, if due to any one
 
 RUSSIAN CO-OPERATIVE UNIONS 269 
 
 organization, belongs to the Co-operatives, whose 
 members have remained firm and unyielding in their 
 opposition to the confiscation of their property. 
 
 In Omsk, Irkutsk, Ekaterinburg, Vladivostok, and 
 other Russian cities I visited the stores of the Co-opera- 
 tive Unions, and although the supplies which they had 
 on hand of manufactured articles were very meagre 
 compared to the regular stocks, these stores were the 
 only ones having new things for sale to their members. 
 Every other store had only second-hand and worn 
 materials, books, shoes, samovars, cloths, and similar 
 articles. But in one of the Omsk Co-operative stores, 
 for instance, I found everything from cloth for dresses 
 to soap, schoolbooks, toys, furs, rubber goods, and 
 machinery for farmers and peasants. Everything 
 which might be of use to a Russian family, excepting 
 stocks which were exhausted, and there were many of 
 these, was handled by the Co-operative stores. But 
 in Omsk, Vladivostok, and Irkutsk, as in other Rus- 
 sian cities, neither the officials nor the members of the 
 unions were taking part in politics. The Omsk rep- 
 resentatives of the Co-operative Union were carrying 
 on then 1 business without any dealings with the gov- 
 ernment of Admiral Koltshak, and his officials were 
 not disturbing the activities of the Co-operatives just 
 as the Soviets under Lenin have long since ceased at- 
 tempting to interfere with the work of the societies 
 in European Russia. Neither Koltshak nor Lenin 
 have been able or willing to fight the Co-operatives 
 because they have grown to their present strength after 
 years of struggle with the Tzar's Government and 
 after repeated contests with the autocrats of his ad-
 
 270 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 ministration, out of which they have always emerged 
 successfully. 
 
 Because the conflict between the Bolshevists and 
 the Co-operatives has been centred almost entirely 
 upon the question of the rights of private property 
 the outcome has not only an important bearing upon 
 the situation in Russia but upon the Bolshevist propa- 
 ganda throughout the world. It being the chief de- 
 feat administered to Bolshevism in Russia, reports 
 of it naturally have not spread outside of that country, 
 but upon the arrival in the United States and Eng- 
 land of representatives of the Co-operatives, who have 
 been sent abroad by the Russian unions to purchase 
 manufactured goods in exchange for raw materials 
 or money, some additional details of the clash between 
 the Bolshevists and the Co-operatives have been given. 
 
 In Russia where community enterprises have been 
 common for decades the growth of the Co-operatives 
 has been very marked. In 1865 where there was but 
 one Co-operative society hi Russia, there were 800 in 
 England, and some 200 in Germany. Nine years later 
 when the number in England was doubled and Italy 
 had 1,013, Russia had but only 353. By 1917, however, 
 there were 39,753 Co-operative Unions hi Russia com- 
 pared to 12,000 in England and 10,000 hi Germany, 
 Japan, France, and Italy. The following year, despite 
 the revolutions of March and October, 1917, the number 
 of Co-operative societies increased to 50,000 while 300 
 regional unions were formed with an individual mem- 
 bership of 20,000,000 heads of families. Last year 
 these unions handled 8,000,000,000 roubles' worth of 
 materials.
 
 RUSSIAN CO-OPERATIVE UNIONS 271 
 
 ^ 
 
 While the societies, stores, and factories of the Co- 
 operatives are scattered throughout Russia and Si- 
 beria there are five central organizations, of which the 
 All-Russian Central Union of Consumers' Societies, 
 organized in 1898, is the largest. The capital of this 
 union alone is 100,000,000 roubles and they operate flour 
 and paper mills, candy, shoe, soap, chemical, match, 
 syrup, and tobacco factories, refrigerator plants, and 
 fisheries valued at some 800,000,000 roubles. The 
 financial centre of all the Co-operatives is the Moscow 
 People's Bank, founded in 1909 with 33 branches in 
 Russia, capitalized at 100,000,000 roubles, with deposits 
 amounting to 650,000,000 and loans aggregating 900,- 
 000,000 roubles, according to the last bank statement 
 of 1918 received in the United States. 
 
 The second oldest union is that of the Siberian 
 Creamery Associations, which has 27 branches hi 
 Siberia, and 3,000 factory plants and distributing 
 centres. The union operates factories for making 
 oil, rope, and soap, and for rebuilding agricultural 
 machinery, and when I left Vladivostok it had 20,- 
 000,000 roubles' worth of butter in cold-storage and 
 over 40,000,000 roubles' worth of grain, furs, and 
 other raw articles in warehouses and elevators. 
 
 Organized in 1915, during the war, the All-Russian 
 Co-operative Union of Flax Growers grew to an or- 
 ganization of forty-six unions with more than a million 
 and a half members by the beginning of 1918. In 
 1917, during the two revolutions, it collected 40,000 
 tons of flax, and distributed 3,000 tons of flaxseed to its 
 members. Last year these unions sold 18,000 tons of 
 flax in foreign countries, and the proceeds of this sale
 
 272 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 are being used in the United States and England to 
 purchase goods and machinery for use of the farmers 
 of Russia. This union, despite all the handicaps of dis- 
 turbed economic conditions in Russia, expects to ex- 
 port during the coming flax season about 55,000 tons 
 of flax valued at $38,500,000. 
 
 In 1918, while the Czecho-Slovak troops were fight- 
 ing their way across Siberia and while the United 
 States and Allies were landing troops in Vladivostok, 
 a union of Siberian Co-operative Unions was formed 
 by 9,162 local societies and a capital of nearly 30,- 
 000,000 roubles for the sole purpose of marketing 
 abroad lumber, meat, eggs, hemp, and dried vegetables. 
 This union has also gone into the fur business, and in 
 1918 bought from Siberian dealers more than 2,000,000 
 pelts. It is also operating paper, woollen and cotton 
 mills, potash, lanoline, and dye-oil factories, and ex- 
 pecte to develop the salt industry which promises to 
 be one of its biggest businesses because of the abun- 
 dance of salt in the lakes of Siberia and the great scarci- 
 ty of that article of food, for which the Siberian people 
 have had to depend almost entirely upon foreign ship- 
 ments. 
 
 This great 8,000,000,000 roubles business society has 
 been the only staple organization in Russia during 
 the past two years and two months of disorder and 
 social unrest. These societies are the only ones which 
 were able to defy the Soviets and refuse to permit the 
 confiscation of their property. Their holdings, which 
 are entirely the private property of the individual 
 members, have not been disturbed by the Bolshevists, 
 and as a result of two years of trial under abnormal
 
 RUSSIAN CO-OPERATIVE UNIONS 273 
 
 conditions which they have successfully weathered 
 they have sent official representatives abroad on eco- 
 nomic missions with the dual object of buying and 
 selling for its members in Russia and of bringing about 
 commercial intercourse between its societies and for- 
 eign manufacturers. And, as to the attitude of the 
 unions toward the United States and the Allies, it is 
 significant that they have endeavored to centre all 
 their business in Allied countries, with headquarters 
 in New York and London. 
 
 Their plan of action is purely economic. They wish 
 to ship to Russia clothing, household goods, and farm 
 implements. All of their purchases will be consigned 
 to the unions so that no possible benefit can come to 
 the Bolsheviki either directly or indirectly. After a 
 two-year contest with the Soviet Government the Co- 
 operatives have emerged stronger than the Soviets 
 themselves, and they are in a position to-day where 
 they can be of immense assistance to a League of Na- 
 tions in its reconstruction work in Russia. And from 
 present indications it appears as if the newly organized 
 world society of governments will seek to co-operate 
 with the consumers' societies after the peace treaty 
 is signed in Paris. 
 
 The development of the Co-operatives in Russia, 
 which was due to a great extent to the lack of private 
 commercial activity, promises to have a far-reaching 
 effect during the coming reconstruction period. To 
 have grown from an organization of 39,000 societies 
 under the Tzar, to have increased 11,000 more during 
 two revolutions and the disturbed conditions which 
 followed, and to have been successful in defeating the
 
 274 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 application of the Bolshevist decree confiscating private 
 property is to have made a record unequalled by any 
 business organization in any country during a great 
 international and civil war.
 
