The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1918-08-17
EAST FRONT POTENT
AID FOR THE WEST
Continued from First Page.

as they may be made public. and draw
certain military conclusions on our
strategy of our new eastern front as a
whole.
It il established that our new right
wing in Russia has two motivse. First.
there Is the dificult military problem
made by the adhesion of Finland to the
German military system. With the
Firms we were long on terms OF SYM
pathy, which 1t Is hoped will soon ne
renewed, but it is impossible that we
should remain Indifferent to the risk
Of their lending themselves to the sup
port of Germany's military plans.
Finland Is a bridge between the Baltic
and the open sea. a bridge independent
Of Scandinavia. Her dependence on
Germany is as grave a menace to us as
the German right to occupy the shores
Of the Danish Sound would be. One
Kiel- Canal Is enough. Another back
door under German influence from the
Baltic TO the Atlantic would be a serious
complication to the work OF the British
fleet.
Naval Object Mt Murman.
The first motive then of the Thurman
expedition Is naval. Is II not obvious
that with Finland under German influence
the whole OF Scandinavia would strateg-
ically be in the same position as Bel
gtum in any future war, and would offer
precisely the same temptation to Ger
man aggression as Belgium did?
The second motive OF our expedition
north is the desire to get in contact with
reyiving Russian nationalism. The Muir
man coast is OF little use for that pur-
pose. Hence the occupation of Arch
angel. with it's railway south. to serve as
a nucleus for the Russian nationalist
forces and as a basis for their supply.
The prospects of this northern region are
believed promising. and from Archangel
to Vologda nationalist feeling Ia strong.
The other great centre of Russian
nationalism Is in southern Russia. in
the Kuban province to the east OF the
Sea Of Azov, which, under Cossack rule.
probably Is more settled than any other
part of Russia. Immediately north Is
the Don province. headquarters OF the
Russian nationalist forces as distin-
guishcd from the Cossacks. North again
are the Czech Slovaks, extended along
the line of the middle Folga. through
Saratov, Samara and Sembirsk to Ka-
zan. On the other hand the Astrakan
province Of East Volga Is strongly Boil
sheyist. and all attempts on the part of
Czecho-Slovaks and Russian national
lists to get into communication with ma
tionalists in the north have failed there.
Thus It Is a solid block OF Bolshevism.
unless recent events have changed .he
situation between the area OF the north
ern and southern nationalism and the
area OF the Czecho-S lovaks. The great
est successes in European Russia lie be-
tween Bo,shevism and the Astrakan and
rebellious but still German!sed Ukraine.
to trlr hot
the Czecho- SIovaks. at one time within
100 miles OF Moscow. have recently lost
ground. Lcng since there has been au-
thentic news that Alexieff's movements
have been stopped. and the only quarter
in which we could render effectual as
sistance to Russian nationalists in their
struggle against Germany would be on
tho Black Sea,
In the centre tho story Is the same
strong forces of sympathetic allies, but
separated each from the other by fright
fully diIficult country. blocks of Boil
sheviki. or enemy territory. and weak
through excessive dispersion. Some in
teresting details have been published OH
the military measures taken to establish
communication between British Mesopo-
tamia and the head of the Persian Gulf.
and our friends at the southern end Of
the Caspian Sea.
Could Have Blocked Turks.
There was time when a few thou
sand British troops might have held the
Georgians and Armenians together and
prevented the Turks from working their
way across transcaucasus to the
Caspian. But all roads are difficult
roads. .
From the gulf through Shlraz, the
road passes through territory Allied with
turbulent tribes. among whom the
X shdas are particularly troublesome.
The old Baedad road through Khanlkin
to Teheran. is one of the oldest II was
the route for world traffic In both peace
and war. between ancient Media and
Babylonia. II IL also one OF the worst
roads eKtramelY steen In nlncaa