The Watertown news. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1917-1919, 1917-07-27
kerensky Restores Penalty for
Traitors at Demand of
Gen. k0rniIOff.
turn GUNS ON DESERTERS
Slaughter UnpaIIeIed In History En-
sues When Loyal ArtiIierymen
Train Their Cannon on Whole
Division of the Army.

PetrOgrad, July Pin the battle
Tuesday and Wednesday on the Rou-
manian front Roumanian forces cap
tured more than 1000 prisoners, says
the official statement issued by the
Russian war department.. The Rouma
mans also took 33 guns, II machine
guns, 10 mine throwers and much mil
itary material. On the same front, the
statement says, the Russians captured
about 1000 prisoners and "a guns.
London, July 27.-Kerensky and
korntlof, Russia's men Of the hour,
met anarchy and disloyalty with blood
and iron.
Dispatches from Petrograd leave no
room for doubt that Kerensky's dicta-
torship Is to be a real dictatorship;
that he will sanction and approve ex-
treme measures when necessary to re-
store a semblance Of order out of
chaos which for a time seemed to
threaten the complete disintegration
Of the Russian armies and, indeed, the
Russian state.
Russian Is now no longer an an
archistic Utopia; place Of impossi-
bic freedoms that contained more of
Hcenseetl an of liberty. She is feeling
the strong hand.
Rules Workmen's Council.
Four outstanding things were In dis
patches from Petrograd, things which
held out promise, In the opinion Of OBJ
servers here, that Kerensky, with the
aid Of his military commanders, of
whom korniloff stands out, might yet
pull Russia through" These things
were:
1. Kerensky has acquired complete
ascendancy over the workmens and
soldiers committee, 30 that 1t now
makes no attempt to issue DEGREES.
His command oe the provisional gov
ernment Is supreme. The ministers he
has gathered around him have agreed
completely SO far with all his proposals
and are supporting them to the ut
most.
2. His first act has been to restore
the death penalty for treason. This
action, taken with the consent of his
ministers, is designed to wipe out dis
affection in the army which has made
its commanders pOwerless and which
has enabled the Germans to make their
gains in Galicia after the Russian army
had apparently regained its power as
q war machine.
B. A censorship Of dubious newspa-
pers has been established. The papers
affected were guilty Of diss eminating
appeals to disloyalty among the troops.
The new order provides for the sus-
pension Of such papers.
Begin Counter-Attacks.
4. AS result, the Russian army Is
again showing evidences Of resistance,
The Germans continue to strike In Ga
Hcia but In the Carpathians and Rou-
mania Russian and Roumanian forces
have opened a counter offensive ap-
parently designed to tighten the pres
sure on Korniloffs hard-pressed le-
gions, and has met with considerable
initial successes.
Korniloff himself has taken the most
extreme measures to halt the rout Of
his army. He wired to Kerensky
threatening to resign his command un-
less permitted TO order executions for
treason and cowardice among his men.
This forced Kerensky's hand.
After a hurried meeting of the pro-
visional government the permission
was wired back. Korniloff Immediate
ly, according to press dispatches, or
dered his loyal artillery to turn their
guns on a whole division Of the Elev-
enth army approximately $4,000 men).
A slaughter ensued unparalleled In the
history of modern civilization.
The provisional government decided
to establish on all the Russian fronts
courts martial composed of three off,
GERS and three soldiers.