 CHAPTER XIV 
 THE FUTURE OF ; PEACE 
 
 TRAVELLING through Europe during the war I heard 
 in every neutral and belligerent country, tune and 
 time again, that magic word: "Revolution." In Spain, 
 Switzerland, France, England, Belgium, Germany, 
 Austria, Poland, Hungary, Rumania, and Scandinavia 
 revolutions were gossiped about in the streets, palaces, 
 and lobbies of Parliaments. The supreme aim of the 
 propaganda of each group of contesting Powers was 
 to cause internal industrial and political dissension 
 within the realms of their opponents. Their object 
 was to sow the seeds of revolution abroad and crush 
 them at home. The German propagandists I met in 
 Switzerland, Holland, Denmark, Spain, and Mexico 
 were but agents of the German Great Headquarters 
 carrying out instructions in the final attempt of the 
 Militarist of central Europe to destroy the fabric of 
 government and industry in France, England, Italy, 
 and the United States. Even President Wilson spoke 
 with the ardor and genius of a revolutionist when he 
 arbitrarily separated the "German people" from the 
 German Government," and the Allied statesmen ac- 
 cepted his leadership when they approved his ulti- 
 matum of October, 1918, that the associated Powers 
 would not make peace with the "King of Prussia." 
 
 Long before the Bolshevists were in control of Eu- 
 ropean Russia revolutions were advertised in the world. 
 Millions of dollars, francs, gulden, pounds, and marks 
 
 275
 
 276 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 were spent in Europe, Asia, and the Western Hemi- 
 sphere to bring about revolutions. But the object of 
 this propaganda was distinctly national. Each bel- 
 ligerent worked for a revolution in an enemy country. 
 They did not advocate a class war or a class revolu- 
 tion. 
 
 When the Bolshevists came to power in Petrograd 
 and Moscow they took advantage of this world revo- 
 lutionary agitation and began to advertise and labor 
 for a proletariat revolution. 
 
 As a result of the combined efforts of the statesmen 
 of belligerent countries during the war, and the leaders 
 of the Bolshevists preceding and following the signing 
 of the armistice, there is to-day a world-wide revolu- 
 tionary movement against all authority governmental, 
 industrial, and religious. In trailing the Bolsheviki in 
 Russia, and, in tracing its track across Europe, Asia, 
 and the United States, I have, in fact, not been fol- 
 lowing the route of Russian Bolshevism but of the 
 world revolution. 
 
 We are in the midst of that revolution to-day, but 
 because it has not taken the form of extreme violence 
 in the United States we do not recognize it. A revo- 
 lution of action, however, only follows a revolution of 
 opinion, and that which we call " revolutionary propa- 
 ganda" is but another name for the vanguard of a 
 revolution of destruction. 
 
 In brief, that is the condition which exists to-day, 
 and it is with this condition that the two reconstruction 
 forces, Bolshevism and a League of Nations, are con- 
 fronted. The one seeks to rebuild the world by razing 
 it; the latter by adjustment and evolution.
 
 THE FUTURE OF PEACE 277 
 
 Bolshevism has made such rapid progress during 
 the past year that at the very beginning of the period 
 of peace it appears to be the stronger. But I am con- 
 fident that this is only temporary. The Bolsheviki 
 have not yet succeeded in conquering any democratic 
 country. Bolshevism has spread most effectively hi 
 autocratic countries. In Russia, Hungary, and Ger- 
 many Bolshevism is the price the people are now pay- 
 ing for militaristic governments. The old German 
 cannons used to have the following legend stamped 
 on them: "The last resort of Kings." Before the 
 Tzar was overthrown the Russian peasants sang, "The 
 Funeral March of the Proletariat," because of the 
 oppression of the government. Bolshevism in these 
 countries is extreme reaction against extreme autoc- 
 racy. 
 
 Bolshevism in the United States, England, and 
 France is essentially industrial. It is a movement 
 against "industrial militarism," and it is still in the 
 early stages of a "revolution of opinion." There is 
 a universal feeling among all people that the world 
 after this war must be a different and a vastly better 
 world than it was before, but the mind of the mass of 
 people has not yet formulated a programme or plat- 
 form for the new reconstruction, but what is gradually 
 developing in this country and England is an "indus- 
 trial democracy" without the Bolshevist method of 
 destruction. 
 
 Lenin has stated that Russia's civil war would last 
 fifty years and that it would be fifty years before the 
 Soviets could control the world. 
 
 During a conversation in the late summer of 1918
 
 278 TRAILING THE BOLSHEVIKI 
 
 with Colonel Edward M. House this quiet observer 
 for President Wilson and American peace delegate 
 remarked that it might be fifty years after the signing 
 of peace before the world would know whether there 
 was to be, or could be, such a thing as universal peace. 
 And the point he made in this connection was that 
 the essential question for world governments to decide 
 was whether they desired to use this fifty-year period 
 to prepare for peace or another war. If they were 
 sincere in their wishes for peace then a League of Na- 
 tions would be an organization to aid them in realizing 
 their ideal. Before the armistice it was Colonel House's 
 idea that a League of Nations was to be considered a 
 League of Governments to prepare for peace. 
 
 If Lenin speaks for the Bolshevists and if the ideas 
 of Colonel House are shared by the statesmen of the 
 Peace Conference then for the next fifty years these 
 two reconstruction forces will clash. 
 
 After trailing the Bolsheviki, after following many 
 Allied armies and enemy forces in the field, and after 
 watching the fluctuations in public opinion through 
 the press of various former belligerent and neutral 
 countries I have come to the conclusion that this genera- 
 tion, and perhaps the next, will see the end of wars of 
 nations but the beginning of class conflicts. The latter 
 will develop in every country, not excluding the United 
 States, but hi each they will assume different forms 
 and formulate different demands. In those nations 
 whose governments are most reactionary, in those 
 industries whose directors are least progressive this 
 revolution of opinion may and probably will assume 
 the form of Bolshevist action.
 
 THE FUTURE OF PEACE 279 
 
 Like all great problems, the solution is largely a 
 matter of leadership. Bolshevism has always suc- 
 ceeded so far where governments and industrial leaders 
 failed. In Russia, Hungary, and Bavaria Bolshevism 
 succeeded because those who directed the old govern- 
 ments and businesses failed. While the experiences 
 of the Allies hi Siberia appear discouraging, while 
 then- failure to co-operate there was a direct aid to 
 the Bolshevists, this is not an indication of the future 
 course of a union of governments. When the people 
 of the world and the governmental leaders themselves 
 recognize that during the period of reconstruction 
 there can be only two forces: (1) a union of govern- 
 ments, or, (2) a union of Soviets, it will be easier for 
 governments to get together, for hi unity there is not 
 only strength but order, and the demand of the people 
 throughout the world is not disorder and Bolshevism, 
 but order, food, and work. 
 
 Bolshevism, while it succeeds where others fail, is a 
 programme of industrial failure, as has been demon- 
 strated already in Russia. Against the combined leader- 
 ship of men who have made democratic representative 
 governments a success, against the united leadership 
 of men who have built great industries and working 
 nations neither the Bolshevist form of government 
 nor the Bolshevist plan for an " industrial democracy" 
 will succeed, because there were democracies in Switzer- 
 land, England, and the United States centuries before 
 Bolshevism appeared, and during the past decade 
 the industrial establishments of these three countries 
 have been gradually transformed. "Industrial democ- 
 racies" are being realized in these countries without
 
 280 
 
 destruction of property and life, and of society and 
 government. 
 
 Militarism was the "last resort of Kings," and Bol- 
 shevism is the " Funeral March of the Proletariat." 
 
 Over the face of the globe winds the serpentine trail 
 of the Bolshevists. The United States and the Allied 
 governments, which have been successful against mili- 
 tarism, have now united in a League of Nations to 
 bring about world peace and to combat Bolshevism. 
 The outcome of this reconstruction war is as certain 
 as the finale of the contest between the two groups of 
 belligerents in the Great War. Trailing the Bolsheviki 
 this New World League, backed by Public Opinion, will 
 eventually encircle the globe. Bolshevism, a goblin of 
 reconstruction, will gradually disappear and Civiliza- 
 tion will advance safely and cautiously toward that 
 period of universal happiness which has been the dream 
 of prophets and the goal of all Mankind.
 
 APPENDIX A 
 
 The following is a translation of the Constitution of the "Rus- 
 sian Socialist Federated Soviet Republic," reprinted from The Na- 
 tion, of January 4, 1919 with a preamble containing a resolution 
 of the Fifth All-Russian Congress of Soviets, adopted on July 10, 
 1918! 
 
 The declaration of rights of the laboring and exploited people 
 (approved by the Third Ail-Russian Congress of Soviets in Jan- 
 uary 1918), together with the Constitution of the Soviet Republic, 
 approved by the Fifth Congress, constitutes a single fundamental 
 law of the Russian Socialist Federated Soviet Republic. 
 
 This fundamental law becomes effective upon the publication 
 of the same in its entirety in the " Izvestia of the All-Russian Gen- 
 eral Executive Committee." It must be published by all organs 
 of the Soviet Government and must be posted in a prominent place 
 in every Soviet institution. 
 
 The Fifth Congress instructs the People's Commissariat of Edu- 
 cation to introduce in ah 1 schools and educational institutions of 
 the Russian Republic the study and explanation of the basic prin- 
 ciples of this Constitution. 
 
