Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-10-18
High Military Authority Of Al
lied Powers Visits Cars
Domain.
TELLS ASSOCIATED PRESS
PEOPLE TRUST EMPEROR
Declares That Every Defeat Has
Served Only to Confirm Them in
Efforts to Drive Out Germans.
Correspondence of the Associated Press.

Correspondence Of the Associated Press.
ATHENS, September 1s-A distin-
guished military authority Of one of the
allied powers. who has just completed
a stay Of several months in Russia,
with the imperial armies. has furnished
the Associated Press with a summary
of the situation at the time when the
Emperor Of Russia took personal COM
mand of the land and naval forces of
the empire.
1T is useless to deny the gravity of
the situation in Russia" the officer in
question said, but it would be quite
as erroneous to regard Russia's position
today as desperate, or even as one of
imminent danger. The morale of the
Russian forces is absolutely untouched
by the long series Of retreats. The Rus
sian people are for the war to a man.
and every defeat has served only to
confirm them in their stubborn deter
mination, to drive every German from
Russian soil. Were the government to
undertake to make a separate peace
for Russia now, 1t would have to face
L. spontaneous and flaming insurrec-
ton in all parts of the country.
Effect Of Change in Command.
This Is only one side of the medal,
however. The change in the supreme
command Of the imperial armies has
had Its drawbacks. The Grand Duke
Nicholas Nicholaievitch was never a
great tactician. nor did he ever pre-
tend to be. one. But he, had the conf
dence of his officers and the absolute
faith of his men. The latter the en-
peror will also have-perhaps even to
a greater extent than his great-uncle-
for the Emperor of all the Russias Is
Ix~t~
Russian But how much confidence he
will inspire in his officers is another
matter. They know that when Nicho-
las .Nicholaievitch said thing he
meant 1t. He was like a rock in his
decisions, and withal fundamentally
just and of open mind. His officers
could depend upon him. and they did
depend upon him. And it had an excel
lent effect throughout the army.
with the emperor the Russians fear
1t may be different In the first place,
he not only Is not a soldier, but he is
very strong advocate of world peace
He has retained confidence in former
Minister of War Soukhomlinoff, in
whom certainly no one else has any
confidence and who is generally re-
garded in Russia as an incompetent,
who, with Rasspoutin, has had very
sinister influence on the emperor.
Hindrance to Russian Arms.
THE emperor himself also recalled to
office. when, with much difficulty, he
had finally been got rid of, 8. v. Roukh-
loft, who now occupies the most i'm
portant civil post in the empire-that
of the ministry of communication
and who, instead of planning to trans
port arms and munitions to armies In
desperate need of them, is intent upon
working out nationalist theories of his
own Of Russia for the Russians.
I'm place of accepting a very favor
able American offer to erect factories
American war materials by those IA
miliar with the work, Roukhlof In
sisted on having the work done by
Russians totally unfamiliar with it, in
times as long to construct as the
Americans would have required.
"On the financial side the situation is
almost as bad. The minister. P. L.
ity, who knows enough, however, to
be guided largely by his French and
British colleagues. But Chipoff. the
head of the state bank. has given rise
to no little criticism Of his capacity in
Russia by his tnsistence on guarding
the gold reserve and the empire in
tact. whatever happens to Russian ex-
change.
=. Wrong Men Kept in Office.
1T Is the emperors willingness to
keep men like these in office under
present critical conditions which has
filled the intelligent Russian with ap-
prehension at the prospect of his ac-
tive participation in military affairs at
| this uncertain juncture. No one in Rus
STA Is ignorant that the emperor tax es
his traditional position as the father of
his people with almost devout serious
ness. It is scarcely possible to con-
ceive to what unexpected action his
conviction that he is called to be a sec
ond St. Vladimir may lead him His in
tehtions are admitted to be excellent
But Russia could do with little less
exalted purpose and a little more prac-
teal efficiency. I
THE same may be said of the duma.
With the most patriotic Intentions in
the world Of lending the full co-opera-
ton of the people Of Russia to the de-
tense of the empire, its members raised,
at a crisis when nobody has time to
consider them, the most complex and
embarrassing question of internal re-
form. To open the discussion of the
ACCESSIBILITY of a responsible ministry
when plainly every thought Is neces-
sary to the national defense. seems al
most absurd; yet that Is precisely what
the Russians let the dumar do. and by