The Cordova daily times., 1918-07-12
GALLANT DEED
 OF JUL. BOYLE
 STOPS WARP FARE

II LONDON, June t. tby mailJ- An Americans flight by airplane 200 miles from Jassy to Odessa was the means of bringing about peace be- tween the Bolsheviki and the Ruman. ians last March.
 The American peace dove,' as the Rumanians called him after his dar- ing flight. was Colonel Joseph Boyle. Colonel Boyle, who was formerly ill the Canadian army on the West front, was sent to Russia as the represen. tativetative of the committee Of the American engineers in London and spent several months in Rumania and South Russia. The story of his secret airplane trip is now told for the first time.
 Colonel Boyle was one of the few foreigners in Russia who had the con. fidenCe and close friendship of the eX- tremist Russian parties from the be- ginning of the revolutionary period. He was known among the Bolsheyiki as a man of aCtian, honest and fearless and anxious to extend them a helping hand in every work of reconstruction. On his journeyings around Russia he
 was never interfered with or Chal. longed. He carried personal letters and credentials from Lenine. Trotzky and host of lesser leaders and could obtain almost anything he wanted
 from the local or provincial sosiets.
 He was accompanied everywhere by a staff of three Russian officers who spoke English fluently and who dis played great personal loyalty to Col one Boyle.
 During the latter part of February the situation between the Bolsheviki and the Rumanians became serious. War had been declared on Rumania
 by the Bolsheviki government, owing !: to misunderstanding about the status of certain Russian troops in Rumanian
 
 Bessaraba. Active hostilities, how ever, had been generally avoided, and
 both sides were presumably anxious to reach an amicable understanding But communication between Odessa and Jassy was in n state of disorgan.
 ization which made the telegraphs and the mails useless. Every attempt at negotiation between Rumanians al Jassy and the Bolsheviki at Odessa
 was blocked or brought to naught by intriguers or mischief-makers. It began to look as if things were going to drift straight into bloodshed on a large scale.
 II was at this point that Colonel
 Boyle. who had been trying to ale
 viate the food shortage in Rumania, arranged a meeting of unofficial rep resentatives of both sides on the Ru. manian frontier and succeeded in putting through an agreement be tween these representatives. The Rumanian Government was ready to approve the decision of these infor- maj plenipotentiaries, but how was formal confirmation or even favorable consideration. to be obtained from the Bolshevik side?
 The Bolshevik delegates" were without credentials or authority. but they felt if their case were properly put before the authorities in Odessa their course of action would be ap. proved. Travel between Jassy and Odessa had been impossible for sev- eral weeks owing to the tearing up of the railway lines in Benderi and the wreoking of several bridges and
 trestles
 Colonel Boyle volunteered to be the
 bearer of the olive branch, to carry
 the peace proposals to Odessa with the
 least possible delay by means Of an
 airplane which he had already per
 suaded the Rumanan authorities to put at his disposal and he proposed
 also to use his own personal influ, ence with the Bolshevik leaders in
 Odessa to secure their approval
 Speedy action was necessary, for it was known that orders had already been given to the Bolshevik troops to