The Saint Paul globe., 1905-01-23
RUSSIAN SOLDIER
TELLS Of ARMY LIFE
Deserter From Cars Ranks
Living in ST. Paul Relates
Experiences

SIX weeks ago Samuel BoToshow lS0
Robertson street St. Paul, was private
In the ranks of a Russian regiment sta
J1oneo at Ostionka, near Warsaw. Russia.
oGay the Russian soldier is employed in
" est side tannefy and makes his home
with a brother on Robertson street, on the
west side. He is taking on flesh after
two years of privation spent in the Rus
sian army with its ir4eager fare, and harsh
treatment from superior officers ,Dero-
snow IS but twenty-five years of age and
is small and under sized
I shall show You of what size the czar
makes soldiers. said brother who
proudly declared he had been an American
TOT TWO years. and he led the way to the
iiftIoI iiftie YES sesterday ay where young man
WITH The children of the family
ne has peen in the Russian army for
neariy ay TWO years the brother explained
ne had been sent with his regiment 10
Manchur1a. Then one day came a letter
SAYING that our brother had been granted
sr,,aa d aaaf,ough . OF SIX weeks as reward for
II ne would send him ticket to ST. Paul
ana some money with which he could
PRIDE prlpe the mayor of his home city~to give
him a passport perhaps he could sue
coed in escaping from Russia and come
to America.
Mayor Provides Passport
We Immediately sent the ticket and
the money. For $25 the mayor gave him q
passport which permitted his absence
from the city for three days and at the
sau ss oI that time he had crossed the
America.
Oh. he looks much better than when
ne ne arrived a week ago" the admiring
we have found him a Job in a tannery.
he Is earning good wages for a green
norm. and III year or two he will be in
business in a small way''
t,0ndltInnc i,, pr,ce-
PAD as now, the ex-soldier of the car
SAID, his brother acting as interpreter.
.,,.Iia Forms rly none but the poor Jews was
subjected to needless SuSpieion and nerse-
cution. Since the war with japan official
inLer1erence with private life has become
unbearabie. No man. high or low. is ex-
eLnpt from the suspicion Of disloyalty' to
the government. A man is accused by an
enemy of having spoken something
against the government He is imme9.
alately arrested and taken away His
ttiellos t,;le "a ana FAMILY see him no more, and
MS Iate IS mystery that is unexplained.
Inc soldiers dare not breath a word
OF Their feelings towards the czar and
ms government Instant death is the
afraid to speak. No one can tell who
may betray him. Everybody is on his
guard and while the soldiers may feel like
flsiig tn iei AGAINST their officers and would like
IN demanding their rights, they are afraid.
Soldiers Almost Starve
Unless a soldier has friends or family
outside the army he can hardly live on
the ratlons issued to him. Neither in
quantity nor quality does the department of
subsistence furnish the soldiers sufficient
Iooos; Meager rations of dry, hard bread
are M doled out with cabbage once day.
NO meat its way into the army sta
toned in the empire It is claimed tba +
the supply of meat is needed for the men
in Manchuria.
The soldiers in the garrisons through
out the empire live in constant dread of
being sent to Manchuria. for they hear
dreadful stories of death in battle and in
hospitals from disease From my little
nome city of OStlonka six young Jewish
boys have been drafted for service in the
orient and their relations have not heard
from them since
The men at the garrisons are drilled
from twelve to fourteen hours a day in
order to harden and prepare them for the
movement to the front, which is always
expected and always dreaded On such
poor food and with such hard work the
men are In poor condition and not fit for
work. The officers live like princes. for
in addition to the salaries they receive,
tuneS.''