Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The Oregon daily journal. (Portland, Or.) 1902-1972 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 5, 1920)
PORTLANDER FRESH FROM .NEAR EAST ANALyZES CONDITIONS THAT PREVAIL , f - ''"j-'i ; . - ! -! ! i iinri-iiiiiiii1 r ii i urn miiiiii. mi ' ' mi''imMmiMJP9W! "mniii 1 1 ""Kmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmtmmt ii'ljim i -f j-'. L t - H If ii ift n l ! ! ! II Hill s y x : 1 T "V : J-' s.'s '?'-A ; 1 ' ft-- 4M' mm ... .-. .v.jr -, - - ,tr' - v tA ... -.nxfmmj7s..rss 0 II SI - - 7, " A th4&Jr- S'&vyjfi'j a'?-- Mm. ' SBrJl yr Ar 4. S 2 h g rr"''i-v'iM' ( i 0 1 til fJim L I ' t r ' 'fir. ) :- i jti n '.'ll ' ) CO Iff JlfST 55i3 CAUCASUS CAUCASUS EtATTUtA iJL Mi EC EVENTS VISITED Leland L Smith of Portland Relates From His 6wni Experiences I 'the Strife That Haf Kept South Russia, Poland and Adjoining Regions in Turmoil Long After War Has Ceased Elsewhere. s'V sum" i'trf 1 1 3 M By Lclnfli. Smith rjpHE present Polish crisis brings into etrong relief the near eastern quesl f tion. To the average layman there exists nothing but confusion In the various seemingly kaleidoscopic territorial changes which are taking place; but, by tracing the history of eastern Europe during the recent epoch since 114 it will be seen how inevitable is the present chaoa The events taklne dace todav a.r due in large measure to the Ukrainian movement This. had its birth in South ern Hussia, fontefed and guided by Ber liit Iqng before the present w,r. Oer- - many, tearing the huge Russian bloc, topic advantage of the dissatisfaction of we IPopulatlon of Southern Russia, cshised by th Russian government tak ing most of the hiige revenues accruing rrom the grain for the upbuilding of North Russia to the detriment of South Russia, and financed a secret separat ist's movement in the hopes of embar rassing Russia In a case of war., GEBMAMZATIOX BEQTJIf '.'. This also was done in the- Cossack country and the results of this move ment i culminated in the Ukrain being the first part of Russia to make peace with Germany, and its Immediate occu pation by the German-Austrian troops a protectors, A government of Oer manophile Ukrainian Russians was or- ganlsed and the complete Oermanlsatlon , of Southern Russia begun, Grain was Intensively cultivated, T railroads re- , ofiganlsed. and the emptying- f all mt f chlnery, raw materials and supplies be- gun by the Germans with their usual efficiency. Naturally, this soon made the . German-Austrian occupation un popular and resistance by the population grew apace.; : '."., jrrw- leader APrEAjas S At this effort, the career of Petlura began. He, a ponflrmed - Ukraine sepa ratist, and a former member of the Kleff semstvo.' quickly organised vari ous bands of peasants against the Ger mans and the , Germano-field govern ment , After considerable dlfflcultr, he was captured, thrown into prison, and condemned te .deat. This Immediately made him a hero In the. eyes of the Ukrainians.. Soon, after he escaped and resumed hls leadership of the anU Oerman movement ,Xa. January,, nil, the German according to the require ments of the , armistice, evacuated the Ukraine, ' aa4 FeUura seised the reins of the German-Ukrainian government and harried, the retreating Germans be yond Kieff. His , success Was not for long, however. as -the Bolshevists took advantage of the youth of the Petlura government, and started an offensive against biro. Petlura put 'up the bast opposition he could but waa soon forced back 'to the Odessa region tor lack of ammunition and supplies. ALLIED SUPPORT INADEQUATE ' All this time the Ukrainians kept a strong propaganda bureau in Paris and even sent a delegation.. to America. Im pressed by the eloquence of their mis sion, and the desire ' to prevent the spread of Bolshevism, the supreme coun cil of Paris ordered several French and Greek divisions from Saloniki to seise Odessa, Nikoliew, the German depot, and the Crimea, without providing tor their maintenance. These troops were Joined by Petlura with 15,000 unequipped men, 4 volunteer force of 6000 Polish refugees and 8000 Russian officers. This expedi tion proved to be a second GaWpolL It was' under a French, general and. was sent to an enemy Country and then for gotten by the conference. SUPPLIES WITHHELD Odessa, a city of a million and a half souls and other, territory, , was seised and then orders came not jto advance. No food whatsoever was. in the terri tory and . the u popttation soon became desperate for ausUnance.. The Polish and Russian volunteers as well as the Ukrainians clamored for clothes, guns and ammunition. Ail of this existed In large quantities at Nllollew where the Germans had . left - large depots. The French general had received orders from th conference that all enemy or Ger man materials captured, .In that region should not be touched but be carefully guarded until a committee could arrive in order to djvide the material among the! various allies. -; ;''.-,-'' .'After holding these supplies for four months, and with, tfae destitute volun teers ' t lihting - with ' what could be fca.7rrrgi7aaaaa x,i,-.'