The Morning Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Okla.) 1919-1927, 1922-05-21
HAD TASTE FOR BLOOD
Stepanoff, His Aide, Boosted
He Couldn't Sleep Unless
He Had Killed a Man
WAS PAID BY Willy JAPS
Nippon Wanted Anything But
Harmony So They Helped
Semenoff and ARMY"

saying that has become a classicism
through constant usage. So Is set
"a thief to catch a thief" 1t Is
udoubtful whether the inhabitants of
heard OF these phrases. But what
ory Semenoff into power to combat
the bolsheviki certainly pitted muir
derer against murderer.
When Russia cracked and broke
wide open In the heat of the war
there literally was hell to pay and
no one to pay 1t. The Romanoffs
were murdered at Ekaterinburg.
Kerensky was driven into exile, Le-
nine and Trotzky seized the reins
OF power. and in the country dis
tricts 1t was a case OF every man
for himself and the devtl take the
hindpost. ..
Robber bands formed and swept
over the country as Robin Hood did
in the days OF old. Rich men built
moats to protect their homes. and
stationed sentries in guard towers
on them. Among the common peo-
Gle was the man with the most
power. Like Glenister in Rex
Beach's spoilers" he could say,
"wnst I want take" and get away
with 1t.
The people who put themselves
up as military leaders were OF this
type, men who knew little about
the conduct OF the war. even In its
minor phases. General Gaida, the
Czecho-Slovaks' leader in Siberia.
had been only a stretcher-bearer.
General Sirovi had seen stirring
service as a lawyers clerk. General
sakharov. the commander-in-chief
of all of Kolchak's armies. had
never been more than a captain In
the cars armies. and when Kbl-
chak's men retreated from Omsk
Sakharovs management of their
maneuver showed he had deserved
no higher rank.
Battles became thinks OF psychol'
ogy rather than of strategy. Small
bodies of troops would sneak up or
a regular mans sized army during
the night, charge with much blood
and thunder yelling at the break O
dawn, and the big army would star
retreat "along it's whole front
as the newspapers would announc'
all over the world. The actual mum
ber of men killed never was great
but the retreating was immense.
How Semenoff Got His Start
Gregory Semenoff-only 27 year
old now-was OF mixed Russian an
I Mongol blood and had served wit
4 the Verkhneudinsk Cossacks durin
Nthe war, rising at length 20 the ran
of captain. He had little educatio
and less military knowledge an
he never would have gotten tina
high but for the fact that arm
raises" came fast in war day
especially to the men who coul
boast they were In the regulars.
Semenoff saw a little service o
the Europeon front, and then re
turned in 1913 to the far east, wher
he fell under the influence of ol
General Khorvat. head of the CHI
nese Eastern Railway. Khorvs
either took fancy to Semenoff
saw in him valuable tool. 4
any rate he gave the Cossack final
cial aid, and with the money Sen
enoff raised in northern Manchurl
a motley gang of Russian boys.
or II years old. Cinnamon. Korean
Mongols and Japanese.
my army" he called them.
1t was "some" army, with u
"some" ITALICIZED and underline
The bolsheviki, nominally in contr
of the district at the time, we
weak as the time maligned rats b'
Semenoffs gang" could hind
them no more than collection
net fleas could hurt troop OF ell
phants. It Just wasn't that klnd
an army. that's all.
The Japanese came alonp, LOOK
over the situation. and saw that
the bolshevikl sneezed real ma
some day they would blow sem
noffs troops out of the league. IN
would never do, from the Japane
point OF view, because 1t was
their interests to have conditions
East Russia In a constant turmo
Accordingly they cleared the
for Semenoff's men to Chlta
the Cossack marched his gan
there. There he reigned. under !
constant protection of Japah'
bayonets. until the fan or koien'
whom he hated bitterly. hoIcii
was also an anti-bolsheviki' out
hard-fighting. sincere one.
Paid by Japs
Semenoff, all records ana eve,
show. was under the pay OF
Japanese government as truly
though he were getting mont
pay check signed by the mlka
He called his government at On
Russian \government,' and q
he same grandiose title to a Ia
one he established at Vladivost
but 1t was all a case OF words,
words only. Semenoff coulo
have stayed for a minute had it
been for the japanese. and he kr
that well. The civilian popu.at
CONTINUED ON PAGE SIX.