The Detroit times. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1903-1920, 1914-11-18
RUSSIA ONLY
STARTING FIGHT.
SAYS WRITER
Millions Still Flocking to Front
by Every Road In the
Empire
HALF WILD TRIBES ARE
PRESSED INTO SERVICE
Savage Horsemen Find Pleasure
in Staying and Rob
bling

| (Stdf Correspondent United Press)
PETROGRAD, Russia, Nov. IT,
The war Is really just starting In Rus
STA. The bear IS only now rising to
the attack. Despite the millions at
the front. they are still nocking to the
colors. tramping ana gaiioping In by
every road.
This has been going on for two
months. II probably will so on for q
year and the never ending ranks will
be made up OF faces new to the fight
Ing front.
On they -Circassians, Cos
sacks, Little Russians. Siberians. men
from the regions of the Altai and the
Urals. and, most terrifying Of all. the
wild eyed, confused. Mohammedans
from Turkestan and the kirghez
steppes--the stolid peasants to fight
for the little white father, the tribes.
men 10 loot and slay
J. Hwould hate to be German fight
ing man after what I have seen. And
that's no slur on the German. For
| even II soldier of the kaiser van
quish ten Of these fierce Russians ten
more will rise up TO take the places OF
! their slain fellows. Those are my i'm
pressions after an eventful trip to
/ Warsaw.
Murder a Pleasure, Robbery Boast.
| But perhaps my opinions are sway
cd by visions OF the unconquered and
untame/ BasEtBazouks, thousand
motley bands OF savage horsemen,
with whom murder Is a pleasure and
robbery a. boast. In mob formation
the olatter along the abominable road,
ponies swapping and biting at each
other. their no less vicious masters
granting strange Moslem oaths--
l"Mashallah" and "Wullah" and "Bil
lahi"--which seems to start deep In
the throat and get no further than the
teeth.
The only uniformity in the half
crazed horseEen Is found In their red
riding boots. and In the broad knives
and wooden-butted pistols which are
stuck In their sashes. Five saddle
bags they carry.
"One for the rider, one for the
horse and three for gold watches" the
interpreter will tell you with smile.
And II Is true. The gold watches
are those the wild Bashi- Bazouks have
been told are carried by every German
soldier. Love OF the little white father
has not brought these terrible men
| into the war. II Is the gold watches
home with him after the war.
This I discovered after half an hour
of hard work on the part Of my inter
prefer. He is young student. son OF
high Official In the government, and
exempt from military service because
he is awaiting appointment to diplo-
matte post as an undersecretary. He
had spent a year In England studying.
Through his fathers connections
was enabled to see Warsaw-or as
much OF II as they would permit me,
without an army ofiicer as guardian.
suppose this was partly because Rus
sia ne eds every officer she has and fur
ther because these Russians are ex-
tremely hospitable people.
The word hospitable may sound
strange after just describing the
shi-Bazouks. But these wild men
are by no means the Ivan Ivanovitch,
or ordinary soldier. of Russia. The
real Russians outnumber them 20 to L.
My young interpreter didn't like the
idea OF their being In the war, but he
disposed OF IL with a shrug and ges-
ture.
THEY are Russians" he, said. LET
them fight for their country"
Real Russians Are Irregular Guys"
The ordinary Russian, the man from
the small towns and farming country,
give you his shirt or make the chill
dren go to bed hungry in order that
tho traveller could eat. He IL stolid,
~ Ia h,,t n l.
have examined Ivan at close range
and find him what we would call In
America 3 regular guy.
But wfthal Ivan Is queer cuss. De.
votioc to the emperor-they don't call
him car over here's not the only
thing that makes him 20 to war with
delight. He has another reason. IL
he goes to war he doesn't have to
work and Ivan shuns work with con-
stancy that would put to shame the
American hobo.
For war Is merely getting shot,
sleeping In damp trenches and going
without food--an everyday expert
ence to the Russian peasant. That's
the violent devil.may-care life he
leads during peace except that the de-
llghtful program Is interrupted by
three days of work every week.
Ivan Quits Drink; Works Now.
On Friday Ivan doesn't work because
it's near the end OF the week. Satur.
day IN the end Of the week: no labor.
Sunday, naturally Is a rest day. Mon.
day Is too early to get started On
Tuesday Ivan has a good old Ameri.
can hangover and brown taste In his
mouth when he starts OF to work and
perhaps he'll take the day on. It's q
glorious system.
or course. the cars prohibition or.
der. which really prohibits, has done
much to remedy this condition and
now Il IL declared the factories are
running Ave and six days week and
the work in the fields Is not shirked.
The little white father did a daring
thing when he abolished the vodka
traffic. II cut % per cent on the ma.
tons income, as the government con-
trolled the output But new system
OF taxation which hits the Weather
class almost exclusively II now being
established to make good the lost rev
enue. -
LET us deliver our people from the
alcohol evil Finances will take care
Of themselves" he Is reported as say
ing. Y.
Ijy the way. this IN the same czar of
Russia who was the author of The
Hague peace conference and only a
few years ago proposed disarmament