The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1915-09-09

have taken your oath, conducts you,
you will display achievements hither-
to unknown 1 believe that God from
this day will accord to His elect His
all powerful aid and will bring to him
victory
Emperor Nicholas. like The heads of
all nations, is accorded the honorary
command of the army and navy in
times of peace, and the announce
ment that he had assumed this post
did not at first bring out its real inn
port. 1t was believed that he was
merely impressing upon his troops
the fact that he was their real leader,
for the moral effect
The London newspapers all took
this view of the matter until the an
nouncement came that the grand duke
had been removed. Then began spec
ulat1on. The recent record of the
duct of the Russian retreat from Ga
Hcia; through Poland, from Warsaw
and then from the second line of Rus
sian defenses beyond the Vistula-aIl
described as efficient and mastery
All this accomplished, too, with lack
of ammunition and with an army
which frequently had only bludgeons
for weapons
A Military Blunder.
No reason can be given by any of
the military experts-from a military
standpoint-for the removal of the
grand duke.
Grand Duke Nicholas virtually held
the army in the palm of his hand. His
popularity, however, did not find re-
Election among the Russian officers,
many of whom he has treated with
marked severity. His puniShments of
them have been swift and hard and
were melted out alike~to them and to
the lowly subaltern. He ma de abso-
lutely no distinction between them.
An interchangeable worker himself he
RI 1a6 ~
him. Any one who shirked was sent
to the rear.
This conduct of the grand duke ap-
pealed TO the average soldier but it
caused much i'll feeling against him
from those in command. The only re-
ply from the grand duke was an oc-
casional complaint that he had failed
to receive the proper support from
Petrograd as regarded arms, ammu-
milton, provisions and hospital sup
plies. He deplored the fact constant
ly that his troops should suffer un-
necessarily-that they should he sac
rificed as was the case in a number
of instances through lack of proper
means with which to defend them
selves. The approach of winter when
the suffsrings of the men will be more
acute, with the shortage of provisions
and hospital supplies drew forth new
complaints from the commandment
chief. Some of his converse lions
with the emperor on those subjects
have been frank and direct to a degree
seldom heard Of in imperial Russian
circles.
Russian Press Silent.
The Russian press is strangely silent
on the emperor's removal of the grand
duke. The Novoe Vremya the only
newspaper which thus far has COM
mented on this subject says:
Our insolvent foe has now received
a worthy answer to his projects. The
Russian emperor has placed himself
at the head of the military forces and
hopes of the Germans for peace are
turned to dust and ashes.
For more than 4 year the chief
command of our army has been vested
in Grand Duke Nicholas whose name
will forever remain in the hearts of
every Russian soldier"
Grand Duke Nicholas is a second
cousin of the emperor. He was APP
pointed commandment of the
Russian armies in the field in August
of last year, virtually coincident with
the outbreak of hostilitieS.
The grand duke was born in 1856.
His father was grand uncle of the
present emperor.