Norwich bulletin., 1918-02-20
FACTS AND COMMENT

A new and unexpected ally has ap- peared for the British in Palestine in the shape of an army from the new kingdom of Arabia. Coming up the railway from Medina, this force has completely nullified the efforts of the Turks east of the River Jordan. Pales- tine is only one hundred miles wide and the British under General Allenby have swept the west side between the river and the Mediterranean sea conn pletely bare of all Turko German forces and are now firmly established some miles north of Jerusalem. The co-opefation of the Arabs east of the river widens the sweep of the invading forces so that they now extend clear across the country from the sea to the desert. ',
 Apart from the sentimental value of holding Jerusalem. General Allenby's presence in Palestine is direct sup- port to the other British force above Bagdad. This latter army is none too secure now that it's right flank has been left unsupported by the Russian force in Armenia. In fact, it is known that a large force of Germans is con- eentrated somewhere in Asia Minor, whence it is the intention to advance into MesopotaInia via the Bagdad railway. It is, however, decidedly un- safe to do this unless the railway is to remain open in the rear, fact of which the Germans cannot be certain as long as General Allenby's strong and aggressive force remains in Pales- tine. The British fleet, too, is to be recioned with. as it can keep General | A x1-&~
 hitions and has in it's power the entire Turkish coast from the border of Egypt to the Dardane1les. The recent attempt to dispute this power cost the Turks both the Goeben and the Bres- lau.
 BoIo Pasha has just been convicted in France of high treason, and with his execution there will pass from the scene one of the strangest men of this strange time. Paul Bolo, Frenchman n of Maseilles, had pursued a varied career in many countries. During the sos he had started lobster fisheries company that had failed, after which he followed various callings in both North and South America. At one 1 time he had set up in business as~a barber Twice he had married, each time with a wealthy widow, whose fortune gave him a new start Finally he received an appointment as finan- | cial adviser to the khedive of Egypt, whence the title of pasha, by which he was generally known thereafter. Bolo S 1 fortune would now seem to have been
 made, but when the khedive was de- posed by the British early in the wal 1 on account of his disloyalty to Eng
 land and his favorable attitude toward Germany Boio was thrown out of em- pioyment and again found himself penniless. Casting about for some thing promising means of hveli- hood, s1e reached Switzerland, and there with German agents and, al ischefae was matched to spread | throughout France the spirit of Ais couragement and desire for peace al
 any price. The plan was to subsidizt
 French papers with German money and thereby secretly break down tht morale of the French nation. Arrange ments were actually made to buy L, Journal. the influential organ of Sen Rtor Humbert.
 To procure the needed funds, Bol,
 came to America in February, 1916 [and held secret meeting with Bern storff So convineingly did the vii. Frenehman talk that Bernstorff fell fo the scheme and wired his own foreigi efIice for sanction This was at tn time when Bernstorff was openly com !, blaming to our state department tha
 he could not get in touch with hi . own government at Berlin. After sev eral exchanges of telegrams, Berlil acqiieseed in Bolo's scheme and ar
 ranged for the payment of $1,700,00( i The money was paid through two Ney York banks on the order of on , Schmidt, an agent of the Deutsch
 bank. Not name appeared in tn
 transactions, for the payments wer , made by cashiers checks. The whol : sum was promptly transferred to tn Royal Bank of Canada and there Bolo' s name first appears. On his write r order parts Of the great fund wer retraneferred through J. P. Morgan |
 Co. to the account of Senator Hum
 bert of Paris and through a Frenc
 bank to Mime. Bolo.
 5 When Bolo was arrested in Franc ] last October the French governmer
 appealed to the United States for ev
 idehce as to his activities in thi s country. As result the whole trai : of evidence, Bernstorff's messages, vo
 fJagow's replies, the checks, stubs an
 letters, were ferreted out by feders : authorities and New York state off . cials and turned over to the Fref1c Il arnba ssador at Washington. It a largely on this evidence that Bolo hs
 been convicted. Whence it may pei
 haps be noted that Bernstorff and h : German agents were not so clever nc d our own officials so remiss as son : chronic pessin1ists among us wou
 have us believe.
 l .az
 if The word innbeciIity best charactei e izes the official Bolshevist stateff1ei if as to the outcome of the conference
 Brest-Litovsk, ''The peace negotis
 tions,' says the declaration in pal
 "are at an end. The German capita 1t ists, bankers and landlords submitts d to our comrades conditions such :. tt could not be subscribed to by the Ru
 sian revolution. But we also cam
 and will not continue a war begun l Z. czars and capitalists. We will n II and must not continue to be at wi It with Germans and Austrians, worlzfns 70 and peasants like ourselves. Russ s. declares the war at an end.' The O
 der for demobilization went forth in .e fnediately and all Russia is open
 the enemy, for. as Germany truthful ~ declares, they have free hand to a ' as they like. Only the need of soldie 'e in France prevents the immediate o
 eupation of Petrograd.
 Ia Russia within is starving and t to pity of 1t is that this condition is n ly at all from lack of food but is sinp of the result of rnisrianagement of tran
 portation and the utter lack of al