The Hokitika Guardian TUESDAY, MAY 23rd, 1922. RUSSIA AND LABOUR.

Hokitika Guardian, 23 May 1922, Page 2

The Hokitika Guardian TUESDAY, MAY 23rd, 1922. RUSSIA AND LABOUR.

: i Wjikn early in the year Mr Lloyd George informed the House that Rusr sian representatives had lieen invited to attend the Genoa Conference, liis , announeeiuent was received with some misgivings. The Bolsheviks, it was sug- ■ gested would take the opportunity to engage in further propaganda. Mr Lloyd George replied that he had no longer any fear of Bolshevik propaganda Bolhevism which had proved such an alfject failure in Russia that no one w itll a grain of sense would listen to the solicitations of its emissnuies, charm I they never so suhtlelv. Mr Lloyd George, of course, remarks an exchange was speaking in a semi-humorous fashion. hut nevertheless there is a greatdeal of truth in what he said, A system of governmeutis judged nut h,v its promises, but by its performances, and in four and a half years the Bolshevi t have contrived to reduce Russia to so lamentable a plight Hint the workers in other countrios, out of regard for their own welfare, are in no mind to imitate the follies of Communism. Delegations drawn from their own ranks have visited Russia; they have returned to warn their countrymen that the Bolsheviks’ “short-cut” has led Russia only to the slough of despond, and that salvation is not to lie found in the methods of the Soviet. In France a snatch-vote decision of the Socialists of the Left to affiliate with the Third International was reversed hy a large majority. In Germany the Spartaciis movement, which once seemed formidable, h .s steadily lost ground. In Britain trusted leaders of Labour who know Russim conditions at fust-hand have told their fellows that while the Soviet system may suit Russians, it is wholly uncongenial to the traditions and temperament of the British worker. In f.,ot, repudiation of Bolshevik principles ahd practice is notv the rnlc, even among those who originally may have felt some vague sympathy, due chiefly to ignorance with them. But there are still voices crying in the wildern.sx. There are still the excel tions who stubbornly cling to the pathetic belief that Russia is a land of the blessed. It is significant that the fnitber away from Itussin are the possessors of these voices the louder they are and the more they have to say. Distant hills invariably look the greenest. The fidelity ul these zealots ton lost cause would ho admirable if it were not so perverse. One of their most striking intellectual eharcteristics is their monumental scepticism. The evidence of an observer is oi no value whatever beside their own intuitions i ml conjectures. Cabled reports with regard to the position in Russia are, of course, mere “capitalistic lies.” The considered impressions of | Mrs Phillip Snowden, Mr Aitlnir Ransoine, Mr Bertrand Russell, and others who are assuredly no friends of capital are dismissed as being biassed, unreliable and of no account. Nay, flies.stalwart apologists of Bolshevism go further and refuse to believe the great Lenin himself and the hardly less great Trotsky, when the latter admits that the hopes of Bolshevism have not Iteen fulfilled, that many of their pet schemes have proved quite impracticable, and that Russia is very far from being The promised Elysium. An excellent sample of this curiously obstinate habit of mind is afforded bv the New South Wales Labour Council, to which apparently the doctrine of Bolshevik infallibility is an article of faith. The Soviet onn do no wrong, and any suggestions to the contrary are nothing but the malevolent misrepresentations | of capitalism. Thus there were no mas- | sacres under the Bolshevism regime— j until Trotsky inconsiderately acknow. lodged that many thousands of politic:.! opponents had been “executed.” There was no famine in Russia—until Lenin inconsiderately appealed to the hated capitalistic Governments for aid. Again and again facts have proved too strong for these ardent champions of j Bolshevism, and even when, driven to their last ditch, they are forced to ad- I nut that all is not well in Russn, they i declare that the Allies und not the Bolshevik system is responsible, That was the tenor of the Labour Council’s "reply” to certain statements made hy Professor Meredith Atkinson iff -an jp. ' j tarview ffujto lately published, |.

Tiik happiest feature about by the recent s> ceessfvl Winter School was the (rood feeling engendered between the people of the Hast and West. The mo. tiv prompting the visit of the lecturers from Canterbury was the highest. It was to impart knowledge and informationto ensure the betterment of the people and district alike. It was done at very little monetary cost, for the learned and experienced lecturers gave their services without fee or reward. In one respect it was well tnat it was so, lor the financial siij port was not as generous— nor as spontaneous —as it might have been, seeing that a few local gentlemen had to assure the monetary side of the venture. However, tire expen. diture would have been well worth while, if it had been double. The people who took tile trouble to attend the School did not regret their sacrifice, lint the gain was not all local.* The visitor-, too, had something to learn, and those farmers who saw Westland ini’ the first time, learned that the district had valuable land, and a great future ahead of it as that land was cultivated. Of our scenic attractions, also, the visitors were loud in their praises, so that it can lie felt that in every fresh visitor to the district there was ji recruit goin<* a^, ’ "'l* o was prepared to sing tile ptaises of Westland, an, advertise it outside the district. There was a very cordial feeling all along the line, and the utmost good humor prevailed. Professor Shelley spoke of the School as being unique in its double oi'gnnistion. Well, it was a success, and we hope the School will be repeated again as the years go by, and become a recurring fixture of the great value the initial effort undoubtedly was. To-mobhow w.ii be Empire Day. This commemoration is not marked as a public hoi.diiy,but it is none the less a calendar event worthy of recognition. Formerly the birthday of Queen Victoria, which was for so long a recognised holiday. it was a happy thought on the part of the Earl of Meath, which retained the day in the meiiitlry for a rational purpose. The British Empire during the long reign of Queen Victoria expanded tremendously and the day of celebration and commemoration of the Empire can lie worthily recognised on the date of Good Queen Victoria’s former birthday. Those who had the good fortune to attend l’rofessor Condliffe’s lecture at me Town Hall last Friday, gleaned much of the evolution of the Motherland in the Middle Ages. Jn those far off days the Empire was cradled, and we owe it to the spirit of those times, that a race of men eon. sorted from which lias grown the great Empire of to-day. It is well to remind us of tile link with the past, and understanding something of the transformation of the British race developing on its Island home, to finally create the far Hung Empire on which the sun never sets. It was a great national achievement for the race, and while we must admire the restless spirit of the people of the past which prompted them to travel far abroad and create branches of the Empire in every sea, let us not forget that the heritage is now in our hands to use aright. Here itl this outpost <>f Empire we have a fine land aptly described as “God’s Own Country”. It is a fortunate Isle, tin's New Zealand, and the duty is upon tis now to make the Dominion a worthy part of the Great Empire we are all so proud to belong to. and so add lustre to tlie records of the past, as our contribution to the national well being of the great British race.