Baxter Springs news., 1918-08-23
Russia, Through Eternal Dissension, Dis.
entegrates From Nation to State Of
Complete Chaos.
By FLoYDMACGRIFF,

German divisions, and o little ma
chine-gunning was used to persuade
the recalcitrant Russians. Then an
effort was made to compel the Ukraine
peasants to grow more grain, but
this proved futile, so the German
divisions of occupation were turned
into farmers, in addition to police
men. Several counter-revolutionary
moves in Ukraine have been quelled.
Further south Germans occupied
the principal South Sea Ports, OBJ
tanned that portion Of the Russian
Black Sea feet which was not sunk
by their patriotic sailors, and in CO.
operation with the Turks proceeded
to extend their influence. The Ger
mans occupied Odessa and Sebastopol
and fathered another republic" in
Crimea. Grain supplies were requisi-
toned. Further westward Turks and
Germans invaded Russian Armenia,
seeking control of the great oil fields
of Baku. The GeOrgians and Cau-
casians, still further west, managed to
come to terms with the enemy before
the invaders devastated their lands.
So two more nominal republics" were
formed, friendly to Germany because
of their helplessneSs. A British mis-
sion is en- route to these people from
Persia.
Siberia alone remains untouched by
German depreciation, although there
are German agents and some German
soldiers in that extensive country
Declared a republic, with headquar-
ters at Tomsk, soon after the over
throw of the Gear, the land has
gradually fallen into the hands Of
some $4,000 Czecho-Slovaks, who
originally were Austrian prisoners OF
war. They became police for the
Bolsheviks after the Brest-Litovsk
treaty, but when the Bolsheviks at
tempted to send them back to Austria
they revolted and took things into
their own hands. They now control
the Russian Siberian Railway from
Samara, not far from Moscow, west
ward 5000 miles to Irkutsk, in Gen.
tral Siberia. They also control Vladi-
vostok. The Czecho-S -Slovaks are liv-
ing in railway coaches, are plentifully
supplied with arms and ammunition
and spend their spare time studying
French and other subjects, including
engineering.
A "White Sea Republic" friendly to
the Allies, has been established,
while another new State, called the
Wologdaczhe Republic and compris-
ing Northeastern Russia from the
White Sea coast to the Asian frontier
and sympathetic with the entente,
also has been created. The Allies con-
troll the Murman coast, inhabited by
Laplanders.
This disposes Of Russia, except Rus
sian Poland, which has been under
German domination since the capture
of Warsaw in 1916.
Rumania, compelled to accept a
humiliating fate because of the Rus
sian debace, is really q German ap-
pendage. Besides ceding some 5000
square miles of her frontier, including
defensive mountain passes, to AustrO-
Hungary, and handing over DobrudJa
to Bulgaria, Rumania was compelled
to hand over her most important sim
gle industry and wealth-her oil fields
to Germany. Rumania must pay
Germany an indemnity of one billion
dollars and buy all her wares from
German manufacturers. Rumanian
government is conducted according to
Berlin's orders. Rumania must sup
port six German divisions, at cost
of $60,0O0,000 annually, until the end
of the war, and share all food pro-
ducts with Germany.