The Democratic banner. (Mt. Vernon, Ohio) 1898-192?, 1918-09-10
HOW ARMY or CzECHO-SLOVAKS
won ITS WAY TO VLAD|VOSTOK
Officer Gives FstHand Narration of How They Crossed Siberia
Says Red Guard Of the Boshevd Does Not Amount to
Anything, Real Danger Is From German Prisoners
Who Have Joined Organization.

/ All the story OF how the CzechO-
Slovak troops In Russia have resisted
the Germans and fought their way
from the Ukraine to VladivOstok Is
told below in detail for the first time
| by a CzechO-SlOvak leader who made
| the trip across Siberia with the troops
and who recently arrived in Washing
! ton from VladivostOk. He is Capt.
Vladimir Hurban, member of the
| CzechO-SlOvak national council, dele
gated by the Czecho-SlOvuk army at
VladivostOk to make II report to Prof.
Thomas g. Masaryk, president of the
council, who is now at Washington.
".rhe danger in Siberia is from the
Germans" said Captain Hurban. "The
/ Red Guards of the bolsheviki do not
amount to anything. Fifty good SOL
Jiers are the equal of 1,O00 of the Red
Guards. They do not want to fight,
but to 'fraternize,' and If their OPP
pOnents insist on fighting und not
talking, they will leave the field. But
| the Germans, from the large groups
Of German and Austrian prisoners,
are stiffening the Red Guards every
day. They go In as 'internatonalists,'
promising to join in the campaign to
put an end to imperialism and capital
ism, and then curry out whatever or
Gers they receive from the German
government or German generals. They
soon are made officers in the Red
Guards, and thus are able to direct
the movements of these forces in the
interest of Germany"
100000 Germans in Siberia.
GLOW many German prisoners are
there in Siberian"
According to my information not
less than 100000. perhaps 100000. 1t
! Is these, as Red Guards, that will form
the backbone of resistance. They are
now the real force that holds that part
| Of the Trans-Siberian railroad which
separates the two bodies of Czeclo-
SOvuk troops. There are about 1O,-
200 CzechO-Slovak troops ut Vladivos-
tok. They also control the nearby rail-
road junction at Nikolsh. where the
Manchurian railroad connects with the
Trans-Sibcrian, and u short distance
beyond. From here to the neighbor-
hood of Irkutsk the control Is nOmin-
ally Red Guard. 1t is in reality Ger
man, from the large number of Ger
man prisoners In the bOlshevist or
ganlzation. They are holding about
100 miles of the Trans-Siberian rail-
road.
From Irkutsk to Samara, In Rus
sia. the Trans-Siberian railroad is in
the hands of Czecho-Slovak troops.
They control practically every station.
They are in command of fully 5000
miles of road. Samara, at the western
end, is more important than most peo-
pie In this country realize. 1t is on
the VOlga, and thus controls that
river, but the chief service that the
holding of this point is to the allied
cause Is that 1t prevents Germans
from getting badly needed cotton from
Turkestnn.
"rhe Turkcstan railroad connects
with the Trans-Siberian at Samara.
md the CzechO-SlOvak troops thus
hold u key position the Germans would
like very much to take from them.
Tho number of CzechO-SlOvak troops
which holds this stretch Of the Trans
Siberian railrOnd Is not less than 65,-
600, and probably considerably more.
, They are poorly armed, short Of sup
plies. and need help. 1t is important
to reach them with relief as soon as
possible.
Hun Dominates Soviet.
"The German influence In Siberia is
also dominant in the soviet, big and
little. 1t has been easy for the Ger
mans. The method was this: A Ger
man officer prisoner announced that
he had become converted to interna-
tiOnulism. lie was received into the
soviet MS an Internationalist.' The
, men in the soviet he became asso-
ciated with We're ignorant, many of
them illiternte. 1t was simple for the
German officer, with well-trained
, mind and disciplined will. to obtain
control of the soviet. Other German
prisoners in that district also became
'Internationalists.' so that the German
officer soon had cOnfederates. Then
under the flag of lnternationnllsm he
would direct the soviet In the interest
of Germany, and often In carrying out
direct orders from German agents.
, "'rhe boshcviki do not realize how
they are being used. They are too
ignorant: the smaller, bctter-posted
{ number concur because they know that
I without the support of the Germans
the bolsheviki could not remain in
i, power, II is my belief that there are
, hut few sovicts in Siberia which have
y not thus hcen subjected to German
: influence and control. All the Ger
: mans have to do is to say that they
y ARE willing to help against the world
I Of Imperialism. No question ms to
whether the profession Is sincere
seems to enter the mind of tine bolshe'
wiki.
"Outsldc the sOvlets the bolshevikl