The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1915-04-23
COLLINS ENTERING
RUSSIA FROM SOUTH
Former Brattleboro Man as Newspaper
Correspondent Is Travelling a
Difficult Route.

A brief cablegram received this
morning announced that William f.
Collins, the News staff correspondent
in Southern Europe, had reached Blu
charest and was proceeding from there
TO Petrograd If Mr. Collins succeeds
in getting to the Russian capital
through Southern Europe he will have
accomplished that which the Russian
consulate in New York and other in
formants acquainted with conditions in
the Near East declared to be impos-
sible at this time.
The cablegram was sent by Charles
J. Vobicka, the American minister at
Bucharest to the state department at
Washington and forwarded from there
1t read: +" Arrived safely: proceeding
to Petrograd. w. F. COLLINS -
BY reaching Bucharest Mr.. Collins
has overcome difficulties which seemed
to be insurmountable when he left New
York Even when he passed through
Naples on his way to Athens there
seemed to be little likelihood of his
getting into Roumania. The above
despatch indicates that he is confident
of successfully negotiating the rest OF
his journey and the fact that the mes
sage was sent by the American min
lister may mean that he is already OF
Russian soil.
Leaving Athens, it is probable thai
the News man went TO Saloniki by
| boat. as rail communications between
| the two cities are incomplete. But be
| tween Saloniki and Bucharest lay Ser
via and Bulgaria. unless the rout,
through Adrianople was open, which i
not at all likely; and. if it were, i
would offer no less difficulties
| The route followed. then. was prob
ably the line running north from Sa
| loniki to Tskub, in Servia, where i
| turns to the east and enters Bulpari:
| bv way of Kostendil and Sofia Unit
very recently. communications between
! Sofia and Bucharent have been yer,
| roundabout Tt was necessary to ira
verse Bulgaria nearly the whole dis
! tance from west to east and thel
double on the trail. Branch lines, how
ever. now connect these parallel road
and there is 2 reasonably direct rout
| through Tirnovo which crosses tn
| Danube at Rustchuk This line prob
ably was followed, bringing the New
man to Bucharest. the Roumanian cap
! ital
Leaving Bucharest, the presumabf
destination of Mr.. Collins is Odessa
from whence railways run north throug
| Moscow to Petrograd. The network o
! Roumanan and Russian railway
would, in normal times, offer severa
| other and more roundabout routes% bu
all of these lines run up into BukC
wilma and Galicia. where they an
| doubtless reserved for military onera
! tions and closed to ordinary traffic.
Odessa in times of peace may b
reached by either rail or steamer or b
"A combination of the two. The raj
wav crosses the Russian frontier a
Galiti. which may also be reached b
| boats down the Danube. There is
/ possibility that Russia has gained sui
1 ficient control of the Black Sea to pei
nit the resumption of water traffic be
tween Odessa and the Mouth of tn
danube. distance of about 100 mile
along the Russian shore. Whicheve
of these routes Mr. Collins may hav
'chosen is fraught with difficulties
| Newark. y. J., News, April q.