123 T 71/164: Telegram

The Consul General at Stockholm (Halstead) to the Acting Secretary of State

173. From Tredwell.

“I was arrested on March 15th, 1918, but released after five hours through the intervention of the Foreign Commissar and Chief of Police. Upon demand secured apology from Chief Commissar and Foreign Commissar and on following day also release of Colonel F. Bailey and Secretary, British, Van Dusen Edwards, English, and Cap [Captain?] Deville, French. I was arrested again on October 26th by order from Moscow as it [I?] was at the Foreign Office and was under guard with the exception of four days early this year until March 27th. On February 4th although then under restraint I was seized by Captain Togolchof and an armed Red soldier and taken to prison where with intimations of early execution I was in a cell for five hours. My release was secured by Chief of Police and President Local Soviet who said it was an error. No explanation was ever offered and after Foreign Commissar returned my passport he always replied that he did not know who had arrested me. Danish Delegate Brun also arrested this time and Foreign Commissar is quoted as having said that our lives were saved only with greatest difficulty. The commander who made the arrest is known to have [Page 184] killed twelve men in one night at prison and is responsible for some two or three hundred lives. The Chief of Police frankly stated that Commandant was abnormal but the authorities were powerless to check his actions. With this exception, which the Bolshevik authorities were unable to prevent, no criticism of their treatment can be made. My guards were at all times correct, many of them expressing their shame that an American Consul should be arrested. Against [During?] the troubles in January the Swedish and Danish delegates were arrested for eight days and the Swedish Red [Cross?] representative Kliber arrested with them is believed to have been shot. [Tredwell.]”

Halstead