The Washington herald., 1920-10-14
CHINA FOUND
PLAYING INTO
HANDSOF REDS
Refugee Officers Seized and
Struggled from Manchuria
To Siberia.
BOTH PROBABLY SLAIN
Recent Abrogation Of Treaty
With Russia May Have
Bearing, Says Vile.
BOTH PROBABLY SLAIN
BY FREDERIC WILLIAM VILE
Copyright, 1890, by Public Ledger Co..

(Copyrfght, lSxVI py tuphc Aeutei WV
According to information obtain
ed in an authoritative quarter. Chi
nese local authorities in Manchuria
are playing into Bolshevist hands
in a manner that may shortly can
for international protest.
Reports current for some time
that Russian officials and officers
who had taken refuge on Chinese
soil from Bolshevist terrorism and
persecution were being delivered up
to the Reds have just received con-
firmation in one important and spe-
cifc case. A few weeks ago, II Is
learned, Capt. Besoir, a distinguish
ed naval officer, who was chief of
staff to Admiral Kolchak when the
latter was attached to the United
States navy in 1918 and afterward
with him in Siberia. was smuggled
out of kirin (Manchuria) into ST.
IBERIA.
With him there disappeared the
Russian consul at kirin. The naval
captain and the consul, who were
seized at the dead OF night, were
sent in the direction of Blagovest-
chensk, the well-known capital OF
the Amur province, north of Man
churia. capt. Besoir was formerly
I commander of the Amur fiotilla of
! the Russian navy.
Both May Have Been Slain.
| There is good reason for believ-
| ing, according to information at
hand in Washington, that both ne
| and the consul were "eXtradited"
! by the Chinese at tho behest of the
! Bolshevist government. 1t is con-
sidered altogether probable that by
this time both men have met the
! fate that overlook kolchak when
he fell into Red hands.
/ Although there is no intimation
that the central government at Pc
kin is responsible for the outrage on
the Russian officials. the interna-
ttionai consular corps at Kirin, ar
important interior point between
Mukden and Vladivostok, has Joined
in protest, Roland s. Morris
| American Ambassador to Japan, who
is still at the State Department CO.
operating with Secretary Colby in
dealing with the japanese situation
has cabled instructions to American
officials in Manchuria to cooperate
with their foreign colleagues in the
matter.
! l. is likely the Pckin government
will plead innocence, and perhaps
helpiessness. Its authority, notably
in the far north of China, is notori,
ously shaky. But that the "cxtradi.
ition" Of the Russians was carried
out by Chinese officials at Kirin il
established. Capt. Besoir had beer
interned there for many month:
previous to being smuGgled into
the tender mercies of the BOlshev'
lists.
May Concern Abrogation.
The incident may have importanc,
apart from its intrinsic seriousness:
because of the light it throws OIL
lChina's recent action in abrogatins
the treaty of extra a-territorialit!
with Russia in the third week o.
September. China justified her &C
ton on tie ground that as ther,
was no longer any responsible Of
recognizable governments in Rus.
!. sia. the treaty had virtually ceaseC
to have validity. The Russian ma
I u.
Wrangel and other patriots. VIII,
hope before long now once agair
to come into their own, bitterly de
nies the righteousness of such al
attitude on China's part.
The nationalists say that Chini
has no more authority to despoi
Russia-old Russia-of information
al rights, guaranteed by treaty
than has Japan, for instance, t
despoil Russia of territory. In the
ory. the attitude taken up by tn
, United States in the celebrated Cobb
note of August 10 applies to tn
Chinese violation Of Russia's treat
rights