The Daily Missoulian. [volume] (Missoula, Mont.) 1904-1961, 1917-11-04
Missoula Man Tells Story
OF Russian Revolt as
-~s
He Felt It.
STAYED IN HOUSE
DURING WILD DAYS
Composure Of Witness Kept
Him Cool Through First
Upheaval.

who relates that although he was in
the capital city of the worlds largest
nation at a time when the throne of
the most despotic monarch was crumb-
ling; when blood was flowing In the
streets, and when the most peculiar
and paradoxical revolution was so ex-
peditionsly taking place during a for
eign war, he didn't see much.
Il Just kept indoors, where sat
down and waited for them to finish
their shooting" calmly said Wilbur
Catlin, just returned from a two-year
stay in Petrograd and now visiting his
sister, Mrs. E. Z. Hershey, 235 South
Fifth street west.
Composure under such conditions is
n fine art, and when man has six
feet and three or four inches of it
and well proportioned-one would be
inclined to think that such a man had
more than his share. Such was the
impression that a Missoulian reporter
gained in an interview with Mr.. Cat
lin. In fact. the impcrturbable way
in which Mr.. Catlin related the Incl
dents of the Russian revolution would
watr0ut tho speculation an to whether
he would wink his left or his right
eye II . giant fire cracker would
suddenly explode beneath his chair.
Red Banners Marked Beginning.
The first intimation of revolu-
ton that | had Mr.. Catlin remarked,
after scanning his memory OF the
event, after a question was asked in
regard to the beginnings of the revolt.
was the appearance of a great num-
bcr of people parading the streets
carrying red banners. There seems
to have been an accumulation of griev-
ances such as the lack of food. the
perfidy of Soukomlinoff, the war min-
lister, and his trial, and other things.
The revolution was not planned
event; 1t just evolved. OF course, the
parade and the Cossacks met and an
endeavor was made to suppress the
popular expression. The Cossacks
would ride their horses through the
masses of people in their efforts to
disperse them, but the mobs grew
Finally. on Sunday. think it was, tthe
revolution started on Thursday, l be-
lieve). I heard shots for the first time
cxar Met His Own Fall.
Then something happened-I don't
know just how-but you know what i,
was. The czar was aboard his pri.
vate train somewhere journeying te
Petrograd. When he got to his capi.
tai his abdication papers were all made
out ana he just signed them. l guess
that was all. am sorry that 70,
went to all the trouble and bother II
see me when this Is all that saw" he
said to the reporter Il really didn'
see much.
Saw Shooting on Street.
.'Oh, yes, / did get mixed up n lit
tie in the counter revolution in July,
Mr.. Catlin continued, rs though h,
had nearly forgotten about it, "thougl
hadn't intended to do so. You re
member, possibly, of seeing picture
in the Literary Digest, and perhap
other papers, where people wer
moved down in the streets of Petro
grad by the hundreds and thousand
by machine guns. Well. l happene
to be on the street that day and whel
they began to shoot ! stopped for :
few hours in q cowshed. where I sa
DOWN ana Wdttcu lOI Nucil W get uOIi
shooting, and then / went home. Th
revolution was none Of my busines.
SO I decided to keep out of it,
Arch Traitor Of World.
Mr.. Catlin spoke of Soukomlinof
the Russian war minister, as the are
traitor of the world. "The Russia
soldiers are wonderful fighters. and
they had had half a chance the stor
of Russia's part in the war would b
different" he stated. when til
truth of things finally filtered int
the Russian peoples ears, it is not SUI
prising that there was an uprisin
Ammunition and war materials wei
being shipped all over Russia" sal
Mr.. Catlin. land to all points excel
where they needed them.
I'm the early weeks of the war Il
Russian army was supplied with OF
rifle for every two men. In Il
fighting in Galicia the Russians hs
one rifle for every six men, and lat
one rifle for every 10 men. Battalion
were even sent into battle unarme
They fought like demons with clu
against German rifles and bayonet
Relief could not be brought becau