Stanley Washburn, American correspondent of the British newspaper “The Times” about the need for allied assistance to Russia (based on the materials of “The Times” archive)

Abstract

The article analyzes a document sent by the American journalist Stanley Washburn, a war correspondent of the British newspaper The Times during the First World War to the editor of The Times H.W. Steed. The document, which is stored in the Archive of the Times newspaper in London, is a draft article for the American edition of The Red Cross Magazine. Correspondent of The Times informs the American society about Russia’s contribution to the war, in particular, about the losses Russia suffered at the front and the difficulties the country was experiencing inside the country. The correspondent estimated economic potential of Russia in 1914 and talked about the reduction of the opportunities to maintain Russia’s economic and industrial life in a normal state during the war. The journalist analyzed the issues associated with railways and transportation of the wounded and underlined the necessity to provide allied assistance to Russia in order to prevent its withdrawal from the war. In particular, Washburn proposed to help the Provisional Government in solving the food problem in big cities by organizing food warehouses for that purpose and taking care of the supply of flour-milling facilities. The author of the document pays attention to the effective work of helping the wounded and makes recommendations for improving the work of the Red Cross at the front and inside the country.