Siberia To-Day

The attitude of mind with which a writer approaches his subject is the core of his book. My purpose in recording my observations and impressions while serving in Siberia is to tell such citizens of the United States as may be interested some of the things they may want to know about the Siberians.

This is not a “war book,” nor an account of thrilling deeds, nor a history of our expedition in Siberia, but a book in which I have attempted to bring to the public a realization of the difficulties under which our officers and men performed, and perform, their duties in that land. These difficulties are partly inherent in the Siberians themselves, partly the result of the chaos following the Russian revolution and Bolshevism, and partly the result of a lack of policy for Siberia on our part.

The people of the United States undoubtedly feel sympathy for all Russia, and desire to aid it in some way; President Wilson, we all know, burdened with the world war’s problems, seeks a solution of the Russian situation which will give the people of Russia the fullest possible means of attaining national liberty.

Officers of high rank in Siberia, and correspondents, came more closely in touch with exalted personages than did I, who traveled practically alone and mixed mostly with the peasants. Had I been with military and civil commissions, traveling in private cars, I might now have an entirely different viewpoint on the Siberian problem. I know Siberia as a land of peasants, rather than as a place where I met governmental chiefs and heard the discussion of international policies.

I do not claim to hold the secret of just what would, or will, bring Siberia an ideal state of affairs in government. I deal only with what came under my personal observation, and draw my own conclusions, with the hope that from my impressions there may be gathered some hint of a better understanding of some of the problems which confront our government.

I have no apology to make for an excessive use of the first person singular, for it was my intention as I wrote that the reader should travel with me and see through my eyes the things he would like to see. It is not necessary, of course, to agree with my conclusions, which have no political or other bias, no animus toward those who have been responsible for the conduct of the war or who have directed the affairs of the nation in a time of stress. Where strong feeling on the Siberian situation is displayed, it springs from nothing else but a desire to see our nation acquit itself well in the eyes of Asia and the world.

I am but a volunteer reporter, attempting, as I write a report, to inject editorial opinion. I spent several years in the Far East in our regular army and as a correspondent, in the period when our arms were making history on a small scale in the Philippines and China, so my viewpoint on Asia was not gained wholly during my stay in Siberia. And I believe it is time that we get a better understanding of Asia, and seek to have Asia understand us.