 ARTICLE ONE 
 
 DECLARATION OP RIGHTS OP THE LABORING AND 
 EXPLOITED PEOPLE 
 
 Chapter One 
 
 1. Russia is declared to be a Republic of the Soviets of Workers', 
 Soldiers', and Peasants' Deputies. All the central and local power 
 belongs to these Soviets. 
 
 2. The Russian Soviet Republic is organized on the basis of a 
 free union of free nations, as a federation of Soviet national Re- 
 publics. 
 
 Chapter Two 
 
 3. Bearing in mind as its fundamental problem the abolition of 
 exploitation of men by men, the entire abolition of the division of 
 the people into classes, the suppression of exploiters, the estab- 
 
 281
 
 282 APPENDIX 
 
 lishment of a Socialist society, and the victory of socialism in all 
 lands, the Third All-Russian Congress of Soviets of Workers', Sol- 
 diers', and Peasants' Deputies further resolves: 
 
 a. For the purpose of realizing the socialization of land, all private 
 property in land is abolished, and the entire land is declared to be 
 national property and is to be apportioned among husbandmen 
 without any compensation to the former owners, in the measure 
 of each one's ability to till it. 
 
 b. All forests, treasures of the earth, and waters of general public 
 utility, all implements whether animate or inanimate, model farms 
 and agricultural enterprises, are declared to be national property. 
 
 c. As a first step towards complete transfer of ownership to the 
 Soviet Republic of all factories, mills, mines, railways, and other 
 means of production and transportation, the Soviet law for the 
 control by workmen and the establishment of the Supreme Soviet 
 of National Economy is hereby confirmed, so as to assure the power 
 of the, workers over the exploiters. 
 
 d. With reference to international banking and finance, the third 
 Congress of Soviets is discussing the Soviet decree regarding the 
 annulment of loans made by the Government of the Czar, by land- 
 owners and the bourgeoisie, and it trusts that the Soviet Govern- 
 ment will firmly follow this course until the final victory of the 
 international workers' revolt against the oppression of capital. 
 
 e. The transfer of all banks into the ownership of the Workers' 
 and Peasants' Government, as one of the conditions of the libera- 
 tion of the toiling masses from the yoke of capital, is confirmed. 
 
 f . Universal obligation to work is introduced for the purpose of 
 eliminating the parasitic strata of society and organizing the eco- 
 nomic life of the country. 
 
 g. For the purpose of securing the working class in the possession 
 of the complete power, and in order to eliminate all possibility of 
 restoring the power of the exploiters, it is decreed that all toilers 
 be armed, and that a Socialist Red Army be organized and the 
 propertied class be disarmed. 
 
 Chapter Three 
 
 4. Expressing its absolute resolve to liberate mankind from the 
 grip of capital and imperialism, which flooded the earth with blood 
 in this present most criminal of all wars, the third Congress of 
 Soviets fully agrees with the Soviet Government in its policy of 
 breaking secret treaties, of organizing on a wide scale the fraterniza-
 
 APPENDIX 283 
 
 tion of the workers and peasants of the belligerent armies, and of 
 making all efforts to conclude a general democratic peace without 
 annexations or indemnities, upon the basis of the free determina- 
 tion of the peoples. 
 
 5. It is also to this end that the third Congress of Soviets insists 
 upon putting an end to the barbarous policy of the bourgeois 
 civilization which enables the exploiters of a few chosen nations 
 to enslave hundreds of millions of the toiling population of Asia, 
 of the colonies, and of small countries generally. 
 
 6. The third Congress of Soviets hails the policy of the Council 
 of People's Commissars in proclaiming the full independence of 
 Finland, in withdrawing troops from Persia, and in proclaiming 
 the right of Armenia to self-determination. 
 
 Chapter Four 
 
 7. The third All-Russian Congress of Soviets of Workers', Sol- 
 diers', and Peasants' Deputies believes that now, during the prog- 
 ress of the decisive battle between the proletariat and its exploiters, 
 the exploiters can not hold a position in any branch of the Soviet 
 Government. The power must belong entirely to the toiling masses 
 and to their plenipotentiary representatives the Soviets of 
 Workers', Soldiers', and Peasants' Deputies. 
 
 8. In its effort to create a league free and voluntary, and for 
 that reason all the more complete and secure of the working classes 
 of all the peoples of Russia, the third Congress of Soviets merely 
 establishes the fundamental principles of the federation of Russian 
 Soviet Republics, leaving to the workers and peasants of every 
 people to decide the following question at their plenary sessions 
 of their Soviets: whether or not they desire to participate, and on 
 what basis, in the federal government and other federal Soviet 
 institutions. 
 
 ARTICLE TWO 
 
 GENERAL PROVISIONS OF THE CONSTITUTION OP THE RUSSIAN 
 SOCIALIST FEDERATED SOVIET REPUBLIC 
 
 Chapter Five 
 
 9. The fundamental problem of the Constitution of the Russian 
 Socialist Federated Soviet Republic involves, in view of the pres- 
 ent transition period, the establishment of a dictatorship of the 
 urban and rural proletariat and the poorest peasantry in the form of
 
 284 APPENDIX 
 
 a powerful All-Russian Soviet authority, for the purpose of abolish- 
 ing the exploitation of men by men and of introducing Socialism, 
 in which there will be neither a division into classes nor a state of 
 autocracy. 
 
 10. The Russian Republic is a free Socialist society of all the 
 working people of Russia. The entire power, within the boundaries 
 of the Russian Socialist Federated Soviet Republic, belongs to 
 all the working people of Russia, united in urban and rural Soviets. 
 
 11. The Soviets of those regions which differentiate themselves 
 by a special form of existence and national character may unite 
 in autonomous regional unions, ruled by the local Congress of the 
 Soviets and their executive organs. 
 
 These autonomous regional unions participate in the Russian 
 Socialist Federated Soviet Republic upon the basis of a federation. 
 
 12. The supreme power of the Russian Socialist Federated Soviet 
 Republic belongs to the All-Russian Congress of Soviets, and, in 
 periods between the convocation of the Congress, to the All-Rus- 
 sian Central Executive Committee. 
 
 13. For the purpose of securing to the toilers real freedom of 
 conscience, the church is to be separated from the state and the 
 school from the church, and the right of religious and anti-religious 
 propaganda is accorded to every citizen. 
 
 14. For the purpose of securing the freedom of expression to 
 the toiling masses, the Russian Socialist Federated Soviet Republic 
 abolishes all dependence of the press upon capital, and turns over 
 to the working people and the poorest peasantry all technical and 
 material means of publication of newspapers, pamphlets, books, 
 etc., and guarantees their free circulation throughout the country. 
 
 15. For the purpose of enabling the workers to hold free meet- 
 ings, the Russian Socialist Federated Soviet Republic offers to 
 the working class and to the poorest peasantry furnished halls, 
 and takes care of their heating and lighting appliances. 
 
 16. The Russian Socialist Federated Soviet Republic, having 
 crushed the economic and political power of the propertied classes 
 and having thus abolished all obstacles which interfered with the 
 freedom of organization and action of the workers and peasants, 
 offers assistance, material and other, to the workers and the poorest 
 peasantry in their effort to unite and organize. 
 
 17. For the purpose of guaranteeing to the workers real access 
 to knowledge, the Russian Socialist Federated Soviet Republic 
 sets itself the task of furnishing full and general free education to 
 the workers and the poorest peasantry.
 
 APPENDIX 285 
 
 18. The Russian Socialist Federated Soviet Republic considers 
 work the duty of every citizen of the Republic, and proclaims as 
 its motto: "He shall not eat who does not work." 
 
 19. For the purpose of defending the victory of the great 
 peasants' and workers' revolution, the Russian Socialist Federated 
 Soviet Republic recognizes the duty of all citizens of the Republic 
 to come to the defence of their Socialist Fatherland, and it, there- 
 fore, introduces universal military training. The honor of defend- 
 ing the revolution with arms is given only to the toilers, and the 
 non-toiling elements are charged with the performance of other 
 military duties. 
 
 20. In consequence of the solidarity of the toilers of all nations, 
 the Russian Socialist Federated Soviet Republic grants all political 
 rights of Russian citizens to foreigners who live in the territory of 
 the Russian Republic and are engaged in toil and who belong to 
 the toiling class. The Russian Socialist Federated Soviet Republic 
 also recognizes the right of local Soviets to grant citizenship to 
 such foreigners without complicated formality. 
 
 21. The Russian Socialist Federated Soviet Republic offers 
 shelter to all foreigners who seek refuge from political or religious 
 persecution. 
 
 22. The Russian Socialist Federated Soviet Republic, recogniz- 
 ing equal rights of all citizens, irrespective of their racial or national 
 connections, proclaims all privileges on this ground, as well as op- 
 pression of national minorities, to be in contradiction with the 
 fundamental laws of the Republic. 
 