..y.nt. I r It mi rrnrrrifiMn r ii FIFTEEN MONTHS IN THE. NEAR EAST Captain Leland L. Smith, son of Mr. and Mrs. Walter .V. Smith, 704 Hoyt street, who recently, returned to Portland after three years' service as an officer in the American array, herewith analyzes the sear eastern situation from impressions gained through personal observation. Smith, commissioned a lieutenant at the First Officers' training jcamp at the Presidio In August, 19lj. was sent to France with a replace-' ment battalion,- whence he was transferred to .the headquarters general staff, A. EL F and assigned to General VineV French Quartermaster general, as liaison officer. " Foi lowing the armistice he was sent to Roumania as military at tache and military observer. la this capacity he went through the Rou-manian-Bolshevist campaign of January-May, 11; the Polish-Ukrainian campaign of May-July, 1919; the Ukrainian-Bolshevist campaign of L July-October, 1919, and the-renikin campaign against the Ukrainian leader PeUura of October, 1919-March, 120. : ' - picked up on the field ' of battle, and dying for want of food and clothing, this entire lot of supply fell Into the hands of the Bolshevists. Inthe mean time the general had been frantically calling on the conference for supplies with Which to feed the population, or ammunition with which to advance and capture - the J ' surrounding ' - Bolshevist wheat fields. Suddenly, in April, 1818, the French general received orders from the conference . to leave Odessa and Southern ' Russia in three days. . FBAVCO'GBEEKS WITHDKATr - The three following days of panic and desperation t were even worse than the - horrors of . Belgium i during, the opening days of the war. The French and Greeks disappeared on French or requisitioned vessels," leavingthe popu lation . and the volunteer Russian, offi cers to be swallowed , up . by the Bol- shevfkt' ... The . Polish volunteers and Petlura were able to cut their way through to .the Jmiester . river , and eventually ; Into Roumania, V, The .Bol- shevlkl exacted a heavy ton .from the retreating forces, and Odessa was I the scene of another Red terror. which cost the life of every Russian volunteer found and every. Russian family, which had entertained the allied trooDs. It is the opinion of the writer, after, view ing execution cemeteries and so forth. ipat -not iess than 14,090 were killed - in KEY TO THE PICTURES ' I OFFICIALS of the Petlura government at KAmmlene-Fodolskl, Rua. sia (Ukraine), October, 1919. Included ln " the photograph are: (1) General Petlura, Ukrainian leader; (1) Colonel. Tales, tf. B. A., mili tary attache to Roumania; (S) General Parlecko, an -officer in the army now helping the Poles, and (4) Captain Leland X Smith, U, 8. A, military observer. 2, a group of Denikin's soldlrs who were offleert in the old Russian army; 1, General Denlkln, Who 'sought to "reestablish a centralized Russian government; 4, a group of Bolshevist prisoner; 5, the king and queen of Roumania reviewing their "troops; , Captain Iceland L. Smith, of Portland, who served for 18 months as a military observer In the Russian frontier country. Map indicates region Where chaos still reigns. :f. '; ' -v.)'-:-:iv?' Jective was to drive the Bolshevlkl from Southern Russia and establish an Independent , Ukraine. This movement was finally made and the writer had to see that his troops were not used against the Poles. Pettara Immediately was furnished with new equipment and at once started into Russia with his 16,000 men,- establishing bis - govern ment In the city ' of ITAramlene-Podol-ski. In Juae eC 1119 the OalleUai troops were expelled from :OaUds'toy the Poles, and what was Uft of the army Joined Petlura. Ah armistice' waa declared and the Oalldan troops plaeed on the front away from the Poles, ' as . iConrfeaeasa Pass Tbiet, Cohans Tare) cold blood. The French were blamed by the Russians for the Odessa massacre because they abandoned the city - ta three days and did nothing for . the protection of any other . troops or the DonnLation. The French rr neral. how ever, only carried - out orders of the conference - literally, ' but by so doing he has prejudiced - France's eco nomic future in Russia' to a consider able degree. -In ' Justice to- France,, it must be said that this, expedition was at all tunes controlled by th confer ence. --rf. , - , , ; EETLTJHA.S TLL J.VCX I ' Bad luck continued to follow Petlura and . his hjckless Ukrainian movement Roumania refused to allow him . even to be interned. He .demanded that his remnant army be allowed to go to Bessarabia, in -; Eastern OaMcia, where the Galicians, who were fighting the Poles and ealung themselves also Ukrainians, were in contact , with , the West Russian province of Kammienc Podolski. The Poles protested violent ly. . as they saw' ta PsUara an aid. to the GalicUna, who were, violently strug gling to drive the Poles: from Lemberg and Eastern Galicia, being led by Aus trian officers and - using . Austrian ma terial .which i should , have been., turned over to . the allies. . Petlura.'- however, agreed to give all of his arms to the Roumanians and not to fight the Poles, maintaining 'that bis one and only ob- iiiniiiniuiiiiiiiiiiiiininniitiiijii!uiiiiiiiuiiiinutuMiU(U3!iiiiniiniii:::::::r I Our Store 511 I Remain Closed ; A1K Day I i lomorrow " " r ' ' t : . ' I Tt - , Our Regular Sunday 'Advertisement Will Appear in , Monday Evening and Tuesday r ,: Morning Papers Olds; Workman 6? King 1 , , . U , 1 " 1 . ,.,u" - t- - 5 5 S :The Standard TStore of the Northwest. sfiHiiiiiiiiiiniimiiiiiiinuiiiiniiiiininifiiiRsix