Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), Thursday 17 December 1914, page 6


PHANTOM RUSSIANS.

A MYSTERIOUS CANARD.

WONDERFULLY CONSTRUCTED

- STORY.

To newspaper men throughout both England and Scotland one of the most astonishing incidents of the war has surely been the remarkable story of a Russian army having passed through the two countries on its way from- Archangel to the Continent (remarks' the "Newspaper World" of September 26), For several weeks It was hardly possible to move- about In town or country without meeting some person who knew someone who had seen these Russian soldiers, and telephonic Inquiries to the chief newspaper pillars became a positive nuisance to the harassed members of the staff.

The story was wonderfully constructed, and, like the snowball, the further it went the greater it grow, gathering much circumstantial evidence in its course. Many trainloads of Russian soldiers were said to have passed through various stations on both Eastern and Western main lines. One phase of the tantalising tale was that Russians In numbers, ! variously estimated, had been shipped from I Archangel, landed at ports in Scotland, a

distance of roughly 2000 miles, and were being taken to an eastern or southern port for immediate transfer to the Continent. In the newspaper offices apparent confirmation of these details was received from a hundred sources, and as long ago as August 27 "The Yorkshire Post," being assailed with the pestj sistent Russian rumour, both in their London, and Leeds offices, took the trouble to inquire

specially of the Press Bureau whether any ' credence could be placed in it. The Press Bureau replied that there was no foundation for the story and therefore that Journal ignor-ed it altogether. Three days later, however the rumour had gathered prodigiously in strength, and became so persistent that a second Inquiry was made to the Press Bureau, whose reply was published on August 30 as

follows:

PRESS BUREAU REPORT.

"The Press Bureau declares that there is no truth at all in the rumour, And they are quite puzzled as to its origin."

Despite this denial, the peculiarly fascinat-ing story continued to be speculated on by the public, and newspapermen were continually bombarded with questions as to its truth and with evidence that the troops of the Czar had been seen at various British railway stations. On September 8 practically all the papers published a telegram from Rome stating that a newspaper there reported "that the departure of the Kaiser for Metz had been caused by the receipt of news that 250,000 Russian troops are being concentrated in France." The Press Bureau did not confirm this report, and did not object

to its publication.

In some newspaper circles this attitude I was taken to mean that in official circles the story of the Russian transport of troops was virtually admitted, and "The Yorkshire Telegraph and Star," the Sheffield evening paper, published about three-quarters of a column which they characterised as "correstoration of a story that was founded on cumulative evidence stronger than is to be had of most of the admitted facts of the) war." The Sheffield Journal's evidence In-cluded information from a Doncaster medical gentleman who had seen no fewer than three trainloads of soldiers of the Czar at the station of St. Leger Town, where the troop trains had been drawn up for a brief period." The Journal also gave a story from a Sheens Id nurse, who was on business I at Newcastle and was anxious to travel to Sheffield. She was told that was impossible as there were circumstances which prevented it. When she explained that she was a Red

Cross nurse, and was" wanted urgently at Sheffield on military duty, she was informed that under the use circumstances she could

travel, but it would be in a troop train and with a large number of foreign soldiers. . This she stated she did not object to, and she rode to Sheffield in a compartment in which no man except one could speak English. Her fellow passengers were all Russian soldiers." Other instances given by the same paper wars that "a Sheffield medical men while at York saw a rainfall of the Czar's soldiers there," and a Sheffield Territorial officer was at a station where one of the trains was pulled up, and, being able to talk Russian, entered into conversation with the soldiers, who had come from Archangel to assist the Allies in France."

The London "Star" on the same date cited similar evidence, and remarked that this move in the strangest chapter in the military history of Europe since we brought Russians to Holland to fight Napoleon in 1753."

DISCOVERY REPORTED.

At the beginning of last week the abundant and circumstantial rumours were strengthened by a correspondent of the "Daily News and Leader" on the Continent testifying that he had at last found the Russians, and that only considerations of public interest prevented him stating their locality and their numbers. Equally positive was the narrative of a Welsh engineer, who had held a position in Russia, that he had sailed from Archangel ', to Leith In the same steamer with a force of Cossacks, the last of a contingent number-ing in all 70,000. With these further stories, and despite the official denials, It was becom-ing extremely hard, for the incredulous to hold their ground, and the comments of a great section of the public on the few newspapers that had published the Press Bureau denials were bitingly sarcastic.

At lOGt, however, the bubble was pricked by the Press Bureau stating, plain and plump

that

"there is no truth whatever in the rumour that Russian soldiers have landed In or passed through Great Britain on their way to France or Belgium. The statement that Russian troops are now on Belgian or French

soil should be discredited."

If such a gigantic undertaking as the transport of a Russian army with its double transhipment had been accomplished, it seems perfectly certain that neither the War Office nor the Press Bureau would have neglected to take the press into their confidence. They took this course in regard to the despatch and landing of the British Expeditionary Force and many other matters with complete success, and due and generous tributes have been paid by Lord Kitchener and Mr. Asquith to the loyalty and honour with which Journalists respected that confidence. Therefore, It is only reasonable to believe that the Government departments would have adopted a similar plan again if the Archangel army had not been ap- army of ghosts.

And thus is dissipated a most attractive legend, which has caused a vast amount of inquiry in many newspaper offices. More than a of to London Journal sent a special representative

up to Scotland to make special Inquiry as to the facts, but not for the purpose of publishing any report. To tens of thousands 1 of people the exploding of the story will have proved a great disappointment, but there still remains the mystery of how and where It

originated. Truly, it is one of the most wonderful yarns in the annals of warfare, and has proved one of the most difficult canards newspapermen ever had to track down.