The Fargo forum and daily republican., 1918-02-13
SOLDIERS LOOT AND
TEAR FURNISHINGS
Events of Following Days,
With Usual Disorders,
Graphically Described
(By Associated Press.)

ministers from the palace to tn
fortress Of Peter and Paul, gives fl
the same paper a picture of tn
looted winter palace, and of tn
events Of the next six days, includ
ing the attempt of the municipa
council Of Petrograd to assume tn,
reins of power in the capital anC
form a coalition ministry with rep
resentatives Of all parties.
succeeded" he says. "in walk
ing through the palace a few hour
after the bombardment. The corpse
of the soldiers Of the Women's bat
TALON, killed in. defence Of the pal
ace, had already been removed, bu
through the iron gate could be seer
the heaps of empty shells, tori
munition belts, books and leaflets
The whole facade of the palace was
riddled by shells, the white scars
standing out in striking contrast tc
the red Of the walls. The palact
guard consisted Of strong pickets ot
sailors and soldiers, heavily armed
and covered with cartridge belts.
Sees Complete Devastation.
When ] entered the first floor
saw picture Of complete devasta-
ton amid which moved soldiers and
sailors searching the rooms and ad-
.
ers of the sideboards and cupboards
had been broken up, all the chairs
smashed and the wrecked furniture
thrown together in heaps. On the
beds and sofas broken boxes, lamps
chandeliers and porcelain had been
thrown. The corridors were filled
with torn papers, fragments and
scraps of the magnificent tapestries,
and broken furniture. Everywhere
absolute chaos.
I'm the rooms where the electric
fittings had been stored the soldiers,
having carried off everything that
seemed to have any value, were
amusing themselves and a crowd Of
applaudtng spectators by smashing
the electric bulbs. In one room /
saw a soldier hacking away the val
liable tapestry from a couch with
table knife. On the second floor
the scene was even gloomier. Every
where dirt indescribable, mattresses
over all the floors. soldiers squattsd
at their meals on the wonderful
couches OF the imperial furniture,
spilling soup and greasy bits OF
meat upon the priceless tapestries.
Palace Servants Loot Too. .
The palace servants were no
whit behind the soldiers at the loot
Ing, and went around with bags col
leCting what struck their fancies In
the Round hall the soldiers had set
UP an enormous kettle and were
the press bureau all the papers had
been torn to bits In the picture
gallery many pictures had been
slashed to strips OF painted rags. In
one room heavy guns had been set
up. Windows were pierced with
bullets. 1t was a nightmare Of
destruction"
The eighth OF November, the day
following the siege passed quietly,
the street cars were running every
where, the number OF patrols had
decreased and absolute order pre-
vailed. The municipal council had
passed q resolution. instruCting the
population to defend itself against
looting, by use Of arms If necessary, |
and though the BolsheYik author
tiles opposed this order. the forma-
tion OF house committees of self |
defense went steadily forward.
The representatives of the allied |
powers held long conferences, but /
no decision regarding recognition Of |
the new regime was taken. and it |
was stated that special instructions |
from the respective governments /
would be necessary. as there was /
now no one established government /
in the country. Leon TrOtzsky had
visited the foreign Office, announced
himself as the foreign minister OF /
the new government, and asked for
the Secret treaties OF the allies" He
was told, to his amusement, that
documents relating to arrangements
made during the war were inc0r-
porated in the protocols OF the inter
allied conferences, and were not
in Petrograd.
Protest Seizure Of Power.
November Sin view OF the
overthrow Of the provisional gov
arnment and the dissolution OF the
council of the Russian
republic, the municipal council be-
came a center Of political life. By
noon the Hobbies Of the municipal
council building were filled with
Of all democratic or
ganizations, united to protest
against the seizure Of power by the
Bolshevik leaders. Demands were
guarantees for the safety
md II possible the release OF the
members Of the Women's battalion.
November 10.-The extraordinary
session Of the municipal council
vas most stormy, owing to a pro-
1osal to expeI the Bolshevik mem
lers Of the council. Great excite
nent was caused by reports OF the Z
lFrsBt of five members OF the cOun- !
III, sent as emissaries to the armv !
n an attempt to prevent bloodshed, i
md by street-fiFhting started near
he building OF the council. A Boil 1
5hevik woman representative tried {
q explain the irritation Of the SOL I
|
which had become the centre Of the 7
truEEls against the Bolshevik auth 4
rity. A tremendous uproar began {
ghen reports came I'm that a little =
.irl had been killed and women in {
ured In the lighting, in the midst Of /
which the Cadet A /. ShinRarofpl | q
since killed IN the January trou- y
les) arose and demanded the im- s
1ediate release OF all the arrested
ministers, and declared that the q
hiefs Of the Bolsheviki are respon- Z
ible for this fratricidal war. d
out Of here cried ShinEaroff to c
he Bolshevik representatives in the v
ouncil. you are murderers and v
raitors TO the country" Represen- E
atives Of the public Joined I'm the n
umu1t with shouts Of "out OF here, a
voters. murderers!" 2
With great difficulty q riot was
voided. the council finally adopting h
resolution demanding the release 8
the ministers. v
Rumors Run Rampant. a
The following day, November II, \
'as also a day OF complete uncer- q
lintv The telephone system was \
tiil working. thanks 10 the self 81
3criieinR work Of the telephone Il
iris. some of whom had been on p
ufv "a hours without relief in spite Il
2 the bombardmeut Of the exchange RI
BidlnE. but comnunica tions were n