The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1917-08-09

to be almost insuperabie. Yet high
officials began to believe here today
| that by strengthening the waNering
Russian line in Galicia and Runnania
the United States can do more for the
allied cause than In almost any Other
way.
! Report Encouraging.
| On theis face the reports of the
! Root mission were encouraging. Mr..
Root told OF the growing confidence in
kerensky and the innate peacefulness
and emenabilitv to authority OF the
vast mass of the Russian people.
There is no more disorder In Rus
STA today than there is in the United
States" Mr.. Root said.
The report OF General Scott on the
! military observations he made were
also optimistic.
| Il saw the slav armies roll back
the enemy on front OF fifteen miles
! long" said General Scott, occupying
trenches and capturing $4,000 prison
ers. The Russian general officers,
most OF whom are young men. are
wonderful leaders"
/ But this encouraging condition.
General Scott admitted, related to the
period of some weeks ago when the
Russian drive had not been stemned
and turned into a rout.
r. Georges Bahkmetieff. Russian am
hassador here. said some time ago
that Russia was not in need of our
| troop s.-. He said her great need at
/ this time was for munitions and rail-
road material. particularly the latter.
II is considered likely. however, that
the recent defeats in Galicia and Ru-
mania may have changed his mind.
The administration Is frankly not
anxious to send new American troops
into the fighting on the eastern front.
1t will mean a campaign harder than
any American soldier has gone through
since Valley Forge.
Would Mean War With Austria.
Chief Of the diplomatic difficulties
in the way OF such a move Is the fact
that We have never declared war on
Austria The German and Austrian
armies are fishting side by side on the
eastern front The same may be said
.. Of throwing American troops into the
Italian front.
possible solution OF the problem
which the administration may move
to effect at any time, is TO persuade
England and France to send their sur
plus men TO the Russian and Italian
fronts while the United States takes
over larger and larger sectors of the
western front in France and Belgium,
where our force would be opposed
only TO the Germans
The Root mission arrived In Wash
ngton this morning. No report OF
the missions conference with the
president was made public Before
seeing Mr. Wilson. Root said to
newspaper men:
Russia VIII Pull Out.
Russia will pull out The only
thing that can now break up Rus
STA is Germany. If Germany can
overwhelm Russia the republic is in
danger"
Evidences Of German hostility both
within and without Russia came In
reports from Ambassador Francis to-
day, telling of huge sums OF German
gold used in Russia and great amounts
OF counterfeit money from German
sources aimed to corrupt the new re-
public.
Prussia has remarkable self-con-
troll" Root said without police.
there has been little disorder. The
people have a remarkable sense OF
cohesion and cooperation. The Rus
SLAMS are kindly to orderly procedure.
For instance, cooperative buying and
selling is more successful in Russia
than II is here.
"Russia's new government will take
time, OF course, hut IL is now a gov.
eminent OF actual force. I read the
other day that a disloyal general had
been shot. That shows that the gov
eminent has power. Only the radi-
calls who want no government are
now in opposition, They had that
crowd we'll in hand before we left"
Russia's new government, Mr.. Root
predicted, will be closly modelled on
that Of the United States, with the
| provinces governing themselves in To-
cal matters as do our states