Charlevoix county herald. (East Jordan, Mich.) 189?-1953, 1920-10-29
REDS ON MARCH
LIKE P|CN|CKERS
Make No Effort to Preserve For.
nation and Take Rest
at Will.
HAVE VERY LITTLE ARTILLERY
Sergeant William Cook Of Oklahoma
Tells Of HIs observations-Taken
Captive by Bolshevists When
They Entered Minsk.

Warsaw.--Serseant William Cook
of Fay. Okla, a member Of the Ameri-
can typhus expedition, who was cap
tured by the Russian bolsheviki when
they entered Minsk. has arrived here,
having been released by soviet author
tiles. Following his release he went
to wilma and thence to Riga, where
he Joined Red Cross courier COM
ing TO Warsaw.
The soviet army has plenty Of SOL
diers. rifles. machine guns and am
munition, Cook says. but he did not
see any artillery except six cannon
captured from the Poles. The boil
sheviki, however. had no shells for
these guns. He saw many American
automobiles and motorcycles being
used by the soviet soldiers and re-
marked that the bolsheviki are fairly
well fed. having lived of the country
they have taken from the Poles. Lit
tie discipline prevails in the bolshevik
army, he declares. and, although
there Is no saluting, sofficers are re-
spected by the men.
Like q Picnic.
While on the march the bOlsheviki
reminded Cook of a crowd Of Ameri-
can farmer boys going to a picnic, as
they made no effort to preserve f0rma-
tons and struggled along the roads
In little groups. Some would be on
one side of the highway and some on
~
scattered through the fields. When
ever they desired groups would sit
down to rest One day Cook counted
eleven airplanes flying toward the
front and was told by soviet soldiers
that the machines were being assem-
bled for the drive against Warsaw.
Cook, who fought In the American
ranks at Cantigny. during the early
summer campaign Of 1918 and partici-
pated In the Marne-Aisne offensive
and also In the battle Of the Argonne,
was captured when he remained with
the anti-typhus. train at Minsk in the
hope Of being able to bring 1t out of
the city before the bOlsheviki arrived.
Lieut. Arthur Fox of Philadelphia was
In command of the train. and II was
found II could not be moved out of,
Minsk because of the congestion on
the railroad caused by the retirement
of Poles. Cook was taken for Polish
soldier by the bolsheviki, who stripped
him of everything except hisr under
wear and then paraded him through
the streets of Mlnsk. When Il became
known he was an American soldiers
of the soviet army came for miles to
see him, as he was regarded by them
as a freak.
lectured on BolshevIsnn.
A bolshevik officer at first ignored
Cooks plea that he was q nOn-com-
Blatant relief worker, but he was later
identified as an American by the
Minsk representative of the American
joint distribution committee. Two
weeks after his capture Cook was
taken before the commissar. who re-
lated the good points Of the soviet form
Of government before releasing him.
Cook remained In Mlnsk for week
before he could secure papers which
would give him authority to travel.
During that time the bolsheviki began
closing stores In Minsk, taking them
over for the government. While In
that city Cook lived on black bread
and tea.
Cook served twenty years In the
United States army. enlisting from
Unionville, Mo. His father now lives
In Fay. Okla.
While In Minsk Cook met Louis
Jennings, an American lumber dealer.
who went to Minsk six years ago.
Jennings. who Is still an American
citizen. did not leave when the boil
sheviki threatened the city because
Mrs. Jennings was visiting In near
by town and had not returned home