The History of the American Expedition Fighting the Bolsheviki Part 28

"You are kidding yourself that you are fighting for your country. The capitalist cla.s.s places arms in your hands. Let the workers cease using these weapons against each other, and turn them on their sweaters. The capitalists themselves have given you the means to overthrow them, if you had but the sense and the courage to use them.

There is only one thing that you can do: arrest your officers. Send a commission of your common soldiers to meet our own workingmen, and find out yourselves what we stand for."

All of which sounds like the peroration of an eloquent address at a meeting of America's own I. W. W. in solemn conclave a.s.sembled. Needless to say this was not taken seriously. Soldiers were quick to punch holes in any propaganda, or at any rate if they could not discern its falsities, could clench their fists at those whom they believed to be seeking to "work them." Fair words and explosive bullets did not match any more than "guard duty" and "offensive movements" matched.

Lt. Costello, in his volume, "Why Did We Go To Russia.", says: "The preponderant reason why Americans would never be swayed by this propaganda drive, lay in their hatred of laziness and their love of industry. If the Bolsheviki were wasting their time, however, in their propaganda efforts directed at effects in the field, it must be a source of great comfort to Lenin and Trotsky, Tchitcherin and Peters and others of their ilk, to know that their able, and in some case, unwitting allies in America, who condone Bolshevist atrocities, apologize for Soviet shortcomings, appear before Congressional committees and other agencies and contribute weak attempts at defense of this Red curse are all serving them so well."

"Seeing red," we see Red in many things that are really harmless. In Russia, as in America, many false accusations and false a.s.sumptions are made. We now know that of certainty the Bolshevik, or Communistic party of Russia was aided by like-minded people in America and vice versa, but we became rather hysterical in 1919 over those I.W.W.-Red outbursts, and very nearly let the conflict between Red propaganda and anti-Red propaganda upset our best traditions of toleration, of free speech, and of free press. Now we are seeing more clearly. Justice and toleration and real information are desired. Propaganda to the American people is becoming as detested as it was to the soldiers. Experience of the veterans of the North Russian campaign has taught them the foolishness of propaganda and the wisdom of truth-telling. The Germans, the Bolsheviks, the British War Office, Our War Department and self-seeking individuals who pa.s.sed out propaganda, failed miserably in the end.

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REAL FACTS ABOUT ALLEGED MUTINY

Mail Bags And Morale--Imaginative Scoop Reporters And Alarmists--Few Men Lost Heads Or Hearts--Colonel Stewart Cables To Allay Needless Fears--But War Department Had Lost Confidence Of People--Too Bad Mutiny Allegations Got Started--Maliciously Utilized--Officially Investigated And Denied--Secretary Baker's Letter Here Included--Facts Which Afforded Flimsy Foundation Here Related--Alleged Mutinous Company Next Day Gallantly Fighting--Harsh Term Mutiny Not Applied By Unbiased Judges.

Four weeks to nine or twelve weeks elapsed between mailing and receiving. It is known that both ignorance and indifference were contributing causes. We know there is in existence a file of courteous correspondence between American and British G. H. Q. over some bags of American mail that was left lying for a time at Murmansk when it might just as well have been forwarded to Archangel for there were no Americans at that time on the Murmansk.

Many slips between the arrival of mail at Archangel and its distribution to the troops. How indignant a line officer at the front was one day to hear a visitor from the American G. H. Q. say that he had forgotten to bring the mail bags down on his train. Sometimes delivery by airplane resulted in dropping the sacks in the deep woods to be object of curiosity only to foxes and wolves and white-breasted crows, but of no comfort to the lonesome, disappointed soldiers.

s.h.i.+ps foundered off the coast of Norway with tons of mail. Sleds in the winter were captured by the Bolos on the lines of communication. These troubles in getting mail into Russia led the soldiers to think that there might be equal difficulty in their letters reaching home. And it certainly looked that way when cablegrams began insistently inquiring for many and many a soldier whose letters had either not been written, or destroyed by the censor, or lost in transit.

