The New York herald., 1921-09-20
GRAFT GRIPS RUSSIA
AS PEOPLE STARYE
Capt. w. b. Estes, Freed From
Prison, Says Heartless Clique
Is i'm the Saddle.

Capt. W. b. Estes. late of the United
States Army Intelligence Service anc
more recently a prisoner of the Bolshe
wiki in their capital at Moscow, sat in al
uptown coffee house yesterday afternoon
slipping not only Mocha but also the free
air OF the u. $. A. The effects of his
years imprisonment by the "Bolos" show
clearly enough in his paleness and the
tightly drawn skin of his face. and hc
, lhnps and suffers keenly besides from al
injury that came of a fall down a flight
OF stone stairs in the special prison they
/, tucked him into at Moscow. and fol
which surgical aid was denied him.
Capt. Estes said he had it on good au.
thority that William p. Haywood, head
OF the I. w. w in the United States
was In prison In Russia Dispatches to
THE NEW YORK HERALD from Reva
Sunday gave no intimation that he was
in prison. but said he was about to write
his autobiography and would then return
10 America TO complete his work
Capt. Estes went 10 Russia twenty
months ago to look over motion pic
ture possibilities for concern he had
organized and 10 survey general trade
possibilities. He had to daily in Reva
for three months and half before he
dOulu |tL INTO the tdnl Oh COMMUNISM
and he hadn't been in very long wher
an agent Of the Extraordinary Com
mission tapped him upon the shoulder
Thereafter the captain was simply
blotted from the picture.
1T was a little Bit of the back yard
of he'll he said. Il don't say they
were brutal. Nobody laid hands OF
me. They simply stuck me in cellar
hole and then forgot about me. What
had done? Nothing. literally. / wasn't
interested In counter-reyolution nor In
any scheme to subvert their thieves
rule. ] was just a plain. ordinary
American citizen who could not be used
for their crooked purposes and there
fore had to be eliminated. would
have been in prison yet if it had no,
been for the Arm attitude taken by the
present Government of the United
States. and | am a proud man to-day
because we have such n manly, de-
clsive kind OF Government.
'Mr. Hughes. the Secretary OF State
did not bluster or parcy. He simply
told the Bolshevfks that all American
prisoners must be released. On top OF
that order the battleship Utah and a
flock OF destroyers were ordered into
the Baltic. Lenine. Tchitcherin and the
rest Of the crowd that are running
poor Russia saw tney were UP against
statesman that purposed doing some
thing more than writing notes, and OUT
release came promptly on August s
There are no Americans left in Rus
sian prisons so far as I know.
THE attitude OF Mr. Hoover. too
played a great part in this situation
of stiffening American prestige. Hoo
vers relief scheme is the only possi-
BILE plan that can be applied. You can't
trust this crop of Russians with any
thing. They have no respect for thfir
word or their written bond. They are
the supreme grafters of the globe.
MY advice TO american business mer
anxious to trade with Russia is this
Don't give them 4 dollars worth OF goods
until the hard cash TO pay for the goods
is deposited In a New York bank or else
In a bank OF some other civilized country
that knows the meaning OF honor and
truth. Every business man | have
heard of. American. English. French
German, that has tried 70 do business
with these fellows by advancing cash OF
giving credit has been left to hold tins
bag I know Of a case where a bushes:
man lost 100000 by being fool enough
| to trust to Bolshevik good faith. Their
Is no ouch thing. Cash on the nail L
the only way to deal with them"