The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1914-11-05
DETAILS or COSSACK
WORSE THAN
o OF A
Non-conbatant Men Shot Down by seores-Eyes Put
Out and Noses Cut off,-one Young Girl Mistreard
Fourteen Times by the Marauding Russians.

Konigsberg, East Prussia (By staff
correspondent of New York World.
Sent by mail Oct. 12)-Ruin, desola- .
ton and murder lie in the wake of
the Russian army. that invaded and
overran' East Prussia from the be-
ginning of the war until they were
smashed by Won Hintenburg in the
series of battles that began with Tan
nenburg and ended with the annihil-
alton of Samsanoff's army at the
Masurian Lakes.
And now the Russians are coming
again, coming in spite of the deter
mined resistance of the Germans, who
are not sufficiently strong in numbers
to hold back the evergrowing swarms
of the Russian hosts which, no later
than two days swung past the Ger
man right wing and retook Lyck and
Goldapp. The Inhabitants of East
Prussia, especially the southern sec
ton, are all fleeing from the invad-
ers. Their earlier experience has
driven fear deep in their hearts.
To investigate the charges of. bar
barism-of atrocities that were SEEM,
ingly Incredible have made a tour
of the province of East Prussia in
behalf of The World. The journey,
from the start, in Berlin until the re-
turn, took me over something like
1000 miles and carried me into more
than forty cities and villages, where
! gathered at first hand the evidence
of the manner in which the Russians
(for the most part Cossacks) make
war.
Found Charges More Than True.
Torture, murder, incendiarism,
robbery and attacks on women. These
were five characteristics that marked
the Cossacks wherever they appear
ed as the advance guards of the Rus
sian armies in their ~so-called march
on Berlin" AS I had heard charges
of outrages against troops as made
in France and England and had been
able to find on the occasions little real
basis o the accusations, / entered
upon the investigation with a mind
disposed to believe that the accounts
were overdrawn and that the alleged
misconduct had been justified per-
haps by the rules of war. But I
found the actual conditions to be SO
bad, the play of unchecked passions
SO terrible that the account almost
defies belief.
And it should be said that, on the
other hand, the Germans who later
entered Russia in pursuit of the fee
Ing armies of the Gear were held uE-
der such an iron discipline that not
one MnEle instance was he able to
gather Of misconduct on their part.
Every soldier was held personally re-
sponsible to his direct officer and
they In turn held accountable to their
superiors SO that there could be. no
misbehavior without an immediate
reckoning.
German Troops Welcomed.
1t may be that the charges against
the Germans that we're made in Bel
GUM had a s%alutatory effect; but
whatever the reason 1t is simple JUS
tice to say that the soldiers in Rus
sfa never once departed from the iron
rules governing the military in their
relations with the civilians. i per
sonally saw and spoke to many In
habitants of Russian villages-most
of them Jews but with representatives
Of other religions as well-and they
rejofced in the coming of the Ger
mans and we're free in expressing the
hope that they would stay.
One other point should be brought
out at the beginning and that is that
Gen. Rennenkamp, chief commander
OF the Cars northern armies. per-
sonally opposed the e Of his
troops and whenever he was present
himself the conduct Of the men was
better. But the greater part OF the
atrocities we're committed by the
wild, lawless marauders. the Cos.
sacks, who have only a thin, tennous
connection with the regular forces
and who allow themselves the great.
est limits in their raids in adyan
OF the main bodies.
Following are q few only Of the
Incidents of Russian atrocities t dis.
covered:
The little old village OF Stanton.
pen, or whatshad been S%tantoppen
spoke mutely of the meaning of wa,
as I rode into 1t along a road dotted
with graves that marked the bitter
lighting that took place all through
the Landkfeix Rossel of East Prus
STA. Here and there were shells o,
houses, b1ackened and shaky, monu
ments made by Russian torches.
On the streets Of the village, tina
nee sheltered something like
Thousand Inhabitants. there were-t,
be seen onlySa few old men and NO
men, with here and there gcunge
men who had been refugees and thu,
escaped the fury that swept to deatl
every male inhabitant of the vilIag,
between the ages Of fourteen an.
seventy. who were there on Aue
20. Twenty-one persons were sho
by thes Cossacks, two ct them va
men, and the story. OF the shootin!
10 an biting q piece Of tragedy % "a,
tour brought ont.
Stantoppen. after the massacre
was put#t6sthe torch, but notssbefor
the Cossacks had mistreated tenswo
men, Elizabeth Rittel. ffty-eigh
wears old, was attacked eight time
insthe presence Of her husband IN,
son, who afterwafd were shot. Nine
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