ors and thus almost miraculously putting
the small force which had then probably reached one hundred thousand men
in control of thousands of miles of railway reaching from Novo
Nikolayevsk to Tcheliabinsk and thence along the two branches leading to
Ekaterinburg and Zlatoust. This virtually established an economic
boundary between Siberia and Russia along the line of the Urals, since
the unsettled condition of the country makes the railway the only
practicable line of communication.

[Sidenote: How control of the railway is secured.]

[Sidenote: The Russian peasants friendly.]

The control of the railways was easily secured. At each of the important
stations Czech trains held the sidings. Due to the delay the trains
which should have been en route to France piled up at the stations, and
even in European Russia at Samara, Simbirsk and Suizran, a sufficient
number of Czechs held the station points to make their capture by
Bolsheviki forces a difficult matter. The Czechs made no attempt to
seize the towns located some distance from the stations or any other
territory. They wanted only to make secure their railroad travel. The
high prices which they paid for their necessarily large supplies of
provisions and the fact that they paid cash while the Bolshevik forces
and Soviets often requisitioned food supplies, likewise their good cheer
and personal magnetism, won for them the friendship of the peasant and
artisan classes in many of the villages so that when the clash came only
such Bolshevik forces as were definitely put to the task of disarming
them were actually hostile. The easy-going and friendly Russian peasant,
supine under the violent political changes, is a traditional friend and
an unwilling enemy. This characteristic, which the Allied Governments
have harshly criticized, may be counted upon to work to the advantage of
the Allies under any fair scheme for economic aid and peaceful
penetration which does not give grounds upon which active German
propaganda could construct open hostility.

One may well wonder why the hundreds of thousands of Austrian war
prisoners in Siberia have not blown up tunnels, destroyed tracks and
otherwise tried to stop the Czech expedition. It may be that the
Austrians secretly admired these men and were too tired of war to take
the initiative in Siberia.

[Sidenote: Seizure of Vladivostok.]

[Sidenote: The people welcome the Czechs.]

The seizure of Vladivostok by the Czechs was cha