 23. Being guided by the interests of the working class as a whole, 
 the Russian Socialist Federated Soviet Republic deprives all in- 
 dividuals and groups of rights which could be utilized by them to 
 the detriment of the Socialist Revolution. 
 
 ARTICLE THREE 
 
 CONSTRUCTION OF THE SOVIET POWER 
 
 A. ORGANIZATION OF THE CENTRAL POWER 
 
 Chapter Six 
 
 The Att-Russian Congress of Soviets of Workers', Peasants', 
 Cossacks', and Red Army Deputies 
 
 24. The All-Russian Congress of Soviets is the supreme power 
 of the Russian Socialist Federated Soviet Republic. 
 
 25. The All-Russian Congress of Soviets is composed of repre-
 
 286 APPENDIX 
 
 sentatives of urban Soviets (one delegate for 25,000 voters), and 
 of representatives of the provincial (Gubernia) congresses of Soviets 
 (one delegate for 125,000 inhabitants). 
 
 Note 1 : In case the Provincial Congress is not called before the 
 All-Russian Congress is convoked, delegates for the latter are sent 
 directly from county (Quezd) Congress. 
 
 Note 2. In case the Regional (Oblast) Congress is convoked 
 indirectly, previous to the convocation of the Ail-Russian Congress, 
 delegates for the latter may be sent by the Regional Congress. 
 
 26. The Ail-Russian Congress is convoked by the All-Russian 
 Central Executive Committee at least twice a year. 
 
 27. A special All-Russian Congress is convoked by the All-Rus- 
 sian Central Executive Committee upon its own initiative, or upon 
 the request of local Soviets having not less than one-third of the 
 entire population of the Republic. 
 
 28. The All-Russian Congress elects an All-Russian Central 
 Executive Committee of not more than 200 members. 
 
 29. The All-Russian Central Executive Committee is entirely 
 responsible to the All-Russian Congress of Soviets. 
 
 30. In the periods between the convocation of the Congresses, 
 the All-Russian Central Executive Committee is the supreme power 
 of the Republic. 
 
 Chapter Seven 
 The Alls-Russian Central Executive Committee 
 
 31. The All-Russian Central Executive Committee is the su- 
 preme legislative, executive, and controlling organ of the Russian 
 Socialist Federated Soviet Republic. 
 
 32. The All-Russian Central Executive Committee directs in 
 a general way the activity of the workers' and peasants' Govern- 
 ment and of all organs of the Soviet authority in the country, and 
 it coordinates and regulates the operation of the Soviet Constitu- 
 tion and of the resolutions of the All-Russian Congresses and of 
 the central organs of the Soviet power. 
 
 33. The All-Russian Central Executive Committee considers 
 and enacts all measures and proposals introduced by the Soviet 
 of People's Commissars or by the various departments, and it also 
 issues its own decrees and regulations. 
 
 34. The All-Russian Central Executive Committee convokes 
 the All-Russian Congress of Soviets, at which time the Executive 
 Committee reports on its activity and on general questions.
 
 APPENDIX 287 
 
 35. The All-Russian Central Executive Committee forms a 
 Council of People's Commissars for the purpose of general manage- 
 ment of the affairs of the Russian Socialist Federated Soviet Re- 
 public, and it also forms departments (People's Commissariats) 
 for the purpose of conducting various branches. 
 
 36. The members of the All-Russian Central Executive Com- 
 mittee work in the various departments (People's Commissariats) 
 or execute special orders of the All-Russian Central Executive Com- 
 mittee. 
 
 Chapter Eight 
 
 The Council of People's Commissars 
 
 37. The Council of People's Commissars is entrusted with the 
 general management of the affairs of the Russian Socialist Fed- 
 erated Soviet Republic. 
 
 38. For the accomplishment of this task the Council of People's 
 Commissars issues decrees, resolutions, orders, and, in general, 
 takes all steps necessary for the proper and rapid conduct of gov- 
 ernment affairs. 
 
 39. The Council of People's Commissars notifies immediately 
 the All-Russian Central Executive Committee of all its orders and 
 resolutions. 
 
 40. The Ail-Russian Central Executive Committee has the right 
 to revoke or suspend all orders and resolutions of the Council of 
 People's Commissars. 
 
 41. All orders and resolutions of the Council of People's Com- 
 missars of great political significance are turned over for considera- 
 tion and final approval to the All-Russian Central Executive Com- 
 mittee. 
 
 Note: Measures requiring immediate execution may be enacted 
 directly by the Council of People's Commissars. 
 
 42. The members of the Council of People's Commissars stand 
 at the head of the various People's Commissariats. 
 
 43. There are eighteen People's Commissars: 
 
 a. Foreign Affairs. 
 
 b. Army. 
 
 c. Navy. 
 
 d. Interior. 
 e Justice. 
 
 f. Labor. 
 
 g. Social Welfare.
 
 288 APPENDIX 
 
 h. Education. 
 
 i. Post and Telegraph 
 
 j. National Affairs. 
 
 k. Finances. 
 
 1. Ways of Communication. 
 
 m. Agriculture. 
 
 n. Commerce and Industry. 
 
 o. National Supplies. 
 
 p. State Control. 
 
 q. Supreme Soviet of National Economy. 
 
 r. Public Health. 
 
 44. Every Commissar has a College (Committee) of which he 
 is the President, and the members of which are appointed by the 
 Council of People's Commissars. 
 
 45. A People's Commissar has the individual right to decide 
 on all questions under the jurisdiction of his Commissariat, and 
 he is to report on his decision to the College. If the College does 
 not agree with the Commissar on some decisions, the former may, 
 without stopping the execution of the decision, complain of it to 
 the executive members of the Council of People's Commissars or 
 to the All-Russian Central Executive Committee. 
 
 Individual members of the College have this right also. 
 
 46. The Council of People's Commissars is entirely responsible 
 to the All-Russian Congress of Soviets and the All-Russian Cen- 
 tral Executive Committee. 
 
 47. The People's Commissars and the Colleges of the People's 
 Commissariats are entirely responsible to the Council of People's 
 Commissars and the All-Russian Central Executive Committee. 
 
 48. The title of People's Commissar belongs only to the mem- 
 bers of the Council of People's Commissars, which is in charge of 
 general affairs of the Russian Socialist Federated Soviet Republic, 
 and it can not be used by any other representative of the Soviet 
 power, either central or local. 
 
 Chapter Nine 
 
 Affairs in the Jurisdiction of the All-Russian Congress and the 
 All-Russian Central Executive Committee 
 
 49. The All-Russian Congress and the All-Russian Central Exec- 
 utive Committee deal with questions of state, such as: 
 
 a. Ratification and amendment of the Constitution of the Rus- 
 sian Socialist Federated Soviet Republic.
 
 APPENDIX 289 
 
 b. General direction of the entire interior and foreign policy of 
 the Russian Socialist Federated Soviet Republic. 
 
 c. Establishing and changing boundaries, . also ceding territory 
 belonging to the Russian Socialist Federated Soviet Republic. 
 
 d. Establishing boundaries for regional Soviet unions belonging 
 to the Russian Socialist Federated Soviet Republic, also settling 
 disputes among them. 
 
 e. Admission of new members to the Russian Socialist Federated 
 Soviet Republic, and recognition of the secession of any parts of 
 it. 
 
 f. The general administrative division of the territory of the 
 Russian Socialist Federated Soviet Republic and the approval of 
 regional unions. 
 
 g. Establishing and changing of weights, measures, and money 
 denominations in the Russian Socialist Federated Soviet Republic. 
 
 h. Foreign relations, declaration of war, and ratification of peace 
 treaties. 
 
 i. Making loans, signing commercial treaties, and financial agree- 
 ments. 
 
 j. Working out a basis and a general plan for the national 
 economy and for its various branches in the Russian Socialist 
 Federated Soviet Republic. 
 
 k. Approval of the budget of the Russian Socialist Federated 
 Soviet Republic. 
 
 1. Levying taxes and establishing the duties of citizens to the 
 state. 
 
 m. Establishing the bases for the organization of armed forces. 
 
 n. State legislation, judicial organization and procedure, civil 
 and criminal legislation, etc. 
 
 o. Appointment and dismissal of the individual People's Com- 
 missars or the entire Council; also approval of the President of 
 the Council of People's Commissars. 
 
 p. Granting and cancelling Russian citizenship and fixing rights 
 of foreigners. 
 
 q. The right to -declare individual and general amnesty. 
 
 50. Besides the above-mentioned questions, the All-Russian 
 Congress and the All-Russian Central Executive Committee have 
 charge of all other affairs which, according to their decision, re- 
 quire their attention. 
 
