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Show OUR FORCES IX SIBERIA I ' Napoleon found Russia a country easier to get into than to get out of; Great Britain has evidently made the same discovery; and the United " States may have a like experience be-, be-, fore we get through with it. as to ; that part of Russia called Siberia. 1 The plain truth is, the American peo- pie are not at all satisfied either with the continued use of our troops in that inhospitable country, or with the explanations that thus far have been made as to the propriety of it. Much to be desired is a clearer, more candid statement of the scope and purpose of our intervention than has been given by Secretary Baker in his recent answer to a committee of the House of Representatives, or by the President in his public utterances. The feeling is becoming pretty general gen-eral that not only the drafted men should be relieved and brought home at the earliest possible date, but the "Whole expedition should be withdrawn with-drawn as soon as this can be done with dignity and safety. Gen. Graves Grav-es who is in command of the force, appears to have performed the delicate deli-cate duties of his anomalous, not to say dangerous position with excell ent discretion; but no kind of camouflage cam-ouflage can alter or conceal the fact that we are far off our own reservation reserva-tion in maintaining an armed force in Siberia to protect the railroad on which Admiral Kolchak depends for Supplies, and to furnish him with arms and munitions. To insist, as defenders of the present policy still do, that our little army is not interfering inter-fering with Siberian internal affairs is the" sorriest kind of fiction. We are in effect fighting as openly on the side of the Omsk regime and against the Soviet forces as If we were flying fly-ing Kolshak's banners and storming the position of the foes. Our officials offici-als demur about admitting this, but what other conclusion is possible? Moreover, the Siberian situation politically po-litically and strategically seems to be getting worse rather than better. Should Kolchak be overthrown an Siberia Sovereignized, where then, would be our small force of 8.000 men, unless Japan indeed, in return for the recent kindly expressions in the U. S. Senate, should extend over and around them a protecting army. Deseret News. |