How much Bolshevism is there in America? : $b Also a series of articles entitled "Russia from the inside"Dosch-Fleurot, Arno
History
How much Bolshevism is there in America? : $b Also a series of articles entitled "Russia from the inside"
Dosch-Fleurot, Arno
Communism -- Soviet Union; Communism -- United States; Labor -- United States; Working class -- United States
During my stay in Omsk, where I came into contact with the leading
members of the Government, I had an opportunity of studying the methods
of Kolchak and his Cabinet. Kolchak, admittedly a man of great personal
courage, was a dictator in name only; he possessed none of the qualities
fitting him for such an onerous position; his Cabinet consisted
principally of unscrupulous adventurers who neglected no opportunity to
enrich themselves at the expense of the cause, which they ultimately, by
their corruption and treachery, destroyed.
In October, realizing that the fall of Omsk was imminent, I left and
went to Chita and reopened negotiations with the bandit of the
Trans-Baikal. My stay in Chita was somewhat unpleasantly disturbed by a
ten days’ sojourn in the Ataman’s jail which was brought about by my
calling him a thief to his face. On my release from prison, which was
secured by the British Military Mission, I remained in Chita until the
first week in December when, having secured a promise from the Ataman
that he would pay for the stolen foxes upon presentation of certain
certified statements, I went to Vladivostok to get them.
I left Vladivostok on the return journey toward the end of January. On
my arrival in Harbin, however, I was called to Tientsin for a conference
with my principals. At this conference they requested me to make an
effort to get to Irkutsk from Chita and endeavor to secure the return of
a large quantity of furs which we then had in Irkutsk and the
surrounding district.
On my return from Tientsin to Harbin I found my friend, Capt. H. S.
Walker, the British Military Mission’s representative in China, who had
recently left there under the impression that Semionov’s days were
numbered. My chances of getting through to Chita looked decidedly small,
and when Consul Gen. Harris with the consular staff, and Col. McMorrow
with the 27th United States Infantry from Verkni-Udinsk blew into the
town with much the same story as Walker’s, they looked even smaller.
However, I decided to try and break through and left on the post train
on the 22d of February for the Station Manchuria, although I was assured
in Harbin that it was impossible to get past that point as the Baikal
Railroad was blocked on both lines with the Czech evacuation. At
Manchuria, by great good fortune, I found Lieut. Lee of the American
Railroad Corps, with a train of flour destined for the coal miners west
of Chita who were supplying coal for the Czechs, and he very kindly
agreed to take me through in his private car. We made the journey in 32
hours, a remarkable performance considering that it had taken evacuating
Americans ten days.
_Saw Remnants of Army._
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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