Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1919-12-26
gen. TORCOM FEARS
TEUTOMC RUSSIA
Armenian Says Allies and the
United States Must Interfere
in Affairs of Russians
WILL DESTROY THE WORLD

''If the Allies and the United States
Germany will absorb Russia and then
will be a much more dangerous enemy
70 the rest of the world than she was
This statement was made by
General A. II. Torcom, military
leader of Armenia. in an interview in
does not destroy Russian bolshevism.
Russian bolshcvism will destroy the
world" he continued. There can be
no hope for peace, happiness or pros
perity in any country so long AS the
Bolshevists are in power in Russia.
The general. who was educated in
France and Switzerland and who grad
uated from st. Cyr, the French Mill
tary Academy, was a general in the late
Russian army. He is a veteran of all
European wars since 1912, lie was
wounded six times in the world war
and she'll shocked.
AS he sat in mis- apartment, General
Torcom was as picturesque a figure as
has been seen in Philadelphia in years.
With his blue black hair, mustache and
beard. bronze complexion and fiery black
eyes, he presented a type that seemed a
mixture of French officer of the nine
teenth century, a Cossack hetman and
q Bedouin.
He was surrounded by his highly
priced war trophies. Among those to
which he is most attached is small
pocket Testament in French. which ac =
companied him in all his battles. ~
But there were objects not quite as
highly valued by the warrior that were
more striking to the stranger. On the
bed lay the sword of colonel in the
Austrian army, Hungarian, whom
General Torcom killed at Lemberg
There was also the Hungarian's battle .
flag, of which a piece was torn to serve
as bandage for wound in the leg the
Armenian received in the hand to hand
struggle.
SOn the bed hung a red flag inscribed
with Russian characters. That. was the
Bplshevist flag the general captured
from the Bolsheyist troops intrenched in
the fortress Of Saint Peter and Saint
Paul. Petrograd, in 1917. ..: d.
On the bed were also spread some war
maps. One of these had belonged to
the Austrian colonel. It was tattered
and bloodstained. Another one was
used by Napoleon in his Russian cam
paign. .I....
And in a corner of the room stood a
magnificent. battle flag on which hum
dredS OF armenian orphan girls, whose
parents were massacrpd by Turks.
worked for three months. The girls
presented it to General Torcom follow
ing the reading of the declaration of in =
dependence.
Shortly after the declaration of indie e
pendence, General Torcum left Armenia
to go to England and the United States.
He Travelled under the greatest Difficult e
ties all through Bolshevist Russia, from
the South up to Archangel.
II had nothing with me but that
flag" he said, this gun to protect il
and the little pocket Bible.
The general went to England and
came to this country, as he said ''to
make propaganda for Armenian indie
pendence. There are 100, 900 Arme
mans in the United States, he said.
After speaking of Arlnenia's plight
and Armenia's future, the general re :
turned to the topic of Russia.
'"The allies and America are making
a great mistake by not supporting Deni
kin. Kolchak and Judenich," he said
s'Those men are the most democratic
people in the world. take an oath on
this little Bible that they are disinter
ested, democratic men.
'I do not urge that troops be sent tc
Russia. But the anti Bolshevist forces
should be aided with food, clothing ant
ammunition.