The Nezperce herald. (Nezperce, Idaho) 1900-1957, 1920-05-13

and after his downfall came the bolshe
viks with Lenine and Trotzky at tn,
mead OF the movement and Kolchal
and his staff representing the oppos
ing faction-the old Imperial form ot
government. The general impression
among the allies was that Kolchak wa,
honest and sincere in wanting TO df
something for the peasantry, but or
his staff were men of the old regime
and the hatred they held against the
lower class more than offset anv good
that kolchak could do, and, in their
ignorance, the Russian peasantry gave
| kolchak little or no credit for what
he tried to do and often his armies
deserted him by the regiment and
| joined the bolsheviks, and after the
fall OF Omsk he retreated to Irkutsk.
where he was murdered the forepart of
January.
In order that you may understand
the situation there a little better. T
want to explain to you the class con
ditions existing in that country. There
are three distinct classes and the lines
are closely drawn. First the aristocrats.
composed of government officials and
army officers then the intelligent,
those who are educated, such as pro-
fessors, teachers, doctors, lawyer, mer-
chants, professional and business men,
manufacturers, ETC., and last, but not
least, the peasantry, constituting about
80 per cent Of the population of Rus
sia and Siberia, who are the slaves and
who can neither read nor write, being
denied by the government the advan-
tage of any schooling. whatever, neith-
er can they own any of the countless
millions of acres of land Neither
class associates with the other and to
me this class distinction has a great
deal to do with conditions as they are
in that country today. The peasants,
while they are the slaves, and are
looked down on by the other classes,
constitute the backbone of the country
and in the end they will be the means
of saving Russia and Siberia. They
love their country, having fought thru
many long, weary years, hoping aginst
hope that some day the czar would lift
the ban and give them some privileges,
some freedom, some liberties But in
stead of their dreams coming true,
things went from bad to worse, if such
a thing were possible, with the result
that they turned against the old I'm
perial government and cast their lot
with the bolsheviks, claiming that no
form of government could be worse
than the one which had held them
down for years and they were willing
to risk the change for they had all to
win and nothing to lose. God knows
they are fighting for a just cause, for
a right to live, for a right to educate
their children, for the same rights and
our forefathers fought for
in the revolutionary days. I know that
most of you will feel like I did when
I learned the truth-that we could not |
be true Americans, true to our great
and oppose these struggling
people. With the simplicity of child
they will tell you their troubles-how
they have been held down and how
they have been trying to advance.
There are some noble characters among
the great peasantry-tall, gray-haired
men, straight as an arrow, with hon.
ssty, love and hospitality flowing from
their souls. The faces of the children
are bright and happy and wreathed in
smiles, but after a certain age, when
thew begin to realize their condition,
the smile turns to sadness and the ex-
preston to one of sorrow which haunts
them the balance of their days. They
soon learned to know that the Ameri-
cans were their friends and so great
was their love and respect for us that
when we would go into their villages
hey would drop down to their knees
before us, bow their head to the ground
several times, cross themselves and try
% kiss our shoes. And after the orders
zane for us to evacuate they would
weep as though their hearts would
,reak, crying out for us to stay and
help them, to tell them what to do,
hat they could trust no one but the
Americans. Really, our hearts went
,ut to them and the ties of friendship
We formed with those poor people, &C.
nented by the cold and snow and hard
hips of a Siberian winter, are among
he memories never to be forgotten.
was stationed in the interior 200O
niles west of Vladivostok at place
allied Verkne Udinsk, and until last
winter the Imperial government con-
rolled Siberia from the Pacific to
)msk. distance of about 1000 miles,
With the exception of some local boil
heyik trouble in the Armur province
orth and northwest of Vladlvostok,
nd the atrocities committed by Cen
raj Semenoff, who, after the murder
f Kolchak in Irkutsk, declared HIM
elf supreme dictator of Siberia, beg
Joc,r;rt,op Men and