Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1920-08-09
REDS DETERMINED
|. TO REACH WARSAW
Troopers, Will Fed, Think
War Will End With City's
Capture.

WARSAW. August (by the Asso-
ciated Press).-Sergt William Cook
of Fay, Oklahoma. a member of the
American typhus expedition. who was
captured three weeks ago by the Rus
sian bolsheviki when they entere1
Minsk, has arrived here, having been
released by soviet authorities. Follow
ing his RELEASE, he went tb Wilma and
thence to Riga. where he Joined a
Red Cross courier coming to Warsaw.
Soldiers in the bolshevik army"
he said today, ARE eager to reach
Warsaw, as they believe the war will
end if the Polish capital is taken.
There is not much talk, however,
about entering Warsaw, and some of
whether the war ends. These are
young fellows who look upon war as
a great lark"
The soviet army has plenty OF SOL
diers. rifles, machine guns and am
munition, Cook says, but he did not
see any artillery, excepting six can
non captured from the Poles. The
for these guns. He saw many Amer
lean automobiles and motor cycles
being used by the soviet soldiers, and
remarked that the bolsheviki are
fairly well fed, having lived Off the
country they have taken from the
,
the bolshevik army, he declares,
though officers are respected by the
men.
Like on a Picnic.
While on the march, the bolsheviki
reminded Cook Of crowd of American
farmer boys going to picnic, as they
made no effort to preserve formations,
and struggled along the roads in little
groups Some would be on one side OF
the highway and some on the other.
while others would be seen scattered
through the fields. Whenever they de-
sired. groups would sit down to rest.
One day Cook counted eleven air
planes flying toward the front and was
told by soviet soldiers that the machines
were being assembled for the drive
against Warsaw.
ranks at Cantgny during the early
summer campaign Of 1918, and partici-
pated in the Marne-Aisne offensive. as
we'll as the battle of the Argonne. was
captured when he remained with the
anti-typhus train at Minsk in the nope
of being able to bring it out Of the city
before the bolsheviki arrived. Lieut..
Arthur Fox of Philadelphia was in com
| mand of the train 1t was found II
could not be moved out of Minsk pe-
cause of the congestion on the railroad
caused by the retirement OF the 1oles'
Thought Him Freak.
Cook was taken from Polish sol,
der by the bolsheviki, who stripped
| him of everything except his under
| wear and then paraded him through
! the streets of Minsk. When 1t be-
| came known he was an American
J soldiers of the soviet army came TOT
| miles to see him, as he was regarded
| by them as a freak.
A boIshevik officer at first ignored
Cooks plea that he was. non-com-
| Blatant relief worker, but he was
| later identified as an American oy
| the Minsk representative of the Amer
| lean joint distribution committee.
! 1.-TWO weeks after his capture COOK
| was taken before the commisar, VINO
related the good points of the soviet
form of government before releasing
| him. Cook remained in Mlnsk Tor
a week before he could obtain papers
which would give him authority TO
| travel During that time the Dol
sheviki began closing stores in Minsk,
taking them over for the govern,
ment. While in that city Cook lived
on black bread and tea.
| Cook served twenty years in the
| United States Army.