Albuquerque morning journal., 1920-11-29

Riga, LetNla, NOV. 2S tDy lne AS
sociated Press. Prom Crimea to
Riga doesn't look like a very long
jump on the map, but when an inn
patient newspaper man starts on
Jsthe trek he finds central Europe
an uncharted world, roughly made
by the Versailles treaty, and in
tested by hostile armies, trouble
some passport officials and annoy
ing customs agents who seem to be
located where they catch all trains
at O'Clock in the morning. (This
despatch recites the experiences OF
one of the staff correspondents of
the Associated Press sent to Riga
for the recent Russian-P Polish peace
conference.)
In Letvia every sixteenth person
is government employe. There
are only million and a half in
habitants all told in the new re-
public and $4,000 of them work
for the government. The same
proportion probably holds for most
of the other newly hatched chicks
which are seeking the shelter of
mother league of nations over
stretched wings, with the result
that the wandering business man
and reporter have to suffer.
Numerous Visas Required.
It requires fourteen visas to get
from Sebastopol to Riga, together
with scores of government papers
enabling travellers to carry more
than three collars and thirteen dol
= lars from one boundary to another.
When the new countries find moth
ing else TO do they pass additional
travel and export regulations and
thus afford work for few score
more inspectors and investigators.
After | had finished my work
with the Wrangel army and the
officials of the south Russian gov
ernment, l started back to Constan-
tinople, which is the only center
from which travel is possible into
central Europe. Budenny and Pet
lura and Makhno and score OF
other bolshevist, anti-bolsheylSt
and anti-everybody leaders were
fighting or pretending to fight, be-
tween Wrangers northern line and
Warsaw. The trip might have been
made in an airplane, but most OF
the Russian airplanes have deVel-
oped soviet temperaments and re-
fuse to function many hours IN
succession. SO | turned to a trust
ed American destroyer, the TAFT
nall, which speeded me over TO
Constanza, Rumania, and landed
me in Constantinopie within forty
eight hours. | was semi i-officlal on
the ship and free from passport
regulations. But at ConStantinople
the grind began.
Couldn't Go TO Budapest.
1t wasn't possible to go to Buda-
pest. Railway strikes and dis
turbed lines made that impossible
In fact there was only one rail
route which was certainly in opera
tion-that was the line through
Sofia and Belgrade to Trieste. 1t
was probably possible to go from
there to Vienna and the sailing was
clear through Prague to Berlin.
But nobody south of Berlin had
ever heard of Letvia, and very
slight interest was shown in any
body who was foolish enough TO
want to get into any part of old
Russia.
The latest profession in Europe
is that of visa -getter. l engaged
the best wrangler of visas in Con-
stantinople, and after two days ne
advised me that with the assistance
of letters from Admiral Bristol and
the American consul he had been
able to obtain all eleven of the
yisas necessary to go to Berlin, eX-
cepting the French. l had to go to
the French control personally ana
waited five hours in line with Sene-
galese, Chinese, AZerbaidjanese,
5P ortuguese and every brand of Le-
vantine before French military red
tape granted me permission to
leave Constantinople.
Collection of Documents.
Additional sheets were pasted on
nv passport and | found myself in
possession of the most amazing col
lection of official documents. l
had three Greek visas. They were
necessary to carry me across the
section Of Thrace which the su-
perme council has given to Greece.
One of the visas was from the
Greek high commissioner. Another
from the Greek consul and third
from the Greek military command.
I had the seal of all the entente
military controls of Bulgaria,
Jugo Slavala. Ozeeho Slovakia,
Itaiy. Austria and Germany. Many
of them charged ten dollars FOR the
visa, in retaliation for the charge
the American congress mas flXed
for an American visa.
| went to sleep with my baggage
keys in my hand and started on