Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1918-11-29
BOLSHEWK COURIER
ARRESTEDBY Firms.
Documents Seized and Sent
to HeIsingfors-Soviet
Recall Reported.
BY RAssETT DIGBY.

BY BASSETvT DIGbIs
CabIegrnm to The Evening Star and
Chicago Daily News. Copyright, 1918.
STOCKHOLM. Sweden. November
GA bolshevik courier from Lenin
is here seeking to reach Petrograd.
He was arrested in Bjorke. Finland,
and his documents were seized and
sent to Helsingfors. Undue attention
is given to various versions of the re-
port that Lenin and his gang are con-
templating a swift departure aboard
the ship Aurora, which is'lying at the
mouth of the Neva with steam up. The
naval situation in the Baltic is such
now that it is highly improbable that
the Aurora could even reach Scandi-
navian waters and far less of emery
ing beyond them if the gang is will
ing to risk a hostile reception in
Scandinavia.
Less risky routes are open il they
wish to travel incognito through the
north of Finland, for instance. Rus
slams here consider it far more likely
that when the bolshevik leaders real
ize that the game is up they will
adopt DISCUSSES, change their names,
slip away and hide in some remote
provincial village until times are i'm
proved. Russian news correspondents
are in despair. They are completely
isolated from the world. Little comes
out of Russia except the emissions by
wireless of the bolsheviki. which are
merely grossly exaggerated propa-
ganda. 1t takes many days for verbal
messages or smuggled dispatches to
reach the nearest fringe of the outer
world which is here. Even Viborg,
Finland, which in normal times is
only four hours by rail from Petro-
grad, now gets most of its Russian
news from Stockholm, after the ships
arrive.
Bolshevist No Mans Land.
For once the tranquil creek Sys-
terbeck. constituting the Finno-Rus-
sian frontier, threads a no mans
land, where rifles and machine guns
pour blasts of death on any signs
of the presence of man. Bloshevistic
cruelty has been unable to initiate the
German electric wire death fence
on the Dutch-Belgian border. but
bullets still account for daily deaths
among the frantic Russian refugees.
A few have been lucky enough to get
through. Among these was the for
mer veteran minister of war, Gen.
Suchomlinoff. Not long before the
war l saw the great war minister's
triumphant journey of inspection in
Siberia. Wherever Suchomlinoff went
the cohorts of local generals were
saluting and bowling like trees in a
gale of wind. What contrast to
visualize the haggard graybeard
breathlessly crouching in the bushes
on the bank, and then when the SEN
try's back is turned Scrambling speed
lily down and wading across the creek
with mud and icy water up to his
armpits, and then dash into the
Finnish lines! Many Russians. once
of great wealth, have undergone the
same ordeal.
Information reaching me today has
been two weeks on the way and has
lost most of its appositeness in these
days when history changes over
something not hitherto revealed,
namely, that powerful pressure is
being brought to bear on the soviet
government to return to Petrograd,
where the resentment because of neg
lect and lack of self-conidence has
the dwindling bolshevik supporters |
Sinoviev, whosat first was delighted
at the Importance he acquired by the
beninites permitting him to run
Petrograd and the northern COM
mune, almost like little kingdom of his
own. is now beginning to feel the
weight of his task. He is trying to
prevail upon the government to re-
assume responsibility. but there is no
lnolcatlon that Lenin is complying.
Treated Like Plague Ships.
Bolshevist vessels arriving near Dan
ish ports from Russia are treated like
plague ships. The moment their red
revolutionary flag is sighted Danish war
ships steam out to meet and accom-
pany them. remaining in the vicinity
while they anchor. They are allowed
to have no communication with the
land.
One such ship which was trying to
enter Elsinore a few days ago had a
warShip come up and tell her to clear
out OF Danish waters Immediately. She
then withdrew across the SOUND into
Swedish waters, but subsequently re-
turned to point off Copenhagen, where
she was permitted to anchor under
watch. This vessel, which was the first
bolshevist ship to visit Danish waters,
resembled Noah's ark as regards the
numbers of women and children, fami-
lies of the crew. living aboard, and also
the wide assortment Of farmyard stock
Another ship arrived yesterday.
That Russia holds no lure for non
bolshevists, was shown few days ago
when the Danish authorities decided to
repatriate the Russian crews of the two
informed steamers Orion and Birma by
the Danish steamer ST. Thomas to
came alongside with an order to fetch
the crews over to the St Thomas, the
Russians declared that they would
rather run the risk of being shot or
hanged in Denmark than return to the
Russian hell When an officer boarded
the Orion the wretched men lay down
on the deck, kicked and refused to get
up. Some of them had to be dragged
like sacks to the gangway and lowered
struggling to the torpedo boats deck,
whence they were taken to the st.
Thomas and sent to Libau.