New-York tribune., 1920-12-26
Evidence Shows
Russians Led
Attack ON Urga
Attempt to Seize Capital of
Mongolia Regarded as in
Retaliation for Canceling
Recognition of Czarists
Japanese Involved in Raid
Intercepted Letters Reveal
Movement to Make China
verse It's Decision
BY Nathaniel PETER

by Nathaniel PETER
PEKlNG. Dec 8.-A fresh center Of
disturbance has been created in China.
already torn by multitude of dissen-
Sions. There IS fighting in Mongolia.
he settlement that has kept that vast
terrain at rest for some time is once
more upset.
Urga, the romantic city Of the Liv-
'ng buddha and capital Of the empire
beyond the COBB desert, is under in
termittent siege. The causes are as in
definite and the issues as mixed as thav
generally are in the Far East. Rus
Sian' Chinese, Monaghan and Japanese
tolltlcs are inextricably intermingleJ.
and partisans of each are involved IN
the fighting. And, as a last romantic
touch, the Hutuktu, or Living Buddha
# Mongolia, has been placed under ar
rest by the Chinese.
lhe Russians appear to have been
ne aegreSsois Al armed h9n csti
mated at two thousand, consisting prin-
-lpally of followers of Semenoff, the
Russian bandit general who once sup
Forted kolchak and has been q source
OF trouble ever since. made raid on
urga and attempted to capture the
city There was hard fighting on sew
eral occasions. but the Russians were
repelled The Chinese defenders took
revenge on the numerous Russian pop
ulation of the city and looted and killed
lndiscriminately. incidentally, two
Americans and a British subject have
Il,
American party has gone to their res
cue.
Indemnity Payments Suspended
Two principal elements enter into
the situation. The first is that the at
tack followed closely on China's with
drawal OF recognition from Prince
koudacheif, the Russian minister hold
ing over from the Czarist regime. As a
legal consequence China also has taken
over the Russian concessions and tenn
porarily suspended the right of extra
territoriality for Russian residents
Revolutionary as this is, more i'm
portant consequence flows from the
suspension of the Boxer indemnity pay
ments to Russian representatives here,
for out of this fund was paid the ex-
penses of all the Russian legations in
the Far East and some in the West. all
Of which. Of course, were hold-overs
from the imperial regime. Further
more, this money nquestionably has
been used for the financing Of counter
Far East. Not only are monarchist
Russians deprived Of their legal stand
ing now, but they are shorn of financial
resource.
There Is considerable evidence in the
form OF intercepted letters and tele-
Grams to indicate that the attack on
Urga was ins pired by the Russians
partly in retaliation for China's act
and partly as a threat to make it re-
vorTe its decision. The use of Semen
off, formerly a prop of the monarchists
is corroborative. Nor is there any lack
of means at hand in Mongolia.
Mongolia has been for q hundred
wears a center of Russian intrigue
Tentacles Of Russian imperiaist influ-
ence have been stretched throughout
the heart CT Mongolia.
Japanese Involved
The hereditary princes, the tribal
chiefs and many dignitaries Of the
was through their instrumentality that
Mongolia proclaimed its autonomy and
accepted a virtual Russian protectorate
when China was weakened by the revo-
luton against the Manchus in 1912
The proclamation was rescinded af-
ter Russia had its own revolution and
Mongolia reaffirmed its historic ad-
hesion to China. which has been
thorn in the Russian side ever since,
ana the imperialist elements have kept
up their intrigue. And it is this in
trigue that has played an important
part In the present trouble.
A second important element Is, OF
course, the Japanese Such reports as
have been able to come to Peking, de-
SPITE the severance Of communications,
specifically assert that there we're
Japanese among the attacking party
at Urga. In considering this it must
also be borne in mird that Semenof,
whose men were in the majority in the
attacking party, has been avowedly a
Japanese tool ever since the Allied
intervention brough* Japanese troops
! . to Siberia. 1t is through him that
Janan has pushed its penetration and
obtained valuable concessions and with
his instrumcntality that efforts to
bring about the unity of the moderates
in Siberia have been frustrated. Nat
urally, the first act OF unified ST.
heran government would be to clear
Siberia of the Japanese.
Semenoff's movements generally have
recn under Japanese instruction. The
evidence is not conclusive that this
one is also, although there were Japa-
rasa in tba hand stboY JTroo