Jasper County Democrat, Volume 21, Number 76, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 21 December 1918 — REDS ARE GAINING POWER IN RUSSIA [ARTICLE]

REDS ARE GAINING POWER IN RUSSIA

Allied Policy Regarding Eastern Operations Is Becoming More Important. ! * ■» REASONS FOR INTERVENTION British Secretary of War Says Allied Are Honor Bound to Help Slav 4 Wipe Out Bolshevism. | > London, Dec. 20.—The bolshevikM are gaining in power in Russia, It M indicated in recent dispatches. This! is particularly true In the border) states, where the Germans are with-! drawing. As a result of this situation! the allied policy regarding Russian op-1 eratlons Is becoming more Reasons for Intervention. In response to strong protests in the press ’ against the secrecy maintained concerning military operations in Russia and the Insistent demand by liberal newspapers that the government explain and justify the continuance of these operations, Viscount Milner, the secretary of war, has Issued a statement to the effect that the allies have an obligation of honor to protect the Ruslans and others who have aided them against the bolshevlkl. For the allies to scramble out of Russia now would threaten to Involve the whole country in barbarism, the war secretary declares. The cabinet member’s statement is| In the form us a letter in reply to Al correspondent. Explains Sending of Troops. “You ask me,” sayb Viscount Mlh-j ner. In his letter, “what right we evert had to send British troops to Russian to meddle with the Internal affairs of! that country and how long we mean to 4 keep them there now that the war lew over. I “The question Itself shows that yoqj misapprehend the facts of the case aal well as the motives of the goijernmentJ The reason why allied, not merely! British forces—indeed, the British are! only a small proportion of the allied troops —were sent to Russia fsd that the bolshevlkl, whatever their ul-l tlmate object, were, In fact, assisting] our enemies In every possible way. IM was Owing to their action that hunn dreds of thousands of German troops! were let loose to hurl themselves! against our men on the western’trontj who handed over the Black sea fleet! to the Qerinans, and who treacherous-3 ly attacked the Czecho-Slovaks whenl the latter only desired to get out of| Russia in order to fight for the free-, dom of their own country In Europe.) The allies, every one of them, wero most anxious to avoid interference in; Russia, but it was an obligation of| honor to save the Czecho-Slovaks and It was military necessity of the most urgent kind to prevent those vast por-i tlons of Russia which were struggling, to escape the tyranny of the bolshe-; vlkl from being overrun by them and so throw/i open as a source of supply to the £nemy. Cannot Desert Russian Friends. “I say nothing of the fact that a. vast portion of the earth’s surface and millions of people friendly to the al? lies have been spared the unspeakable horrors of bolshevik rule. But in course of this allied Intervention thousands of Russians have taken ud arms and fought on the side of the allies. How can we, simply because our own immediate purposes have been served, come away and leave them to the tender mercies of their and our enemies?”