OCR Text |
Show buss soys WOULD L 0. S. DTflEOS i Willing to Repatriate Subjects When Presence Pres-ence Is Objectionable to the Government. Ambassador Writes to Lansing His Readiness to Transport Undesirables Undesir-ables Back to Russia. NEW YORK, Nov. hi I.u.Jwig C. A. K. Martens, self st vied ' ' ambassador of the Russian soviet government to the United BtatSS, " lias offered tu pro vide transportation from the L'alted Stales to Russia for all Russian elti-zenj elti-zenj who desire to leave America, or vtrbQM presence in the I'nited States i undesirable to the federal government. govern-ment. This offer was made in a letter written by Martena to Secretary of State Lansing and made pulili- tonight. In his letter Martens protested against the "unwarranted and cruel treatment'' to which many Russian citizens citi-zens in the I'nited States are subjected "by the federal and state officers, a-?ei a-?ei as by mobs aeling without authority." au-thority." He proposes that the soviet government be permitted to return the citizens to soviet .Russia and declares thit lie has received thousands of applications ap-plications from such citizens who are anxious to return to their homes. Martens wns arrested for contempt Saturday and released on $1000 bail af ter he had refused to appear and bring certain documents before the Lusk legislative leg-islative eommittcu investigating radical activities in New York. PRISONERS TO APPEAR IN COURT DURING DAY. lie based his refusal on the ground that ail communications passing between be-tween himself and his government were privileged. When brought beforo tho committee in the custody of deputy tariff! Saturday afternoon. Martens promised to appear before the committee commit-tee Monday aud to bring his papers with him. Calling attention to press reports that it is proposed to deport Russians to parts of Russia on del control of tho enemies of the soviet government. Martens, Mar-tens, in his letter to Secretary Lansing, protests that such deportatiou would mean certain death for the prisoners deported and would constitute "a flagrant fla-grant breach of all principles of intcr-r.ational intcr-r.ational law." "It is quite unnecessary." he says, "for the government of the United States to take tho trouble of deport- ( Continued on Page '2, Column 13.) jfiUSS SOVIET WOULD I U. S. OF REDS (Continued From Page One intr ciUiens of Hie Russian socialist federated soviet republic. They aic only too anxious to leave. 1. therefoTte, respectfully MifKest that the I nitcxl Slates government could easily he relieved re-lieved of the presence of unwelcome, Russian citizens, if those citizens of Hussia whose lives arc becoming unbailable un-bailable in the I'niteil States were permitted per-mitted to leave. J desire to assure you that the government 1 have Ihe honor to represent is ready and willing' to provide pro-vide means of transportation from the I'nited States to soviet Hussia for every Russian citizen in this country who'desires i leave or wlioie presence in the country is undesirabV; to the government ot the United States. CLAIM JUST TREATMENT OF ALL AMERICANS. "The government of the Russian socialist so-cialist federal soviet republic has accorded accord-ed American citizens in soviet Russia civil and considerate treatment, even in cases where active hostility on the part of such Americans toward the government govern-ment of soviet Russia has been proved beyond all doubt," the letter continues. "Only in some exceptional cases where offenses of a particularly grave nature against the Russian government have been committed by American citizens were they prosecuted by officers of the law. American soldiers taken prisoner in the Archangel district, which was invaded in-vaded by American troops without a declaration dec-laration of war. have been treated with especial consideration, and were unconditionally uncon-ditionally released as soon as it was practicable to send them home, scrthat there remain today no American prisoners prison-ers of war in Russia." On the contrary, Russian citizens in America, Martens says, have been denied the protection of the law. '"The lot of "thousands of Russians in the United States today." he explains, "is exceedingly exceed-ingly uniiappy .through no fault of their own. PRESS ABUSE IS I ALLEGED BY MARTENS. "Through daily abuse in the press and prejudice created by a virulent campaign J of misrepresentation, their Russian citizenship cit-izenship has become a bar to enjoyment and advancement. They have been arrested ar-rested without warrant ard subjected to oppressive treatment, against which they have had no adequate protection, as citizens of a country whose government is not recognized by the United States. "Within the past few days," re adds, "jrreat numbers of Russian citizens in New York and elsewhere have been arretted ar-retted and have suffered the most brutal piiyslcai violence at the hands of public officials. In the city of New York alone over 1000 persons were recently arrested, among them many citizene of soviet Russia, Rus-sia, and. although these arrests were made in a manner which caused much suffering and physical injury to these citizens, and although property belonging to them was wantonly destroyed in these raids. It developed that few of them could be held for further investigation and criminal prosecution. "A number of affidavits bear.nz evidence evi-dence to the fact thai the lives and liberties lib-erties of Russian citizens have been threatened without reasonable " ground will he submitted to the state department within a few days," Discovery has been made that six teachers in the public schools here are members of the communist party of America, it was announced tonight by State Deputy Attorney General Berber. A check up of membership cards seized In recent raids established the Identities of the teachers, whose names have not been disclosed. The teachers, when questioned by the l.usk legislative committee, admitted, tt was said, that they were "perfectly familiar fa-miliar with the principles and doctrines of communism." but denied having taught its doctrines to their pupi'.s. Alleged Corporation Aid. Martens and A. A. Heller, commercial attache of the soviet embassy, declared toniC-it that most of the big corporations of the country were aiding them in efforts ef-forts to get the United States to recognize recog-nize the soviet government. Martens named the Untted Slates Steel corporation corpora-tion and Standard Oil company among the big concern" whose support he was seeking, while Heller asserted that "the big; Chicago packer. Armour. Swift. Nelson Morris ard Cudahy" were among th people hetphtg us to get recognition from the stste department.'' Heller added t hat the soviet (tovi'rnmrnt Is placing enormous orders for the delivery of fojnt supplies to Russia "as soon as this government allows bus'ness rela -(tons to be resumed." and added he had been negot iat ing "for !j i go supplies of condensed milk from the heffieM com-panv com-panv " Those statements brought prompt denial de-nial tonight from Elbert H. Gary, head of the t nited States Steel corporation. rnd l,oton Horton. president of the Sheffield Shef-field Farms company, that they had had any dealing with the soviet representatives representa-tives here. "Many of the firms with which Vfj have been negotiating." Heller said, "have been doing all they enn to bring -ihout resumption of trade relation with Oermnnv. They are sit perfectly --ntls-fled with our ability to pay, and we are in n Pos'tlon to send to this coumrv i;nn.oWl.noo in gold. If such an amount is necessary to secure our credit. "Among the other firms that we are negotiating with arc the American Steel Kxport company, the Uehigh Machine company, the Adrian Knitting company. I the International Harvester company, the Aluminum Company of America, the American Car & Foundry Export com-pany. com-pany. the Amoskeag Manufacturing com-puny. com-puny. M i' 1 1 P :de-i & Sons, and Bos-ton Bos-ton Thread company, and the Clover Machine Works " Y A 8HINOTON. Nov. H , Secret a ry l.ansln-r was out of town toniaht and state department officials said tl-ev did not know If a letter from l.udw ic , K. Martens, offeilnt to provide ship room for nil Russians anxious to leae th$a country, had been reeeletsi No ttttjit lion would be paid to anv communication communica-tion froni Mrt-ters. t'-. sa'd. be,aue tlil government had never recognised his claims as ambassador of the Russian soviet. |