 51. The following questions are solely under the jurisdiction of 
 the All-Russian Congress:
 
 290 APPENDIX 
 
 a. Ratification and amendment of the fundamental principles 
 of the Soviet Constitution. 
 
 b. Ratification of peace treaties. 
 
 52. The decision of questions indicated in Items c and h of Para- 
 graph 49 may be made by the All-Russian Central Executive Com- 
 mittee only in case it is impossible to convoke the Congress. 
 
 B. ORGANIZATION OP LOCAL SOVIETS 
 
 Chapter Ten 
 
 The Congresses of the Soviets 
 
 53. Congresses of Soviets are composed as follows: 
 
 a. Regional: of representatives of the urban and county Soviets, 
 one representative for 25,000 inhabitants of the country, and one 
 representative for 5,000 voters of the cities but not more than 
 500 representatives for the entire region or of representatives of 
 the provincial Congresses, chosen on the same basis, if such a Con- 
 gress meets before the regional Congress. 
 
 b. Provincial (Gubernia) : of representatives of urban and rural 
 (Volost) Soviets, one representative for 10,000 inhabitants from 
 the rural districts, and one representative for 2,000 voters in the 
 city; altogether not more than 300 representatives for the entire 
 province. In case the county Congress meets before the provincial, 
 election takes place on the same basis, but by the county Congress 
 instead of the rural. 
 
 c. County: of representatives of rural Soviets, one delegate for 
 each 1,000 inhabitants, but not more than 300 delegates for the 
 entire county. 
 
 d. Rural (Volost): of representatives of all village Soviets hi 
 the Volost, one delegate for ten members of the Soviet. 
 
 Note 1: Representatives of urban Soviets which have a popu- 
 lation of not more than 10,000 persons participate in the county 
 Congress; village Soviets of districts of less than 1,000 inhabitants 
 unite for the purpose of electing delegates to the county Congress. 
 
 Note 2: Rural Soviets of less than ten members send one dele- 
 gate to the rural (Volost) Congress. 
 
 54. Congresses of the Soviets are convoked by the respective 
 Executive Committees upon their own initiative, or upon request 
 of local Soviets comprising not less than one-third of the entire 
 population of the given district. In any case, they are convoked
 
 APPENDIX 291 
 
 at least twice a year for regions, every three months for provinces 
 and counties, and once a month for rural districts. 
 
 55. Every Congress of Soviets (regional, provincial, county, 
 and rural) elects its Executive organ an Executive Committee 
 the membership of which shall not exceed: 
 
 (a) for regions and provinces, 25; (b) for a county, 20; (c) for 
 a rural district, 10. The Executive Committee is responsible to 
 the Congress which elected it. 
 
 56. In the boundaries of the respective territories the Congress 
 is the supreme power; during intervals between the convocations 
 of the Congress, the Executive Committee is the supreme power. 
 
 Chapter Eleven 
 The Soviet of Deputies 
 
 57. Soviets of Deputies are formed: 
 
 a. In cities, one deputy for each 1,000 inhabitants; the total 
 to be not less than 50 and not more than 1,000 members. 
 
 b. All other settlements (towns, villages, hamlets, etc) of less 
 than 10,000 inhabitants, one deputy for each 100 inhabitants; the 
 total to be not less than 3 and not more than 50 deputies for each 
 settlement. 
 
 Term of the deputy, three months. 
 
 Note: In small rural sections, whenever possible, all questions 
 shall be decided at general meetings of voters. 
 
 58. The Soviet of Deputies elects an Executive Committee to 
 deal with current affairs; not more than 5 members for rural dis- 
 tricts, one for every 50 members of the Soviets of cities, but not 
 more than 15 and not less than 3 in the aggregate (Petrograd and 
 Moscow not more than 40). The Executive Committee is entirely 
 responsible to the Soviet which elected it. 
 
 59. The Soviet of Deputies is convoked by the Executive Com- 
 mittee upon its own initiative, or upon the request of not less than 
 one-half of the membership of the Soviet; in any case at least once 
 a week in cities, and twice a week in rural sections. 
 
 60. Within its jurisdiction the Soviet, and in cases mentioned 
 in Paragraph 57, Note, the meeting of the voters, is the supreme 
 power in the given district.
 
 292 APPENDIX 
 
 Chapter Twelve 
 Jurisdiction of the local organs of the Soviets 
 
 61. Regional, provincial, county, and rural organs of the Soviet 
 power and also the Soviets of Deputies have to perform the fol- 
 lowing duties: 
 
 a. Carry out all orders of the respective higher organs of the 
 Soviet power. 
 
 b. Take all steps towards raising the cultural and economic 
 standard of the given territory. 
 
 c. Decide all questions of local importance within their respec- 
 tive territory. 
 
 d. Coordinate all Soviet activity in their respective territory. 
 
 62. The Congresses of Soviets and their Executive Committees 
 have the right to control the activity of the local Soviets (i. e., the 
 regional Congress controls all Soviets of the respective regions; 
 the provincial, of the respective province, with the exception of 
 the urban Soviets, etc.) ; and the regional and provincial Congresses 
 and their Executive Committees in addition have the right to over- 
 rule the decisions of the Soviets of their districts, giving notice in 
 important cases to the central Soviet authority. 
 
 63. For the purpose of performing their duties, the local Soviets, 
 rural and urban, and the Executive Committees form sections re- 
 spectively. 
 
 ARTICLE FOUR 
 
 THE RIGHT TO VOTE 
 
 Chapter Thirteen 
 
 64. The right to vote and to be elected to the Soviets is enjoyed 
 by the following citizens, irrespective of religion, nationality, 
 domicile, etc., of the Russian Socialist Federated Soviet Republic, 
 of both sexes, who shall have completed their eighteenth year by 
 the day of election: 
 
 a. All who have acquired the means of living through labor that 
 is productive and useful to society, and also persons engaged in 
 housekeeping, which enables the former to do productive work, i. e., 
 laborers and employees of all classes who are employed in industry, 
 trade, agriculture, etc.; and peasants and Cossack agricultural 
 laborers who employ no help for the purpose of making profits. 
 
 b. Soldiers of the army and navy of the Soviets.
 
 APPENDIX 293 
 
 c. Citizens of the two preceding categories who have to any de- 
 gree lost their capacity to work. 
 
 Note. 1 : Local Soviets may, upon approval of the central power, 
 lower the age standard mentioned herein. 
 
 Note 2: Non-citizens mentioned in Paragraph 20 (Article Two, 
 Chapter 5) have the right to vote. 
 
 65. The following persons enjoy neither the right to vote nor 
 the right to be voted for, even though they belong to one of the 
 categories enumerated above, namely: 
 
 a. Persons who employ hired labor in order to obtain from it 
 an increase in profits. 
 
 b. Persons who have an income without doing any work, such 
 as interest from capital, receipts from property, etc. 
 
 c. Private merchants, trade and commercial brokers. 
 
 d. Monks and clergy of all denominations. 
 
 e. Employees and agents of the former police, the gendarme 
 corps, and the Okhrana [Czar's secret service], also members of 
 the former reigning dynasty. 
 
 f. Persons who have in legal form been declared demented or 
 mentally deficient, and also persons under guardianship. 
 
 g. Persons who have been deprived by a Soviet of their rights 
 of citizenship because of selfish or dishonorable offences, for the 
 period fixed by the sentence. 
 
 Chapter Fourteen 
 Elections 
 
 66. Elections are conducted according to custom on days fixed 
 by the local Soviets. 
 
 67. Election takes place in the presence of an electing committee 
 and the representative of the local Soviet. 
 
 68. In case the representative of the Soviet can not be present 
 for valid causes, the chairman of the electing committee takes his 
 place, and in case the latter is absent, the chairman of the election 
 meeting replaces him. 
 
 69. Minutes of the proceedings and results of elections are to 
 be complied and signed by the members of the electing committee 
 and the representative of the Soviet. 
 
 70. Detailed instructions regarding the election proceedings 
 and the participation in them of professional and other workers' 
 organizations are to be issued by the local Soviets, according to 
 the instructions of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee.
 
 294 APPENDIX 
 
 Chapter Fifteen 
 The checking and cancellation of elections and recall of the deputies 
 
 71. The respective Soviets receive all the records of the pro- 
 ceedings of the election. 
 
 72. The Soviet appoints a commission to verify the elections. 
 
 73. This commission reports on the results to the Soviets. 
 
 74. The Soviet decides the question when there is doubt as to 
 which candidate is elected. 
 
 75. The Soviet announces a new election if the election of one 
 candidate or another can not be determined. 
 
 76. If an election was irregularly carried on in its entirety, it 
 may be declared void by a higher Soviet authority. 
 
 77. The highest authority in relation to questions of elections 
 is the All-Russian Central Executive Committee. 
 
 78. Voters who have sent a deputy to the Soviet have the right 
 to recall him, and to have a new election, according to general pro- 
 visions. 
 
