Evening star., 1921-07-22
GEORGIA STRIPPED
BY RED INVADERS
People Shut in Like Rats.
Shot if They Show Signs
of Unhappiness.
BY PAUL SCOTT MOWRER.
By Cable to The Star and Chicago Daily New
CODyriphr 1921

By Cable to The Star and Chicago Daily News
Copyright. 1921.
PARIS. France, July 22.-Since the
combined force of Russian bolshevik
regulars and Armenian communists
overthrow the little Georgian army
and overran Georgia last March there
garding what has taken place in the
Caucasian republic. This mystery is
dispelled by letters just received from
Tifiis through secret channels. They
were sent to the writer by an old
personal friend Of strong radical and
liberal political tendencies. In this
dispatch he must not be named lest
his Identification should cost his life.
'Since the day of our liberation
we have been shut in like rats in a
trap" he writes. NO foreign news
papers are allowed to enter. They
might poison our minds. If anybody
shows signs of being unhappy there
is always revolutionary tribunal
ready to arrest, sentence and execute
the dissatisfied one in secret. Some
times by chance one hears how many
executions occurred during the pre-
vious night. Thus on May 29 we
knew that fifteen had been shot the
night before.
Red Flag Covers All.
"But why worry? Unless you die
of exhaustion you will find your
self paternally guided by the gov
ernment, which has very decided opin-
ions as to what is good for you. Red
tape is now god. and the red flag
covers all inquiries. The contents
of the shops and homes have all been
registered. If you need anything you
must come with an order from some
bureau. 1t is the same If you want
medicine. OF course. you may die
before you get the medicine, but what
of it?
THE salary of the ordinary clerk
or workman is now about 10000
rubles a month. (The paper rubles
in circulation in Russia. Georgia and
elsewhere in southeastern Europe
you buy it. costs 5000 rubles a pound.
meat 1000. petroleum 1000, soap
1000 and cheese 5000.
New Crop Likely to Fail.
Happily the people have some pro-
but the new crop promises to be a
failure, owing to the drought. One
reason for the high prices is that the
Russians in Georgia are sending
everything to Russia-four, railway
cars. street cars. machinery. soap
sell whatever they can spare, first
carpets. clothes and jewelry. then
household linen and kitchen utensils.
Everybody is asking with terror.
What shall we do when everything
Is gomez Then, when your apart
ment is reouisitioned you must leave
the furniture as it stands for the in
coming bolshevist dodgers"
Denies Reds Were Welcomed.
The writer denies absolutely the
assertion of the Russian propagan-
dists that Georgia welcomed the in
vaders with bolshevist revolution.
The Georgians fought to the last, and
are declared TO be all anti-bolshevist.
Only the presence of a multitude of
police and spies and the Russian 11th
Army prevents an uprising.
Il could write much more" says
my informant, but what is the use?
Every day brings new proof that the
bolsheviki have thrown aside all de-
sire for peace and freedom. They
have adopted the old czarist policy
of playing one nationality against
another-in Russia the Jews against
the Let's and Chinese, and here the
Russians and Russian Jews the
Georgian Jews are patriotic) against
the Armenians."