The news scimitar. (Memphis, Tenn.) 1907-1926, 1920-01-26
Getting Out of Siberia.


the Salt Lake Desert News Und). will
come to the nation with the news" that
American forces are to be withdrawn
from Siberia This opinion is echoed
by the press Of all sections of the coun-
try, and without regard to party. The
Port Huron Times-Herald 0nd.) re-
ceives the announcement with no little
pleasure and satisfaction" the Biz
mingham News (Dem,) thanks God
that the chaps whose purpose held to
serve democracy throughout the world
are quitting the icy climes in boats
American shores" and the Chicago Tri-
bune Qnd. Rep) thinks the United
States is lin luck to take its fingers
out of this fire
Just in time" says the Wichita
Eagle Qnd0, which goes on:
There are only 5000 of the Amer
lean troops, and they are scattered
along thousands of miles of railroad in
little groups ranging from so to 1000.
The Russians are advancing from the
west, sweeping everything before them.
The counter revolutionists, traitors, for
eign supporting troops, mercenary Of
ficers and czarist adventures are melt
ing away before the fury of the adj
vancing red armies. We can but
hope that the Americans will be got
safely out before they are driven out
at the points of Russian bayonets"
The Boston Transcript Ind. Rep)
speaks of the administrator debated
decision to withdraw" and tells us
that;
Handicapped by instructions not to
interfere in local Siberian politics, the
position of Gen. Graves and his forces
early became precarious, If not intol-
cradle Subjected to insults from row.
ing .Cossack commanders on the one
hand and the victims of semiofficial
Japanese propaganda on the other, the
Americans have for many months found
| themselves in a situation of extreme
| embarrassment"
Why were we there. and has our pur-
| pose been accomplished? In a note to
Japan, Secretary Lansing states two
purposes for our Siberian expedition:
| First, to help the CZecho- Slovaks escape
via Vladivostok; second, "to steady any
| efforts at government or self de
Tense in which the Russian themselves
might be willing to accept assistance"
But the New York Globe Gnd) declares
| that these soldiers were sent not, as
| Mr.. Lansing solemnly gives out, to pro-
tect the retreat of the Czecho- Slovaks
but to give us a voice in the affairs
| OF Siberia. 1T will be Japanese voice
that will now be heard there and a
Japanese voice only" So thinks, also,
the Boston Globe Und), which says
| the real purpose was to prevent Japan
from seizing the whole of Siberia as
the nucleus Of a militaristc Asiatic en-
pire."
The New York Tribune (Rep.) point
ing out that there is no sound reason
for keeping American troops in East
ern Siberia unless they are to be used
| in lighting the red armies" thinks it
IAN opportune moment" to withdraw
and leave Japan a free hand to pro-
tect her interests and incidentally civ
il'zation on the Asiatic mainland" The
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
| (Rep) says the hope was that our
troops would have a restraining in
| fluence on the Japanese" but that on
the contrary they have been "a con-
slant source of irritation to the i'm
perialistic party in Japan" while the
Brooklyn Eagle Qnd. Dem) has this
to say:
I'VE are merely getting out of the
way to allow the Japs and the Boil
sheviki to fight for Siberia. Japan never
had better excuse for Intervening in
Asia and If she follows her usual course
| the far east will cause the United States
and the rest of the world plenty of
trouble in the future"
Such a policy, the Eagle thinks, 'is
justified only by faith in some kind of
league of nations that will support
the United States in correcting any
mistakes that result from our policy
:. Ii the job fails on us alone we
will pay high price for the idealistic
handling of Oriental politics"
On the other hand, while America
may elect to ignore Siberia" as the
Des Moines Register Qnd, Rep) points
out Japan can not, and must not be
expected to. There will many times
be occasion for the withholding of
judgment on our part when Japanese
policies are represented to us as bad"
The governments past policy of Sc
g. IA
Siberia is criticized, even by Democratic
papers The Baltimore Sun lind. Dem J
rehearsing the successive failures of the
allies with respect to Russian policy,
adds this:
Whatever else the state department
may feel constrained to do we hope it
will do in the open. Part of the present
muddle with regard to Russia may be
Justly blamed on the failure of the al
} lied and associated government to give
publicity at the time to the various
policies they have adopted. That may
have been necessary in war time. It
is not necessary now. Good policies
will be strengthened by popular support
bad policies will be dscredited if they
are known, and they ought to be. Let
there be light in the future"
The Seattle Times tInd), too thinks
1t is time the people were informed as
to what their government has done in
the past and intends to do in the fu-
ture with reference to Russia and the
New York Sun Qnd) says:
The men who have served in Siberia
ana the country they represented are
entitled to such a statement, and the
world is entitled now to an expression
of opinion from Washington as to the
place the United States is to have in
the rich Siberian future"
The Buffalo Evening News (Rep.)
thinks the Siberian venture should be
investigated by congress, for if it real
ly accomplished anything worth while
the story of it should be told in fair
ness to the soldiers" and IL not il
should at any rate be interesting"