And that leads to the discussion of what were to the soldier rather terrifying rules of censors.h.i.+p. Intended to contribute to his safety and to the comfort and peace of mind of his home folks the way in which the rules were administered worked on the minds of the soldiers. Let it be said right here that the American soldier heartily complied in most cases with the rules. He did not try to break the rules about giving information that might be of value to the enemy. And when during the winter there began to come into North Russia clippings from American and British newspapers which bore more or less very accurate and descriptive accounts of the locations and operations, even down to the strategy, of the various scattered units, they wondered why they were not permitted after the Armistice especially, to write such things home.

And if as happened far too frequently, a man's batch of ancient letters that came after weeks of waiting, contained a brace of scented but whining epistles from the girl he had left behind him and perhaps a third one from a man friend who told how that same girl was running about with a slacker who had a fifteen-dollar a day job, the man had to be a jewel and a philosopher not to become bitter. And a bitter man deteriorates as a soldier.

To the credit of our veterans who were in North Russia let it be said that comparatively very few of them wrote sob-stuff home. They knew it was hard enough for the folks anyway, and it did themselves no good either. The imaginative "Scoops" among the cub reporters and the violently inflamed imaginations and utterances of partisan politicians seeking to puff their political sails with stories of hards.h.i.+ps of our men in North Russia, all these and many other very well-meaning people were doing much to aggravate the fears and sufferings of the people at home. Many a doughboy at the front sighed wearily and shook his head doubtfully over the mess of sob-stuff that came uncensored from the States. He sent costly cablegrams to his loved ones at home to a.s.sure them that he was safe and not "sleeping in water forty degrees below zero" and so forth.

Not only did the screeching press articles and the roars of certain congressmen keep the homefolks in perpetual agony over the soldiers in Russia, but the reports of the same that filtered in through the mails to our front line campfires and Archangel comfortable billets caused trouble and heart-burnings among the men. It seems incredible how much of it the men fell for. But seeing it in their own home paper, many of the men actually believed tales that when told in camp were laughed off as plain scandalous rumor.

War is not fought in a comfortable parlor or club-room, but some of the tales which slipped through the censor from spineless cry-babies in our ranks of high and low rank, and were published in the States and then in clippings found their way back to North Russia, lamented the fact of the hards.h.i.+p of war in such insidious manner as to furnish the most formidable foe to morale with which the troops had to cope while in Russia. The Americans only laughed at Bolshevik propaganda which they clearly saw through. To the statement that the Reds would bring a million rifles against Archangel they only replied, "Let 'em come, the thicker gra.s.s the heavier the swath."

But when a man's own home paper printed the same story of the million men advancing on Archangel with b.l.o.o.d.y bayonets fixed, and told of the horrible hards.h.i.+ps the soldier endured--and many of them were indeed severe hards.h.i.+ps although most of the news stories were over-drawn and untruthful, and coupled with these stories were shrieks at the war department to get the boys out of Russia, together with stories of earnest and intended-to-help pet.i.tions of the best people of the land, asking and pleading the war department to get the boys out of Russia, then the doughboy's spirit was depressed.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Several soldiers standing outside burning building.]

U. S. OFFICIAL PHOTO Pioneer Platoon Has Fire at 455

[Ill.u.s.tration: Two soldiers sawing logs.]

U S. OFFICIAL PHOTO (158856) 310th Engineers Near Bolsheozerki

[Ill.u.s.tration: Two soldiers carrying a large bucket.]

U.S. OFFICIAL Hospital "K. P.'s"

[Ill.u.s.tration: Two women in heavy coats standing outside.]

U.S. OFFICIAL PHOTO Red Cross Nurses

[Ill.u.s.tration: Soldier and two civilians standing by a scale that holds a slab of meat.]

U.S. OFFICIAL Bartering

[Ill.u.s.tration: Three people and a small bear.]

U.S. OFFICIAL PHOTO Mascots

[Ill.u.s.tration: Officers and soldiers; a large artillery piece is mounted on a rail car in the background.]

U S. OFFICIAL PHOTO Col. Dupont (French) at Verst 455, Bestows Many Croix de Guerre Medals.

[Ill.u.s.tration: About thirty soldiers around an artillery piece.]

U S. OFFICIAL PHOTO Polish Artillery and Mascot

[Ill.u.s.tration: An artillery piece behind a log rampart, with tents in the background.]

