New-York tribune., 1918-03-31

everywhere ana both soldiers and
peasants succumb to the teues.. !
ton. When the deserters q, I ~
modified soldiers come into , ~, ~
their FIRST business is to locate ~
saloons CT stores where alcoho, j.
secretly on sale. When such nl.,.
is open they demand drink. vhs,
closed they break in, and in eve,v
instance pogrom results, with lom
Of human life and property.
A few weeks before my leayi,,
for the United States l wanted ta
take a couple of weeks rest from NJ,
Petrograd experiences, and I wrot,
to 4 friend in the Province Of Val
hynia asking him whether his womb
be a quiet place tor me.
His reply was: "Our latest mi.
fortune is just ore day old. An in
cendiary fire broke out YESTERDAY
WHICH lalo waste Whole block Of
houses. Fires and robberies ara
everyday occurrences. 1t is imno,
sale to travel, as the highways are
no more safe. You are happy peo.
pie over there"
AS l approached with this in
qulry several friends, l received on
the following day another letter de-.
scribing conditions in another cor.
ner Of Russia:
"The soldiers have dragged out
Prince Sangashka to the market
place and his body was pierced with
nails. His farm was burned and
his residence ransacked. We are
afraid of our lives"
The police in Russia is now abol.
lshed. At first the citizens them.
selves formed a militia for safety
and order, but the militiamen could
not cope with the armed hooligans,
criminals and deserters who infested
almost all of Russia. SO the mill
tary committees have taken over
the policing of the large cities and
armed soldiers in patrols of three
and four are stationed at the posts
of former "Gorodovoi" police, and
try to keep order, arresting drunk
ards, stopping street fights, etc.
But 1t is worse in the provincial
cities where no military garrison is
stationed. The deserting soldiers
specially aim at these cities, as there
they meet the least resistance to
their depredations. They always
procure their vodka" and as soon
as they get drunk they attack houses
and stores, taking away with them
every conceivable things Things
which they cannot take away they
destroy. In Krementcug a drunken
soldier was seen dancing on piano
which was thrown out of a window.
In Pheodosia the soldiers have de-
stroyed all the vineyards and dam.
aged the ripe grapes.
When the deserters appear at
such places the local soldiers and
workingmen's committee cables to
the nearest cities for help, and when
the drupken mob learns help is com.
ing in the form of military detach-
ment it runs amuck. Shooting be.
tween the two parties results in
more property being destroyed and
more civilians terrorized
The army is now run by the Revo.
lutionary Military Committee Of the
Bolsheviki, consisting Of represent
ative delegates from every battal-
ion and every regiment of the army.
The committee is directing the
affairs of the army. 1t sends SOL
diers to guard the prisons, to police
the city, and these are "bosslng" the
army.
The Russian soldier has now Ger
tain hours of duty. He is soldier
only in these particular hours. AS
soon as his duty is over he takes on
his uniform, if ne can afford civilian
clothes, and walks about in the
streets. But in his uniform ne II
much safer. He may get drunk
molest women, and no one will IN, n,
terfere. The military police VII
seldom interfere with drunken
soldier, as he is Of their own class.