 ARTICLE FIVE 
 
 THE BUDGET 
 Chapter Sixteen 
 
 79. The financial policy of the Russian Socialist Federated Soviet 
 Republic in the present transition period of dictatorship of the 
 proletariat, facilitates the fundamental purpose of expropriation of 
 the bourgeoisie and the preparation of conditions necessary for 
 the equality of all citizens of Russia in the production and distribu- 
 tion of wealth. To this end it sets forth as its task the supplying 
 of the organs of the Soviet power with all necessary funds for local 
 and state needs of the Soviet Republic, without regard to private 
 property rights. 
 
 80. The state expenditure and income of the Russian Socialist 
 Federated Soviet Republic are combined in the state budget. 
 
 81. The All-Russian Congress of Soviets or the All-Russian Cen- 
 tral Executive Committee determine what matters of income and 
 taxation shall go to the state budget and what shall go to the local 
 Soviets; they also set the limits of taxes. 
 
 82. The Soviets levy taxes only for the local needs. The state 
 needs are covered by the funds of the state treasury. 
 
 83. No expenditure out of the state treasury not set forth in
 
 APPENDIX 295 
 
 the budget of income and expense shall be made without a special 
 order of the central power. 
 
 84. The local Soviets shall receive credits from the proper People's 
 Commissars out of the state treasury, for the purpose of making 
 expenditures for general state needs. 
 
 85. All credits allotted to the Soviets from the state treasury, 
 and also credits approved for local needs, must be expended ac- 
 cording to the estimates, and can not be used for any other pur- 
 poses without a special order of the All-Russian Central Executive 
 Committee and the Soviet of People's Commissars. 
 
 86. Local Soviets draw up semi-annual and annual estimates 
 of income and expenditure for local needs. The estimates of urban 
 and rural Soviets participating in county congresses, and also the 
 estimates of the county organs of the Soviet power, are to be ap- 
 proved by provincial and regional congresses or by their executive 
 committees; the estimates of the urban, provincial, and regional 
 organs of the Soviets are to be approved by the All-Russian Cen- 
 tral Executive Committee and the Council of People's Commissars. 
 
 87. The Soviets may ask for additional credits from the respec- 
 tive People's Commissariats for expenditures not set forth in the 
 estimate, or where the allotted sum is insufficient. 
 
 88. In case of an insufficiency of local funds for local needs, the 
 necessary subsidy may be obtained from the state treasury by ap- 
 plying to the All-Russian Central Executive Committee or the 
 Council of People's Commissars. 
 
 ARTICLE SIX 
 
 Chapter Seventeen 
 
 89. The coat of arms of the Russian Socialist Federated Soviet 
 Republic consists of a red background on which a golden scythe 
 and a hammer are placed (crosswise, handles downward) in sun- 
 rays and surrounded by a wreath, inscribed: 
 
 Russian Socialist Federated Soviet Republic. 
 Workers of the World, Unite / 
 
 90. The commercial, naval, and army flag of the Russian So- 
 cialist Federated Soviet Republic consists of a red cloth, in the
 
 296 APPENDIX 
 
 left corner of which (on top, near the pole) there are in golden char- 
 acters the letters R. S. F. S. R., or the inscription: Russian So- 
 cialist Federated Soviet Republic. 
 
 Chairman of the Fifth All-Russian Congress of Soviets and of 
 the All-Russian Central Executive Committee J. Sverdloff. 
 
 Executive Officers All-Russian Central Executive Committee: 
 T. I. Teodorowitch, F. A. Rosin, A. P. Rosenholz, A. C. Mitro- 
 fanoff, K. G. Maximoff. 
 
 Secretary of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee 
 V. A. Avanessoff.
 
 APPENDIX B 
 
 COVENANT OF THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS 
 
 THE COUNSELOR FOR THE DEPARTMENT OP STATE 
 
 WASHINGTON, D. C. 
 
 April 28, 1919. 
 
 The following is the text of the Covenant of the League of Na- 
 tions as presented to the plenary session of the Peace Conference: 
 
 THE COVENANT OF THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS 
 
 In order to promote international cooperation and to achieve 
 international peace and security, by the acceptance of obligations 
 not to resort to war, by the prescription of open, just and honorable 
 relations between nations, by the firm establishment of the under- 
 standings of international law as to actual rule of conduct among 
 Governments, and by the maintenance of justice and a scrupulous 
 respect for all treaty obligations in the dealings of organized peoples 
 with one another, the high contracting parties agree to this covenant 
 of the League of Nations. 
 
 ARTICLE ONE 
 
 The original members of the League of Nations shall be those 
 of the signatories which are named in the annex to this covenant 
 and also such of those other states named in the annex as shall ac- 
 cede without reservation to this covenant. Such accessions shall 
 be effected by a declaration deposited with the Secretariat within 
 two months of the coming into force of the covenant. Notice thereof 
 shall be sent to all other members of the League. 
 
 Any fully self-governing state, dominion or colony not named 
 in the annex, may become a member of the League if its admission 
 is agreed by two-thirds of the assembly, provided that it shall give 
 effective guarantees of its sincere intention to observe its interna- 
 tional obligations, and shall accept such regulations as may be 
 prescribed by the League in regard to its military and naval forces 
 and armaments. 
 
 Any member of the League, may, after two years' notice of its 
 intention so to do, withdraw from the League, provided that all 
 
 297
 
 298 APPENDIX 
 
 its international obligations and all its obligations under this 
 covenant shall have been fulfilled at the time of its withdrawal. 
 
 ARTICLE TWO 
 
 The action of the League under this covenant shall be effected 
 through the instrumentality of an Assembly and of a Council, with 
 a permanent Secretariat. 
 
 ARTICLE THREE 
 
 The Assembly shall consist of representatives of the members 
 of the League. 
 
 The Assembly shall meet at stated intervals and from time to 
 time as occasion may require, at the seat of the League, or at such 
 other place as may be decided upon. 
 
 The Assembly may deal at its meetings with any matter within 
 the sphere of action of the League or affecting the peace of the world. 
 
 At the meetings of the Assembly, each member of the League 
 shall have one vote, and may have not more than three represen- 
 tatives. 
 
 ARTICLE FOUR 
 
 The Council shall consist of representatives of the United States 
 of America, of the British Empire, of France, of Italy, and of Japan, 
 together with representatives of four other members of the League. 
 These four members of the League shall be selected by the Assembly 
 from time to time in its discretion. Until the appointment of the 
 representatives of the four members of the League first selected 
 by the Assembly, representatives of (blank) shall be members of 
 the Council. 
 
 With the approval of the majority of the Assembly, the Council 
 may name additional members of the League whose representatives 
 shall always be members of the Council; the Council with like 
 approval may increase the number of members of the League to 
 be selected by the Assembly for representation on the Council. 
 
 The Council shall meet from time to time as occasion may re- 
 quire, and at least once a year, at the seat of the League, or at such 
 other place as may be decided upon. 
 
 The Council may deal at its meetings with any matter within 
 the sphere of action of the League or affecting the peace of 
 the world. 
 
 Any member of the League not represented on the Council shall 
 be invited to send a representative to sit as a member at any meet-
 
 APPENDIX 299 
 
 ing of the Council during the consideration of matters specially 
 affecting the interests of that member of the League. 
 
 At meetings of the Council, each member of the League repre- 
 sented on the Council shall have one vote, and may have not more 
 than one representative. 
 
 ARTICLE FIVE 
 
 Except where otherwise expressly provided in this covenant or 
 by the terms of this treaty, decisions at any meeting of the Assem- 
 bly or of the Council shall require the agreement of all the members 
 of the League represented at the meeting. 
 
 All matters of procedure at meetings of the Assembly or of the 
 Council, the appointment of committees to investigate particular 
 matters, shall be regulated by the Assembly or by the Council and 
 may be decided by a majority of the members of the League rep- 
 resented at the meeting. 
 
 The first meeting of the Assembly and the first meeting at the 
 Council shall be summoned by the President of the United States 
 of America. 
 
 ARTICLE six 
 
 The permanent Secretariat shall be established at the seat of 
 the League. The Secretariat shall comprise a Secretary General 
 and such secretaries and staff as may be required. 
 
 The first Secretary General shall be the person named in the 
 annex; thereafter the Secretary General shall be appointed by 
 the Council with the approval of the majority of the Assembly. 
 
 The Secretaries and the staff of the Secretariat shall be appointed 
 by the Secretary General with the approval of the Council. 
 
 The Secretary General shall act in that capacity at all meetings 
 of the Assembly and of the Council. 
 
