The Washburn leader., 1915-09-10
WARSAW EXODUS
WITHOUT PANIC
Residents Fled to Moscow In
Orderly Manner.
MAJORITY WISHED TO STAY

Russian Government Gave Free Rail-
road Transportation to All Who
Wanted to Leave, but Only IS Per
Cent Took Advantage Of the Offer.
Retirement Carefully Planned.
Hundreds Of refugees from Warsaw
are arriving at Moscow daily. Most
of them are without money or means
of sustenance and are seeking aid at
the American consulate, where an en-
larged staff is attempting to supply
temporary assistance pending the or
gunization Of Russian relief commits
| sion.
The refugees state that. although the
population of the Polish capital was
convinced that the Germans ultimately
would occupy the city. a majority of
the citizens elected to remain, only ap-
proximately Is per cent having depart
ed. This accounts for the comparative
order and the absence Of panic which
accompanied the exodus.
When German occupation seemed
imminent the government issued an
order that third class tickets to any
point in the interior Of Russia should
be given free to all citizens desiring to
depart. The only condition attached
by the authorities was that residents
so leaving would not be allowed to re-
turn without special permit.
Residents Feared Famine.
Those choosing the alternative Of de-
parture foresaw that Warsaw would
be visited with conditions similar to
those imposed on Lodz and that the
town would be cut of from the interior
Of Russia. whence all provisions were
obtainable. and that Warsaw would
suffer from famine.
The refugees compare the orderly and
systematic abandonment of the city
with the panic caused by the first Ger
man approach last October. when an
attempt of the city officials. institutions
and private citizens to all bolt at once
resulted In indescribable confusion.
The retirement this time was so care.
fully planned and so systematically ex-
ecuted that It went of like clockwork.
and an onl0oker received the impress
sion that a no more extraordinary phe-
nomenon was occurring than the or1i-
nary summer exodus. Sufficient extra
trains had been provided so that trav-
cling conditions on the whole differed
little from normal.
Provision Tickets Unnecessary.
An unusual feature of the present
abandonment of the city was the fact
that provision tickets were made I'M
necessary.
The ln:lls Of the refugees Travelled on
foot OF with wagons along the high
ways. Most of the refugees were un-
able to plouced Southward and to kiev,
and. finding the railway to Wilma mo-
+. nopoliZeG1 for military purposes. they
took the line to the east. temporarily
crowding Moscow. Vladova and Brest-
!-itovsk. Many OF these lost their
homes in the outlying portions of War
saw. the destruction Of which became
a military necessity.
All tie territory Immediately to the
. west OF Warsaw. containing large fac
tories. Polish estates and peasant
dwellings,. now present blackened and
uninhabitable areas.
Care had been taken that no subur-
! ban factories should full into the hands
of the Germans and be converted to
their usc. Chief among those destroy
ell was the $1.OOO.OOO sugar factory be-
| longing to a Polish lawyer, Eugene
| Karauk. with more than 1000 tons of
sugar.
! The factories in the city itself. al
though abandoned. had not yet been
destroyed when the refugees left the
capital.
| oal nicoo ckalrrcM Nv DECO