Salt Lake Tribune | 1919-05-25 | Page 1 | Bela Kun Tries to Curry Favor

in 1 its TO m FAVOR Cites Single Execution as Proof of Government's j "Justice." By FABMER MURPHY (Chicago Tribune Cable, Copyright.) VIENNA, May 17, via Paris, May 23. Bela Kun, or Cohen, has been making an attempt to impress the outside world that his government stands for law and order. He has just sent a letter to the American peace delegation in Paris, in which he says summary .-justice m l be meted out to any man guilty of coldblooded cold-blooded murder. The train lor ienna was held thirty minutes in order that the letter might be sent by courier here and forwarded to Paris, it is said. The circumstances are these. A member of the Red guard went to a man's house one night, routed him ami his wife out of bed, and demanded the bedclothes. The mau rctused and they nuarrcled. The mau summoned another Red mard from the street, who drove the first Red guard from the house. (Continued on Page 3, Column 4.) BELA - KUN TRIES TO CURRY FIR (Continued from Page One.) But later tho first Red guard returned, said ho had been betrayed, and, for that, shot the man and his wife dead. Their young boy also was wounded. Tho murder was so unprovoked the government evidently thought it ought to do something. The murderer was caught, tried by a revolutionary tribu-nal tribu-nal aud condemned to death. Persons passing tho public square saw a crowd and a body of soldiers. They approached to see what was go-iing go-iing on. Soon they saw a man bliud-folded bliud-folded and made to kneel. Then four soldiers -were told off, aimed and fired as one. The man blindfolded simply sim-ply collapsed and sank over on his side. An undertaker, who was present, pres-ent, immediately took charge of the body. There was nothing bloody nor ghastly. All was done quietly, and, in order that the newspapers would say nothing about it, no public announcement announce-ment was made, but the story was told around by word of mouth so as to let people know. Bela Kuu in his letter to the American Ameri-can delegation simply recounted the circumstances and pointed out an in-staneo in-staneo as proof he stood for law and order. His plica would have more weight, say persons who live in Budapest, Buda-pest, if this were not the first case m which anyone ever has been executed. execut-ed. Never before, they say, has any-ODe any-ODe been punished by revolutionary tribunals for crime, fcuu said in his letter to the Americans there was another an-other case of the same sort w hich would be pushed. He did not say the criminal crim-inal would be executed, but said justice jus-tice would be doue. The Kun government just now is much concerned over the "Lenine boys" who have taken possession of the palace and who defy interference with their actions. They are well armed with rifles, hand grenades and machine guns. In an American city they simply would be called gangsters, but, in the absence of a responsible government, they are able to act more freely. So far, according to people direct di-rect from Budapest,- they have committed com-mitted only robberies when they wanted want-ed anything they went an took it: but, being of criminal instincts and having -ower, there is no telling when they may begin greater crimes. The same informant said tho new Hungarian government will not amount to anything unless backed by entente forces. The informant says the new government is composed of men who ran away from trouble and didn't go on their own account for their country ! at the most critical time. It is not to be expected they would do anything now uuless sorneouo else fights the battle bat-tle for them.