 The expenses of the Secretariat shall be borne by the members 
 of the League in accordance with the apportionment of the ex- 
 penses of the International Bureau of the Universal Postal Union. 
 
 ARTICLE SEVEN 
 
 The seat of the League is established at Geneva. 
 
 The Council may at any time decide that the seat of the League 
 shall be established elsewhere. 
 
 All positions under or in connection with the League, including 
 the Secretariat, shall be open equally to men and women. 
 
 representatives of the members of the League and officials of
 
 300 APPENDIX 
 
 the League when engaged on the business of the League shall enjoy 
 diplomatic privileges and immunities. 
 
 The buildings and other property occupied by the League or its 
 officials or by representatives attending its meetings shall be in- 
 violable. 
 
 ARTICLE EIGHT 
 
 The members of the League recognize that the maintenance of 
 a peace requires the reduction of national armaments to the lowest 
 point consistent with national safety and the enforcement by 
 common action of international obligations. 
 
 The Council, taking account of the geographical situation and 
 circumstances of each state, shall formulate plans for such reduc- 
 tion for the consideration and action of the several governments. 
 
 Such plans shall be subject to reconsideration and revision at 
 least every ten years. 
 
 After these plans shall have been adopted by the several govern- 
 ments, limits of armaments therein fixed shall not be exceeded 
 without the concurrence of the Council. 
 
 The members of the League agree that the manufacture by 
 private enterprise of munitions and implements of war is open to 
 grave objections. The Council shall advise how the evil effects 
 attendant upon such manufacture can be prevented, due regard 
 being had to the necessities of those members of the League which 
 are not able to manufacture the munitions and implements of war 
 necessary for their safety. 
 
 The members of the League undertake to interchange full and 
 frank information as to the scale of their armaments, their military 
 and naval programmes and the condition of such of then* indus- 
 tries as are adaptable to warlike purposes. 
 
 ARTICLE NINE 
 
 A permanent commission shall be constituted to advise the 
 Council on the execution of the provisions of Article One and Eight 
 and on military and naval questions generally. 
 
 ARTICLE TEN 
 
 The members of the League undertake to respect and preserve 
 as against external aggression the territorial integrity and existing 
 political independence of all members of the League. In case of 
 any such aggression or in case of any threat or danger of such ag-
 
 APPENDIX 301 
 
 gression, the Council shall advise upon the means by which this 
 obligation shall be fulfilled. 
 
 ARTICLE ELEVEN 
 
 Any war or threat of war, whether immediately affecting any of 
 the members of the League or not, is hereby declared a matter of 
 concern to the whole League, and the League shall take any action 
 that may be deemed wise and effectual to safeguard the peace of 
 nations. In case any such emergency should arise, the Secretary 
 General shall, on the request of any member of the League, forth- 
 with summon a meeting of the Council. 
 
 It is also declared to be the fundamental right of each member 
 of the League to bring to the attention of the Assembly or of the 
 Council any circumstance whatever affecting international relations 
 which threatens to disturb either the peace or the good understand- 
 ing between nations upon which peace depends. 
 
 AHTICLE TWELVE 
 
 The members of the League agree that if there should arise be- 
 tween them any dispute likely to lead to a rupture, they will sub- 
 mit the matter either to arbitration or to inquiry by the Council, 
 and they agree in no case to resort to war until three months after 
 the award by the arbitrators or the report by the Council. 
 
 In any case under this Article the award of the arbitrators shall 
 be made within a reasonable time, and the report of the Council 
 shall be made within six months after the submission of the dis- 
 pute. 
 
 ARTICLE THIRTEEN 
 
 The members of the League agree that whenever any dispute 
 shall arise between them which they recognize to be suitable for 
 submission to arbitration and which cannot be satisfactorily settled 
 by diplomacy, they will submit the whole subject matter to arbi- 
 tration. Disputes as to the interpretation of a treaty, as to any 
 question of international law, as to the existence of any fact which 
 if established would constitute a breach of any international obliga- 
 tion, or as to the extent and nature of the reparation to be made 
 for any such breach, are declared to be among those which are gen- 
 erally suitable for submission to arbitration. For the considera- 
 tion of any such dispute the court of arbitration to which the case 
 is referred shall be the court agreed on by the parties to the dis- 
 pute or stipulated in any convention existing between them.
 
 302 APPENDIX 
 
 The members of the League agree that they will carry out in 
 full good faith any award that may be rendered and that they will 
 not resort to war against a member of the League which complies 
 therewith. In the event of any failure to carry out such an award, 
 the Council shall propose what steps should be taken to give effect 
 thereto. 
 
 The Council shall formulate and submit to the members of the 
 League for adoption plans for the establishment of a permanent 
 court of international justice. The court shall be competent to 
 hear and determine any dispute of an international character which 
 the parties thereto submit to it. The court may also give an ad- 
 visory opinion upon any dispute or question referred to it by the 
 Council or by the Assembly. 
 
 ARTICLE FIFTEEN 
 
 If there should arise between members of the League any dis- 
 pute likely to lead to a rupture, which is not submitted to arbitra- 
 tion as above, the members of the League agree that they will sub- 
 mit the matter to the Council. Any party to the dispute may effect 
 such submission by giving notice of the existence of the dispute 
 to the Secretary General, who will make all necessary arrangements 
 for 2 a full investigation and consideration thereof. For this purpose 
 the parties to the dispute will communicate to the Secretary Gen- 
 eral, as promptly as possible, statements of their case, all the relevant 
 facts and papers; the Council may forthwith direct the publication 
 thereof. 
 
 The Council shall endeavor to effect a settlement of any dispute, 
 and if such efforts are successful, a statement shall be made public 
 giving such facts and explanations regarding the dispute, terms of 
 settlement thereof as the Council may deem appropriate. 
 
 If the dispute is not thus settled, the Council either unanimously 
 or by a majority vote shall make and publish a report containing 
 a statement of the facts of the dispute and the recommendations 
 which are deemed just and proper in regard thereto. 
 
 Any member of the League represented on the Council may make 
 public a statement of the facts of the dispute and of its conclusions 
 regarding the same. 
 
 If a report by the Council is unanimously agreed to by the 
 members thereof other than the representatives of one or more 
 of the parties to the dispute, the members of the League agree that 
 they will not go to war with any party to the dispute which com- 
 plies with the recommendations of the report.
 
 APPENDIX 303 
 
 If the Council fails to reach a report which is unanimously agreed 
 to by the members thereof, other than the representatives of one 
 or more of the parties to the dispute, the members of the League 
 reserve to themselves the right to take such action as they shall 
 consider necessary for the maintenance of right and justice. 
 
 If the dispute between the parties is claimed by one of them, 
 and is found by the Council to arise out of a matter which by in- 
 ternational law is solely within the domestic jurisdiction of that 
 party, the Council shall so report, and shall make no recommenda- 
 tion as to its settlement. 
 
 The Council may in any case under this Article refer the dis- 
 pute to the Assembly. The dispute shall be so referred at the re- 
 quest of either party to the dispute, provided that such request 
 be made within fourteen days after the submission of the dispute 
 to the Council. 
 
 In any case referred to the Assembly all the provisions of this 
 Article and of Article Twelve relating to the action and powers 
 of the Council shall apply to the action and powers of the Assembly, 
 provided that a report made by the Assembly, if concurred in by 
 the representatives of those members of the League represented 
 on the Council and of a majority of the other members of the League, 
 exclusive in each case of the representatives of the parties to the 
 dispute, shall have the same force as a report by the Council con- 
 curred in by all the members thereof other than the representatives 
 of one or more of the parties to the dispute, 
 
 ARTICLE SIXTEEN 
 
 Should any member of the League resort to war in disregard 
 of its covenants under Article Twelve, Thirteen or Fifteen, it shall 
 ipso facto be deemed to have committed an act of war against all 
 other members of the League, which hereby undertake immediately 
 to subject it to the severance of all trade or financial relations, the 
 prohibition of all intercourse between their nationals and the na- 
 tionals of the covenant-breaking state and the prevention of all finan- 
 cial, commercial, or personal intercourse between the nationals of 
 the covenant-breaking state and the nationals of any other state, 
 whether a member of the League or not. 
 
 It shall be the duty of the Council in such case to recommend 
 to the several governments concerned what effective military or 
 naval forces the members of the League shall severally contribute 
 to the armaments of forces to be used to protect the covenants of 
 the League.
 
 304 APPENDIX 
 
 The members of the League agree, further, that they will mu- 
 tually support one another in the financial and economic measures 
 which are taken under this Article, in order to minimize the loss 
 and inconvenience resulting from the above measures, and that 
 they will mutually support one another in resisting any special 
 measures aimed at one of their number by the covenant-breaking 
 state, and that they will take the necessary steps to afford passage 
 through their territory to the forces of any of the members of the 
 League which are cooperating to protect the covenants of the 
 League. 
 
