The Morning Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Okla.) 1919-1927, 1921-04-22
THREE STORMY
YEARS OF LIBERTY
Georgia Was Too Rich to
Escape Bolshevist
Greed
WAS FAV0RITE RESORT
Royalty and Nobility Loved to
Sojourn Among Cau-
casion Foothills

rONSTANTTNOPLE. April al
The Georgian republic, which ceased
10 exist as an Independent. home
controlled government at the end ot
February as a resui: Of attacks d..
rooted from Moscow. made a con-
siderable stir during the three years
of its freedom.
OF all the states that nave broken
away from great Russia, such as
poland Armenia, and the Ukraine.
none has won more real sympathy
from visitors. In its capital Of Tlflis.
idly nCstcd I'm the Caucasian foot
nlls hosidc the little river kura.
glerc Was always hearty welcome
70 strangers. Like all the provincial
CAPITALS Of old Russia. the lifc was
delightfully."- democratic and free
from the sober restraints of more
highly organized and cummcrcializcd
communities.
TIfls had it's opera. It's music halls.
DO. .outrdl club house. it's pictures-
que drinkers, its fashioned ma
uoull costumes and dancers. botn
w,u and women " had its society
of princes and princcsses and counts
and countesses, who lived I'm their
town houses and extended hospital
itv almost to all corners, as I'm the
south before the war" Russians
themselves, before and since the
great war. loved to visit Georgia, be-
cause Of its climate and its verdant
richness. The car and hosts of
PotroGrad and Moscow mobiles ana
veaithy people had their villas. their
fInting lodges and, summer resort
places scattered through Georgia.
Coveted Its Riches.
one cause OF the occupation OF
Georgia by the bolshcvikl was prob
ably loot. This was the last portion
of Russia which stlll retained some
Of old Russia's vast treasures Of art.
~ paintings, Of tapestries and yugs,
n silver and gold ware, of arms in
laid with precious metals and jew
els, Of ver-ornamented harnesses
of diamonds and valuable oriental
stones the very name OF which is
hardly known in western countries.
4 more general cause of the occu-
patton by the bolsheviki has been
the systematic attempt Of Moscow
70 roincorporate into Russia its old
provinces.
During It's three years Of inde-
pendence, Georgia had on paper 16
mobilization OF troops and u wars.
all 10 protect frontiers. All of these
newly. formed republics in Europe.
occupy some strategic transport posi-
ton which their neighbors need, and
this generally brings on trouble.
Georgia held the railway up from
Batum on the Black Sea to baku,
the oil center and also one OF the
ways into Persia. The bolsheviki
are said to have wanted Georgia as
base for their campaign into
Persia and to give a better control
of Armenia, all for the purpose OF
an attack on the British. and also
for closer contact, either offensive
or defensive, with the Turks,
Government Falls.
The attack of the soviet army was
made on February IS. The fight
about the city continued until Fri
day February 25, when the
Georgians were obliged Ia flee.
Their Intelligence service was bad,
there was no lubriCating oil for their
brand new airplanes, everything
went wrong.
The looting Of the city began from
,he inside, When the bolshevih
'ame. more OF rabble than sol
o.ery they were permitted to loot,
ss,ter the manner of armies in this
nart Of the world. The allied ana
American missions and officials got
away by train. together with the
Georgian government. Officially
President Jordania and his govern
ment viii continue at Constant
nople, hoping for another chapter TO
open I'm this struggle for freedom.
Because OF lack of unity and SYM
nathy among the five republics OF
the Caucasus, the bolsheviki were
able to play them one against the
other, The Tartars and Cossacks
who helped overrun Georgia had
'een fighting for national freedom
In their republics.
The holsheviki who formed tho
soviet government at Tiflis have pro-
claimed that now Georgia is free ~
work out her destines, without inn