_Valparaiso, April 18th_. (By special cable to _The Daily
Thrill_.)--Three men, named Fedor Popemoff, Leon Strunski and Igor
Wunderbaum, were arrested here this morning on suspicion of being
Bolshevist agents. Their lodging was searched and a quantity of
seditious literature, a portmanteau full of Browning pistols and some
hanks of dried caviare removed. At a preliminary examination they
claimed that they had been sent to Chile by the Siberian Red Cross to
establish a co-operative guinea-pig ranch for indigent Grand Dukes. The
police believe that Wunderbaum is no other than the notorious McDuff,
the Peebles anarchist, who, when not actively engaged in preaching
revolution, used to earn a precarious livelihood contributing to the
Scottish comic papers.
_Moscow, April 17th_ (delayed). (By the Special Correspondent of _The
Morning Roast_.)--By intervening in Russia at once the Allies can
destroy Bolshevism at a blow. Three days hence the Red hordes may be
sweeping across Western Europe in an irresistible flood. At the present
moment Trotsky has less than one thousand one hundred and thirty-five
trustworthy troops all told, mostly Chinese, with a smattering of Army
Service Corps. In a month's time he will have a million and a half of
well-trained soldiers at his beck. Don't ask me how he does it. He
has plenty of money and his Army is well paid. Only yesterday I saw a
private of the Red Guards pay five roubles for a hair-cut. Will it be
another case of "Too late"?
_New York, April 18th._ (By special cable to _The Daily Thrill_.)--While
truffle-tracking in the Saratoga forest a corporal and three men of the
United States Marines came upon what is believed to be a _cache_ of
Bolshevist arms. The _cache_ contained six 9-inch howitzers, two hundred
thousand rifles and a million rounds of ammunition, and was skilfully
concealed under the bole of a tree. Secret service men claim that this
is part of a gigantic plot for the disorganization of traffic, the
nationalization of cocktails and the wresting of Ireland from the
strangulating grip of the Anglo-Saxon party. Two men have been arrested
in Seattle in connection with the affair. On one of them was found
Bolshevist literature and two hundred million francs in notes of the
Deutsche Bank. He admitted that his name was not Devlin and said that
the money had been given to him to hold by an Australian soldier who had
not returned for it.
_Moscow, April 19th._ (From the Special Correspondent of _The Daily
Blues_.)--I have just had a chat with Hackoff, the confidant of Trotsky.
He indignantly denied that Russia was in a state of anarchy and pointed
out that one hundred and twenty-three thousand one hundred and nine
persons had already been executed for conduct likely to cause a breach
of the peace. There can be no question that the man is sincere. He was
very despondent, and stated that, owing to false reports spread by the
Allies, the Bolshevist paper money had become worthless, except in
Paris, where they would take anything you had on you. He urged that
unless an arrangement could be made with the United States for a loan
or Colonel Wedgwood would consent to take command of the Red Army the
counter-revolution could no longer be resisted. Hackoff is a shrewd
fellow, but neither he nor Trotsky can cope with the situation much
longer. Only last week I telegraphed Mr. Lloyd George that England must
act at once if we are to save Bolshevism from being nothing better than
a Utopian dream.
_Wilna, April 20th._ (By special cable to _The Morning Roast_.)--Five
hundred thousand Red Guards, well supplied with heavy artillery and
German engineers (_Wurmtruppen_), are advancing on the town. The Church
Lads Brigade are parading the streets day and night to prevent looting.
Outwardly the Burgomaster remains calm, but this morning he told me,
with tears in his eyes, that unless three carloads of potatoes reached
the doomed city before next Friday nothing could save it. "Ah," he
cried, "if only rich England would send us some of her tinned milk!"
_Stockholm, April 21st._ (From the Special Correspondent of _The Daily
Thrill_.)--An extraordinary incident has come to light here. While the
baggage of Mlle. Orloff, the famous _danseuse_, was being unloaded at
the pier a heavy trunk dropped from the sling and crashed on to the
wharf. Rendered suspicious by the lady's unaccountable agitation,
Customs officers searched the trunk and found at the bottom of it six
hundred million pounds in bank-notes and a Russian named Oilivitch, who
at first claimed to be a scenic artist, but finally admitted that he had
been appointed by Lenin ambassador to the Netherlands. Communication
with Scotland Yard has now established the astounding fact that he is
the Abram Oilivitch who in 1914 kept a fish-and-chips shop in Lower
Tittlebat Street, Houndsditch. Oilivitch first came under suspicion when
it was discovered that Litvinoff had been seen to purchase a haddock at
his shop. He was also known to have contributed eighteen-pence to the
funds of the Union of Democratic Control, but afterwards recovered the
sum, claiming that he had paid it under the erroneous belief that
the Union of Democratic Control was an institution for extending
philanthropy to decaying fishmongers. After disappearing from sight for
a while Oilivitch was next heard of in the Censor's Department, from
which he was removed for suppressing a number of postal orders, but
afterwards reinstated and transferred to the Foreign Office. He left the
Foreign Office in June, 1918, as the result of ill-health, and was given
a passport to Russia, where his medical adviser resided.
_Later_.--It now transpires that Oilivitch was also employed at the
Admiralty, the War Office and the National Liberal Club. It has also
been established that he was born in Düsseldorf and that his real name
is Gustaf Schnapps. He is being detained on suspicion.
_Moscow, April 23rd._ (By special cable to _The Daily Blues_.)--The
situation here, thanks to the preposterous conduct of the Allies,
is desperate. Food is unobtainable and Trotsky has only one pair
of trousers. Unless something is done the Soviet Committee will
disintegrate and chaos ensue. Already grave unrest is manifesting itself
in various parts of the country. Hackoff, the able Minister of Justice
and Sociology, tells me that he has already raised the weekly executions
of bourgeoisie from six to ten thousand, in a desperate endeavour to
prevent disorder on the part of the populace. It is not too late for
the Peace Conference to act. Trotsky admitted to me yesterday that,
on receipt of fifty thousand pounds and a new pair of trousers as a
guarantee of good faith, he would allow the Big Four to present their
case to him. He is firm on the subject of an indemnity and the execution
of Mr. Bottomley. Otherwise he is moderation itself. But the Allies must
act at once. To-morrow will be too late.