 Any member of the League which has violated any covenant 
 of the League may be declared to be no longer a member of the 
 League by a vote of the Council concurred in by the representa- 
 tives of all the other members of the League represented thereon. 
 
 ARTICLE SEVENTEEN 
 
 In the event of a dispute between a member of the League and 
 a state which is not a member of the League, or between states 
 not members of the League, the state or states not members of 
 the League shall be invited to accept the obligations of member- 
 ship in the League for the purposes of such dispute, upon such con- 
 ditions as the Council may deem just. If such invitation is ac- 
 cepted, the provisions of Articles Twelve to Sixteen inclusive shall 
 be applied with such modifications as may be deemed necessary 
 by the Council. 
 
 Upon such invitation being given, the Council shall immediately 
 institute an inquiry into the circumstances of the dispute and 
 recommend such action as may seem best and most effectual in 
 the circumstances. 
 
 If a state so invited shall refuse to accept the obligations of mem- 
 bership in the League for the purposes of such dispute, and shall 
 resort to war against a member of the League, the provisions of 
 Article Sixteen shall be applicable as against the state taking such 
 action. 
 
 If both parties to the dispute, when so invited refuse to accept 
 the obligations of membership in the League for the purposes of 
 such dispute, the Council may take such measures and make such 
 recommendations as will prevent hostilities and will result in the 
 settlement of the dispute.
 
 APPENDIX 305 
 
 ARTICLE EIGHTEEN 
 
 Every convention or international engagement entered into 
 henceforward by any member of the League, shall be forthwith 
 registered with the Secretariat and shall as soon as possible be 
 published by it. No such treaty or international engagement 
 shall be binding until so registered. 
 
 ARTICLE NINETEEN 
 
 The Assembly may from time to time advise the reconsideration 
 by members of the League of treaties which have become inap- 
 plicable, and the consideration of international conditions whose 
 continuance might endanger the peace of the world. 
 
 ARTICLE TWENTY 
 
 The members of the League severally agree that this covenant 
 is accepted as abrogating all obligations or understandings inter se 
 which are inconsistent with the terms thereof, and solemnly under- 
 take that they will not hereafter enter into any engagements in- 
 consistent with the terms thereof. 
 
 In case members of the league shall, before becoming a member 
 of the League, have undertaken any obligations inconsistent with 
 the terms of this covenant, it shall be the duty of such member 
 to take immediate steps to procure its release from such obliga- 
 tions. 
 
 ARTICLE TWENTY-ONE 
 
 Nothing in this covenant shall be deemed to affect the validity 
 of international engagements such as treaties of arbitration or 
 regional understandings like the Monroe Doctrine for securing the 
 maintenance of peace. 
 
 ARTICLE TWENTY-TWO 
 
 To those colonies and territories which as a consequence of the 
 late war have ceased to be under the sovereignty of the states which 
 formerly governed them and which are inhabited by peoples 
 not yet able to stand by themselves under the strenuous conditions 
 of the modern world, there should be applied the principle that the 
 well being and development of such peoples form a sacred trust of 
 civilization and that securities for the performance of this trust 
 should be embodied in this covenant.
 
 306 APPENDIX 
 
 The best method of giving practicable effect to this principle 
 is that the tutelage of such peoples be entrusted to advanced na- 
 tions who, by reasons of their resources, their experience or their 
 geographical position, can best undertake this responsibility, and 
 who are willing to accept it, and that this tutelage should be exer- 
 cised by them as mandatories on behalf of the League. 
 
 The character of the mandate must differ according to the stage 
 of the development of the people, the geographical situation of 
 the territory, its economic condition and other similar circum- 
 stances. 
 
 Certain communities formerly belonging to the Turkish Empire 
 have reached a stage of development where their existence as in- 
 dependent nations can be provisionally recognized subject to the 
 rendering of administrative advice and assistance by a mandatory 
 until such time as they are able to stand alone. The wishes of these 
 communities must be a principal consideration in the selection of 
 the mandatory. 
 
 Other peoples, especially those of Central Africa, are at such a 
 stage that the mandatory must be responsible for the adminis- 
 tration of the territory under conditions which will guarantee free- 
 dom of conscience or religion subject only to the maintenance of 
 public order and morals, the prohibition of abuses such as the slave 
 trade, the arms traffic and the liquor traffic and the prevention of 
 the establishment of fortifications or military and naval bases and 
 of military training of the natives for other than police purposes 
 and the defense of territory and will also secure equal opportuni- 
 ties for the trade and commerce of other members of the League. 
 
 There are territories, such as Southwest Africa and certain of 
 the South Pacific islands, which, owing to the sparseness of their 
 population or their small size or their remoteness from the centres 
 of civilization or their geographical contiguity to the territory of 
 the mandatory and other circumstances, can be best administered 
 under the laws of the mandatory as integral portions of its territory 
 subject to the safeguards above mentioned in the interests of the 
 indigenous population. In every case of mandate, the mandatory 
 shall render to the Council an annual report in reference to the 
 territory committed to its charge. 
 
 The degree of authority, control or administration to be exer- 
 cised by the mandatory shall, if not previously agreed upon by 
 the members of the League, be explicitly denned in each case by 
 the Council.
 
 APPENDIX 307 
 
 A permanent commission shall be constituted to receive and 
 examine the annual reports of the mandatories and to advise the 
 Council on all matters relating to the observance of the mandates. 
 
 AKTICLE TWENTY-THREE 
 
 Subject to and in accordance with the provisions of international 
 conventions existing or hereafter to be agreed upon, the members 
 of the League (a) will endeavor to secure and maintain fair and 
 humane conditions of labor for men, women, and children both 
 in their own countries and in all countries to which their commer- 
 cial and industrial relations extend, and for that purpose will estab- 
 lish and maintain the necessary international organizations; (b) 
 undertake to secure just treatment of the native inhabitants of 
 territories under their control; (c) will entrust the League with 
 the general supervision over the execution of agreements with re- 
 gard to the traffic in women and children, and the traffic in opium 
 and other dangerous drugs; (d) will entrust the League with the 
 general supervision of the trade in arms and ammunition with the 
 countries in which the control of this traffic is necessary in the 
 common interest; (e) will make provision to secure and maintain 
 freedom of communication and of transit and equitable treatment 
 for the commerce of all members of the League. In this connection 
 the special necessities of the regions devastated during the war of 
 1914-1918 shall be in mind; (f) will endeavor to take steps in 
 matters of international concern for the prevention and control 
 of disease. 
 
 ARTICLE TWENTY-FOUR 
 
 There shall be placed under the direction of the League all in- 
 ternational bureaus already established by general treaties if the 
 parties to such treaties consent. All such international bureaus 
 and all commissions for the regulation of matters of international 
 interest hereafter constituted shall be placed under the direction 
 of the League. 
 
 In all matters of international interest which are regulated by 
 general conventions but which are not placed under the control 
 of international bureaus or commissions, the Secretariat of the 
 League shall, subject to the consent of the Council and if desired 
 by the parties, collect and distribute all relevant information and 
 shall render any other assistance which may be necessary or de- 
 sirable.
 
 308 APPENDIX 
 
 The Council may include as part of the expenses of the Secre- 
 tariat the expenses of any bureau or commission which is placed 
 under the direction of the League. 
 
 AETICLE TWENTY-FIVE 
 
 The members of the League agree to encourage and promote 
 the establishment and cooperation of duly authorized voluntary 
 national Red Cross organizations having as purposes improvement 
 of health, the prevention of disease and the mitigation of suffering 
 throughout the world. 
 
 ARTICLE TWENTY-SIX 
 
 Amendments to this covenant will take effect when ratified by 
 the members of the League whose representatives compose the 
 Council and by a majority of the members of the League whose 
 representatives compose the Assembly. 
 
 No such amendment shall bind any member of the League which 
 signifies its dissent therefrom, but in that case it shall cease to be 
 a member of the League. 
 
 ANNEX TO THE COVENAOT 
 
 One. Original members of the League of Nations. 
 
 Signatories of the Treaty of Peace. 
 
 United States of America, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, British Em- 
 pire, Canada, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, India, China, 
 Cuba, Czecho-Slovakia, Ecuador, France, Greece, Guatemala, 
 Haiti, Hedjaz, Honduras, Italy, Japan, Liberia, Nicaragua, Panama, 
 Peru, Poland, Portugal, Roumania, Servia, Siam, Uruguay. 
 
 States invited to accede to the covenant. 
 
 Argentine Republic, Chile, Colombia, Denmark, Netherlands, 
 Norway, Paraguay, Persia, Salvador, Spam, Sweden, Switzerland, 
 Venezuela. 
 
 Two. First Secretary General of the League of Nations, Sir 
 James Eric Drummand.
 
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