New Britain herald., 1917-05-03
ROOT UNMOVED BY
 SOCIALIST CRITICS
Mahtains Silence Regarding 0b- iecti0nS to His Mission to Russia

proposed American commission to Russia. maintained silence yesterday in the face of adverse criticism which his selection has aroused among socialists hero and the warnings that has presence might defeat the aims of the commission. MT. Root said he had read the address of Professor Alexander SPetrunkevitch of Yale at the Economic club dinner here Tues day night. in which the Professor urged his audience. to bring pressure to bear on President Wilson to ap- point men on the commission who would be acceptable to the social democrats, now in power in Russia. but on the address MT. Root declined to comment. been selected by the administration in Washington. so far as known. and 1t was said that MT. Root himself was not being consulted in the designation of others.
 The question whether any socialists here have violated a federal law by sending to Russia reports or allega- tions tending to discredit MT. Root in the eyes of social democrats and thus defeat the measures of the govern ment of the United States" in the words of Section of the Criminal Code. was much discussed yesterday, but no socialists or others could be found who would admit that they had sent messages. They did not con- ceal their hostility toward Mir. Root. and several socialists intimated that the only reason they had not sent messages to Russian newspapers con demning him as an enemy or social- ism was because cit would be . waste of cable tolls" because he was "already only too we'll known to the Russian socialists" Editors of radi- cal socialist papers here freely ad- mitted that they had been attacking Mir. Root since his designation as the head of the commission to Russia and that copies of their papers were being mailed to Russia regularly.
 Socialists Mistaken.
 The principal basis of the attacks on him has been the case of tho Rus- sian radicals. Rudowitz and Pouren. who fled to this country while MT. Root was secretary of state, The Rus sian government sought to have them returned, and Mir. Root h being at- tackled on the ground that he favored their extradition.
 AS d H1e(t0E OA 40Cty @NSOA uAA6 ~ the reports of the Rudowitz and Pouren cases published when the two men were fighting extradition in 1909. MT. Root, who was then secretary of state under President Roosevelt, passed hnal Judgment on whether they should be returned to Russias and determined that neither should be extradited. Previous to making this decision both of them were subjected to prolonged trials before United States commissioners, Jan Pouren in New York and Christian Rudowftz in Chicago, and during these trials Presi- dent Roosevelt. MT. Root, and other government officials were occasionally criticised severely by radicals here for not releasing the men forthwith. Secretary Root said that he wished to have all of the evidence as to tho character of the mons alleged offenseS before him when he made his final decision. He reopened Pouren's case offer the first commissioner who heard 1t had decided that Pouren should be sent back to Russia, and after petition against extradition bearing thousands of signatures had been sent to Washington. After the second hearing. at which new evi- dence was introduced, Secretary Root decided that Pouren's only offenses in Russia had been of . political nature he had taken part in . revolution and decided not to extradite him. Mfr. Root came to the same decision in tho case of Rudowitz and liberated ! him.