The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1918-03-19
Engineer Says Invasion of
Siberia Will Bring Grave
Consequences
MEMORIES LINGER
OF DEFEAT IN WAR
Bridges Would Be Blown Up Were an
Advance Attempted by Ancient Enc
my-Cost Russian Government Hun
dreds Of Millions.

NEW YORK, March lS,-The wrecking
of the trans-Siberian railroad will be the
first act of the Cossacks defending Siberia
in case of the entry of Japan into the
Russian situation, according to Paul de
Kilduchevsky, Russian engineer who
has been doing aerial motor work for
this government.
Mr.. Klduchevsky was a construction
engineer when the great bridges OF the
railroad were built along its route through
Siberia and was connected in an official
capacity with the Russian government
He speaks Familiarity of the conditions
that will cause the destruction OF the
road. Between Vladivostok and 1rkutsk,
1000 miles inland, there are twenty
bridges, with spans varying from sew
eral thousands feet to a mile and half
in length
Il am thoroughly familiar with the
construction OF these bridges he said,
and l know what will happen. You
remember in 1918, when the Germans
went into Poland toward Prague. There
| were bridges destroyed then to prevent
their advance. There has been destruc-
ton at Brest-Litovsk The Russians
may withdraw from Siberia, but they
will destroy as they GO The piers OF
the bridges along the Amur line to the
north out of Nladivostok and along the
southern branch through Hardin are
mined. There We're special inches left
to hold the dynamite in four or five
places in each pier and there is a spe
cial body of bridge police whose duty Is
to fire the charges.
''No one in America can imagine tbs
hatred that the Russian people bear the
japanese since the Russo-Japanese war
and it is this one sentiment that woulc
unite all classes in Russia for the time
being Practically every one in Russl5
would be in sympathy with the Bolshev
Xxi in their attempt to hinder the al
vance of the J9p9pese army.
1T is as an engineer that | feel keenl!
: the destruction that will take place
The bridges are great works of Russian
achievement We built them withou
the aid of engineers from any othe
country They cost the Russian govern
t mcnt hundreds of millions Of dollars
, The Car was especially proud OF then
| and had moving pictures taken of tn
entire line. They were shown in ali part
. Of the country to let the people kno,
what Russians could do 1t took tw
hours to see the whole film.
Some Of the greatest of the bridge
are the one over the Amur, which
1000 feet long, and one over the SUI
n hari, which is mile in length, and tn
c one at Krasnoyarsk. over the Yenis'
G river Twenty Of the great bridges
. eastern Siberia, the most difficult Of col
q ! struction, would be destroyed withor
{ hesitation to bar the japanese advanc
"Vladivostok is in itself a fortress
, the first order On the high hills aroun
A the city batteries are mounted Thes
:, viii be destroyed before they will
= permitted to fall into the hands of II
;, japanese
cit is an absurdity to send an army
- 600, 900 japanese, which will cost billie
~ dollars, to protect a hundred million
y worth of supplies. It is also an absurdit
, to suppose that the Germans could
5000 miles for the sake of getting no
= Of such material. Any materials of WI
which the Germans may desire can
had much nearer home by short advanc
into Russian territory.
Russia has not invited the Japane
to come to her aid She does not wa,
them and she will not have them If,
intruders, they enter her boundaries s.
Will use every effort to oppose them. r
Russians never have hesitated to destr
everything in the path Of an advancil
enemy; so that if Japan starts to Gro
Siberia the pathway will be a devastat
region and the progress OF her armi
lieves
Mr. Kilduchevsky, though not hims
of the Bolsheviki, had high praise f
l the Cossack defenders of Siberia. The
are nine well organized units of II
force, he said. They elect their on