Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1918-08-15
SOVIET TROOPS
BEGIN LEAVING
RUSS CAPITAL
Loss of City Serious Blow to
Cause of Bolsheviki; Re-
public in Danger

Wireless PreSS) Soviet troops have
begun to evacuate Moscow. The gold
reserves which had been in the base
ment of the Kremlin already have
been removed to an unknown place.
Dispatches received in London on
Monday reporting that Premier Len
inc and War Minister Trotzky had
fed to the naval base at Kronstadt,
added that all the government de-
partments would be removed there.
The fight of Lenine and Trotzky was
said to be due to threats by the So
cial Revolutionists of the Left that
they were about to begin reign of
terror there. Whether the Soviet
troops were forced to depart from
Moscow is not clear, but the loss of
the city to the Soviet government un-
doubtedly will be a serious blow TO
their cause.
Moscow, the ancient capital of
Russia, was made the Soviet capital
in March. The Lenine government
fled there from .Petrograds toward
which the German troops were
marching. 1t has been reported with
in the past few days that the Ger
mans had renewed their march
toward Petrograd. Czecho-Slovak
troops have been reported in force
along the Volga, about 500 miles
east. or MOSCOW.
London, Aug. 15.-The Soviet gov
ernment has issued a proclamation
declaring the Russian republic is In
danger, according to kilograms from
Helsingfors received in Stockholm
and quoted by the correspondent OF
the Times there.
The Petrograd Soviet has removed
to Kronstadt owing to the insecurity
of the city. Bands of armed peasants
are reported marching on Petrograd
from surrounding districts. They de-
clare they are starving and that the
Red Guards have stolen all their
food. Dissatisfaction with the Soviets
is said to prevail everywhere in Rus
sia.
Reuters Limited learns that Brit
ish troops on their way to join the
Czecho-Slovak troops on the Ussuri
front, were received by the Czechs
with the greatest enthusiasm at
Nicolak and elsewhere.
The Ussuri river joins the Amur
near Khabarovsk, north of Vladivo-
stok. The Czechs have been engaged
with the Bolsheviki in this region
for several weeks.
Washington, Aug. 15.-Official dis
patches from American Consul Gen
eral Poole, in Moscow, lifted the cur
tain fora moment on what has been
going on in Moscow and revealed an
amazing train of events.
Consul General Poole. after wit
Messing the violation of the French
and British consulates and the ar
rests of the consuls general and their
staffs, destroyed his code book and
papers and turned the affairs of the
American consulate over to the Swe-
dish consul, at the same time de-
manding safe conduct from the coun-
try for himself and his associates.
French and British citizens have
been arrested and the Bolshevik have
announced they would hold them as
hostages because of the attack on
the Soviet government by British
and French troops at Archangel.
Members of the French and Brit
ish military missions stationed in
Moscow were refused permission TO
leave the country in spite of preVl-
Gus promise of safe conduct.
1t is possible that since the send
ing of Consul General Poole's tele-
grams, which began on July 29 and
continued until August 6, the situd-
ton may have changed, because 1t is
reported that Lenine and Trotzky,
the Bolshevik leaders, have fled and
the Soviet government in Miscow
may have been overthrown. In that
event. Mr.. Poole and the entente
missions may find themselves in a
better situation.
The story is told in sequence in
the State Departments official an
nouncement of it's devices from MY
Poole. 1t follows:
The Department of State has
now received several kilograms from
Consul General Poole, at Moscow,
concerning recent events in that city.
Following is summary of them:
lone of the kilograms, similar in
character to a previous message re-
ceived through other channels, states
that on July 29 Lenine declared re-
peatedly before an official gathering
of the Soviets that a state of war
existed between the Russian republic
and the. allied powers. Because OF
this the diplomatic Representatives in
Moscow of Great Britain and the
consular Representatives of France,
Italy and the United States visited
the commissariat for foreign affairs
and inquired II Lenine's declaration
should not be considered declara-
ton of war, involving the rupture
of de facto relations and the depart
ure of the consul. Tchitcherin said
that it need not be so understood,
that it was q state of defense rather
than a state of war, and that the
government desired to continue its
relations with the entente as ii did
with Germany, under analogous cir
cumstances.
THE consuls demanded that to be
acceptable the explanation must be
publicly made by the head of the
government himself. They also
pointed out that the question was
inseparable from that of the depar-
a.lre of the members of the former
military mission. After having
agreed to facilitate the departure of
these persons, in accordance with in
ternational law, the government, they
said, had raised absolutely inadmis-
sable objections. The foreign repre-
sentatives also stated that they could
not see in this attitude anything but
confirmation of Lenine's declaration
of the existence of a state or give
a reply within three days.
son the night of August a reply
was received from Tchitcherin. 1t
stated that inasmuch as Lenine's ut
terances were made behind closed
doors, public explanation could not
be given about nonpublic utterances.
AS to the members of the military
missions 'rchitcherin said that nego-,
tiations had been begun with the.
German authorities to procure safe
passage from Petrograd to Stock
holm for these officers, passage.
through Archangel being impossible
because British cruisers had already