Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1914-09-19
RUSSIAN NEWS REPORTS
INCREDIBLE, SAYS DUMBA
Austrian Ambassador Denies Truth of
Stories From Petrograd.

NEW YORK. Sept. 19.-Dr Constantin
Dumba the AustI Hungarian Ambassa-
dor eXasperated by reports of extensive
Russian victories in GaliCla and Russian
Poland. has given out a statement char
acterizing the reports as absolutely false
and misleading, and designed to iniiu-
ence public sentiment against Austria.
Ambassador Dumbn's statement reads:
Il am compelled to protest most em-
phatically against the false reports sent
via London from Rome, Milan, Geneva,
Copenhagen and st. Petersburg about the
Austrian campaign in Russian Poland
and Galicia. To quote some of these re-
ports purportinS to come from official
sources:
CALLS STORY INCREDIBLE.
"'The Austrians lost since the battles
Of Lemberg 100000 men, dead and
wounded and 100000 prisoners l have
read this incredible lie at least twenty
times in big headlines, repeated even in
the same paper several times. But we
hear that Immediately afterward the
Austrian Generals, Dankl and Auffen-
berg, who had to retreat from Russian
Poland, succeeded in uniting and rally
Ing for a new Iag.' ! do not think that
anybody endowed with "A little common
sense can for one moment believe that an
army Of 100000 having lost 100000 mon
should be able Immediately to rally for
new fight
According TO official 60 Pctro-
grad news, the Austrans, while rcccding
and hotly pursued to Lemberg, had al
ready lost about 100000 men. trhcre was
hardly any one left to tell the tale.D
The steel forts of the first class fortress
OF Michailowsk had been silenced and
stormed with incredible bravery by the
Russians In reality Michailowsk is
small village with 9O7 inhabitants, where
the Austrian troops had erected provi-
slonal field trenches. The reports spoke
Of $40 Austrian field guns and 1000 heavy
guns captured Nobody knows the
Whereabouts of these mythical 1909 heavy
guns ms no Austrian fortress has been
taken)
Then again: The backbone of the
Austrian army in Galicia was utterly
broken after the fall of LemberG,' 1t
practically no longer existed, SO that
Inc dreaded Cossacks had their choice
between a rush to Budapest to join hands
win the Serbs and the announced on
s!ausht to Berlin via Breslau,"
CALLS NEWS FANTASTIC.
Count Berchtold, the Austrian Foreign
Secretary, sent the following dispatch by
wireless denying Russian reports:
Il tIS bdtlle OF lLemDelS the oHl-
e,aI russians news agency published as
usual fantastic news about an alleged
sic'oFy OF the Russians, giving the num-
yer 9I prisoners taken as $4,000 and the
NUMBER of captured guns as 200
y Is interesting to compare with this
s,ory the official communique of the Rus
sI siah General staff, dated September Il.
LUut the same battle. Here the numbers
aase 1--we gone down to 5000 prisoners and 30
en- ems The communique admitted that
positisal hfussllow was in a very critical
position and escaped defeat onIy aftor
hard lighting.
sl. Is not at all astonishing that Rus
n,a,,a ms used purely strategic concentrating
bssi. uEers of our forces around Lem
rs,,f,a Tor spreading false reports; but the
nro,.0s [utous way in which this is done best
SeSsss mat our own official war reports
Inc fullest confidence"