Show ON LIKE offic IC I C tas make no effort to preserve formation and take rest at will HAVE VERY LITTLE ARTILLERY sergeant william COOK of oklahoma omah ma tells of his observations taken captive by bolshevists when they entered minsk barq warsaw jw william cool of aay okla a member of the american expedition who was captured by the russian A when lien they entered mink has arrived here having been released by soviet authorities following his release lie went to vilna and thence to riga wrev where lie he joined a red cross courier coming comine to warsaw the soviet army lias has plenty of soldiers rifles machine guns and ammunition cook says but lie he did not foe ee any artillery except six cannon captured from froin the poles the bol she however lind had no shells for or these guns lie ile saw many american automobiles and motorcycles being lluc escil by the soviet soldiers and remarked that the bol are fairly well fed having baying lived or of the country they have taken from froin the poles little litlie discipline prevails in the bolshevik army lie declares and although althou fh there Is no saluting offic officers erg are respected by the men like a picnic while on the march the bol reminded cook of a crowd 0 or of f reminded a 0 an former farmer boys going coln to a pi picnic cille as they made no effort to preserve formations and straggled along the roads in little groups some would be on one side of the highway and some on the lie other while others would he bi seen beatt ered through the fields whenever they desired groups group would sit down to rest one day cook counted eleven airplanes flying toward the front and was told by soviet soldiers that the machines were being assembled for the drive against Wili warsaw saw cook who fought in the Amerl american edn hanla at Cant cantieny cantigny Igny luring during the early summer campaign of 1018 and participated in the biarne aasne offensive mill and in the battle of the argonne was vilas captured when lien ho be remained with the antl anti train at minsk in the hope of being able to bring it out of the hie city before the boi arrived talut orsbar fox of philadelphia was in command of the train and it was found it could not dot be moved out of minsk because of 0 the congestion on the railroad cause caused by the retirement of 0 poles cook was avas taken for a polish soldier by the who stripped him of everything except his underwear and then paraded him through the streets of minsk when it became known lie he was an american soldiers of the soviet army came for miles to see him as he was regarded by them as a freak lectured on bolshevism A bolshevik officer at first ignored cooks plea that lie he was a noncom non noil com balant relief worker but he was later identified as an american by the minsk representative of the american joint distribution committee committe e two weeks after ills his capture cook was taken before the commissar who related the good points of the soviet dovlet form of government before releasing alm ilm cook remained in minsk tor for a week before lie he could secure papers which would give him authority to travel during that time the he bolsheviks began closing stores in minsk taking them over for the government while in eliat city cook lived on black bread and tea cook served twenty years in the united states army enlisting from unionville Uni onville mo 10 ills father now lives in pay fay okla while in minsk cook met louis jennings Jen nines an american lumber dealer who went to minsk six years ago jennings who Is sull still an american citizen did not leane when the bolshevik the city because urs mrs jennings was uns visiting in a nearby town and had not returned home |