Evening star., 1941-11-03
Urges Assurances
To Russian People
Writer Says America
Should Join With Britain
In Pledges to Soviet Union
To the Editor Of The Star:

To the Editor Of The Star:
It is Of paramount importance at this
time, when Rostov and the Donetz basin
In Russia are possibly lost and the evac-
uation of Moscow is more than probable,
that both our Government and the Brit
ish give formal and official assurances
to the Russian people, that no matter
what the reverses may be this fall, that
Russia will not be forgotten at the final
peace conference as was the case a1tef
World War I.
It is futile to minimize the Importance
of the losses of the great industrial CEN
ters of Kharkov and Rostov, lying, as
thev do, in the great mining and ra"
material center of Southeastern Russia.
1t must equally be realized that the losses
of the capital and Southeastern Russia
are not necessarily fatal to the outcome
of the war. AS long as Russia can NAM
tain an organized army in being. 1t Will
be impossible for Hitler to dictate peace
TO the 100000 600 stubborn soldiers ana
peasants of that vast domain.
This writer, in the last IS years, has
been attached to some 20 armies, ana
from 1914 to 1917 was with IL out OF Is OF
the Russian armies and can say adVlseoly
that there are no more stubborn soldiers
in the world than the Russian peasants
when aroused to defend holy Russia and
the traditions of three centuries. AS the
French philosopher. Pascal, stated, 10
govern is to foresee." 1t is not the
opinion of this writer that Russian mo-
rale will collapse suddenly, but 1t Is clear
that every effort should be made TO bol-
ster in every way any possible weakness
in their hopes for the future.
1t will be recalled that from 1914 to
1917 Russia had called up more than
l6 900 900 to the colors, and before they
went out OF the war had lost nearly
10 900 900, and there were not more than
5000 900 in the fight to carry on when
the Car abdicated; most OF them were
iIl-eouipped or entirely without arms,
and even then they suspended operations
on tnc aSSuIdHCcS, IIlOSllS chg SAlcCioo Ny
German propaganda, that they would
have a peace with honor" In addition
to the losses in the army, there were
IS 900 900 refugees driven out Of Poland
and Western Russia by the German ad-
vance. To appreciate RuSsia's contribu-
ton in the last war, it must be realized
that in 1914, 1915 and 1916 there were
- vot11iNe
troops on the Russian front, which
blocked a successful offensive in the
west during those vital years. The Rus
sian advance in 1916 came at time
when half the world had assumed that
Russia was finished. but in that one sum-
mer Brussilovs armies in the southwest
captured half a million prisoners, 1876
guns, many of them s inches and up.
$500 machine guns, besides taking a
toll in casualties Of somewhere between
100000 and 100000. In u days, Brus-
SLOWS army advanced from 90 to 80
miles and this brought Rumania into
the war with ~ fresh divisions, well
trained and fairly adequately equipped,
and this diverted 36 German divisions
tdhcIl llOIil tllOlA 1CSoiNSS anu
available troops on the western front.
This advance cost, on the southwest front
alone, 800 900 casualties in u days, and
to the best of the writer's knowledge, the
Rumanians lost another three or four
hundred thousand.
1t will be remembered that England
did not begin to mobilize her indus
tries to a wartime basis until May of
1915, and during those three vital first
years, while the Germans were diverted
in the east, both Britain and France
had adequate time to prepare, and in
1917 and 1918 they were so provided with
shells, munitions and troops that the
win thereafter.
The American Government pledged
then, as now, every assistance to the
provisional government, but no adequate
steps ever were taken to support that
government in spite Of the profusion of
promises. Senator Elihu Root. speaking
in New York in 1919, said: There are
three or four things would like to say.
One is that we are in default as to Rus
sia; the American people are in default.
We have given assurances Of friendship,
we have made promises. we have used
the strongest words in the English Ian
guage. don't know whether there are
any stronger words in Russian, but If
there are, and We had known them, we
probably would have used them, because
we have indicated that there was no
limit to the friendship which we were
ready to show toward Russia. and We
have shown no friendship toward Russia
except in words.
Many opportunities have come and
have been allowed to pass. Many situa-
tions have arisen in Russia where, If the
American people had made good one
tenth of what they declared they were
ready to do, the skies would be bright
in Russia today. They have been al
lowed to pass without action. We have
never been ready when the occasion has
come, and we have done nothing. There
are many things we might have done.
I am not going to criticize; am going
to assume that our Government had good
reasons for not acting upon all the
favoring occasions which seemed to
challenge action in behalf of Russia; I
am going to assume there were good
reasons for not acting; but we have not
acted. 1t is shifting scene. 1t looks
pretty dark there now, but 1t will shift
again, and unless we do something to
prepare to act when the next occasion