U. S. OFFICIAL PHOTO (158870) Russian Artillery, Verst 18

Suffer he did occasionally. Many of his comrades had a lot of suffering from cold. But aside from the execrable boot that Sir Shakleton had dreamed into existence, he himself possessed more warm clothing than he liked to carry around with him. But not a few soldiers forgot to look around and take sober stock of their actual situation and fell prey to this sob-stuff. Fortunately for the great majority of them, and this goes for every company, the great rank and file of officers and men never lost their heads and their stout hearts.

And now we may as well deal with the actual facts in regard to the alleged mutiny of American troops in North Russia. There was no mutiny.

In February Colonel Stewart had cabled to the War Department that "The alarmist reports of condition of troops in North Russia as published in press end of December are not warranted by facts. Troops have been well taken care of in every way and my officers resent these highly exaggerated reports, feeling that slur is cast upon the regiment and its wonderful record. Request that this be given to the press and especially to Detroit and Chicago papers to allay any unnecessary anxiety."

He was approximately correct in his statements. His intent was a perfectly worthy one. But it was not believed by the wildly excited people back home. Perhaps if the war department had been entirely frank with the people in cases, say, like the publication of casualty reports and reports of engagements, then its well-meant censors.h.i.+p and its attempts to allay fear might have done some good.

As it was the day, March 31st, 1919, came when a not unwilling British cable was scandalled and a fearsome press and people was startled with the story of an alleged mutiny of a company of American troops in North Russia. The "I-told-you-so's" and the "wish-they-would's" of the States were gratified. The British War Office was, too, and made the most of the story to propagandize its tired veterans and its late-drafted youths who had been denied part in war by the sudden Armistice. Those were urged to volunteer for service in North Russia, where it was alleged their English comrades had been left unsupported by the mutinous Yanks.

Yes, there was a pretty mess made of the story by our own War Department, too, who first was credulous of this really incredulous affair, tried to explain it in its usually stupid and ignorant way of explaining affairs in North Russia, only made a bad matter worse, and then finally as they should have done at first, gave the American Forces in North Russia a Commanding General, whose report as quoted from the Army and Navy Journal of April 1920, will say:

"The incident was greatly exaggerated, but while greatly regretting that any insubordination took place, he praised the general conduct of the 339th Infantry. Colonel Richardson states that the troops were serving under very trying conditions, and that much more serious disaffections appeared among troops of the Allies on duty in North Russia. He further says the disaffection in the company of the 339th Infantry, U. S. A., was handled by the regimental commander with discretion and good judgment."

Colonel Stewart, himself, stated to the press when he led his troops home the following July:

"I did not have to take any disciplinary action against either an officer or soldier of the regiment in connection with the matter, so you may judge that the reports that have appeared have been very, very greatly exaggerated. Every soldier connected with the incident performed his duty as a soldier. And as far as I am concerned, I think the matter should be closed."

In a letter to a member of Congress from Michigan, Secretary Baker refers to the alleged mutiny as follows:

"A cablegram, dated March 31, 1919, received from the American Military Attache at Archangel, read in part as follows:

"'Yesterday morning, March 30th, a company of infantry, having received orders to the railroad front, was ordered out of the barracks for the purpose of packing sleds for the trip across the river to the railroad station. The non-commissioned officer that was in charge of the packing soon reported to the officers that the men refused to obey. At this some of the officers took charge, and all except one man began reluctantly to pack after a considerable delay. The soldier who continued to refuse was placed in confinement. Colonel Stewart, having been sent for, arrived and had the men a.s.sembled to talk with them.

Upon the condition that the prisoner above mentioned was released, the men agreed to go. This was done, and the company then proceeded to the railway station and entrained there for the front. That they would not go to the front line positions was openly stated by the men, however, and they would only go to Obozerskaya. They also stated that general mutiny would soon come if there was not some definite movement forthcoming from Was.h.i.+ngton with regard to the removal of American troops from Russia at the earliest possible date.'

"The War Department on April 10, 1919, authorized the publication of this cablegram, and on April 12, 1919, authorized the statement that the report from Murmansk was to the effect that the organization which was referred to was Company "I" of the 339th Infantry, and that the dispatch stated:

"'It is worthy to note that the questions that were put to the officers by the men were identical with those that the Bolshevik propaganda leaflets advised them to put to them.'