The Taihape Daily Times AND WAIMARINO ADVOCATE TUESDAY, JUNE 12, 1917. THE RUSSIAN BREAKDOWN.

Taihape Daily Times, Issue 220, 12 June 1917, Page 4

The Taihape Daily Times AND WAIMARINO ADVOCATE

TUESDAY, JUNE 12, 1917. THE RUSSIAN BREAKDOWN.

(With which is incorporated The Tai hape Poet and Waimarino Nows).

The daily news hotch-potch received from Russia, regarding the situation in that unfortunate country is somewhat contradictory and confusing, but it leaves no doubt about the unsettled condition of the Russian people, which is baiug made the most of by Germany and Austria, chiefly in transferring troops from the Eastern front to the Italian and Western fronts, where there is hot work for them to do. The Russian revolution has unsettled the whole Russian Empire; every Russian, rich and poor, has gone mad on his new found liberty and is striving to become a king, an aristocrat, or to ape the landowner. Governments have temporised with the misguided, semi-fanatic people to an extent that seems to have made conditions worse, or, at least, that have not tended toward improvement and a return to national sanity. It is still a question whether the Russian democracy is an established fact, or whether the weakness of those selected as guides and administrators will not end in a return to some form of monarchy. At present each subject seeks to make himself a sort of king in his own surroundings, every district is bent upon becoming a little self-governed State, and, meanwhile the German and Austrian commands are withdrawing troops and guns for use on the Western and Italian front® leaving the Russians busily engaged fighting and squabbling' with each other. Problems of labour and finance are becoming more and more serious, the ignorant Russian peasant has not' yet had it brought home to him that money has to be acquired by work, and that it does not rain down from heaven to be shovelled up by those who rule, He has been so down-trod-den under an absolute monarchy that he cannot be brought to understand all at once that men have to work in entire loyalty to democratic government just as well as to the other kind, and that the welfare and safety of the Empire depends more than ever upon his industry and patriotism. Representatives of British newspapers in Pelrograd think that the work of reconstituting the fabric of State will take considerable time. It is annoyingly impressed upon the Allies that it is certainly taking up very valuable time. The reactionary element is something yet to be considered, as is shown in the election of the first Archbishop of Potrograd, when the democratic candidate was badly beaten. The priesthood of the Greek church is still pro-Ozar, and that means the presence of German spies and propagandists everywhere working upon the ignorance of the people.

What the influence of the priesthood is may be gathered from the fact that when one Rusian peasant visits another he does not accost him with any suiutation, he walks past him, as though he had no existence, right up to the ever present ikon in every house, crosses himself, bows and prays, and when this is all over he turns to his friend to say how-do-you-do. This is all very distressing, but it is not an insurmountable difficulty. A cable yesterday stated that a new government was in course of formation; the weakness of democratic governments has contributed much to the chaos that still obtains; want of power to control, reorganise and reconstitute is the prime cause of trouble and delay. With a strong, determined government the Allies believe the situation would rapidly improve; with a strong and determined propaganda the people would be made to realise their folly and that by the course they were pursuing they were taking the shortest cut to a return to the hated beaucratic conditions. ProGrerman propagandists are industriously preaching a separate peace, telling the Russian people that Germany never desired anything better than to live on neighbourly terms with them, and the unsophisticated, uneducated Slavs are thus being hoodwinked. To cope with all this a strong government is needed, one that can and will take its own people in hand. The Russian collapse seems to have brought the Kaiser to the fOre again; he sees in the Slav fiasco just another chance that Germany has still a hope of attaining an advantageous peace, and he has openly joined the Hun pirates, cut-throats and murderers, once more becoming their mouthpiece in proclaiming that the German, army will dictate a final peace. On the other hand President Wilson has officially, plainly told Russia that there shall be no peace on an ante-war basis. He tells them that Germany is seeking pledges that the war will result in restoration of the status quo ante helium, and, he asks, was not this status the quo from which the iniquitous war began. He tells the Rusian people that the status must be so altered as to prevent such a hideous thing ever recurring again, and he warns Russia that the day has come when she must either conquer or submit. The educated, intelligent Russia is stil a force strongly with Russia’s allies. Last week a conference representing all Russian commercial, industrial, and financial concerns unanimously decided to send the Allies a declaration categorically rejecting any possibility of a separate peace and expressing confidence in the coming decisive victory of the Allies. A congress of the councils of soldiers is to be held in Petrograd at which fifteen hundred delegates will be present, and at which only delegates representing twaty-five thousand members will have a decisive vote. All members of the Russian Government are invited to be present. So it will be made quite clear that leaders in Russia are still striving strenuously to reach a reconstitution of government and people that will ensure the war against Germany being recommenced at the earliest moment.

Taken altogether the news from chaotic Russia, while of a very serious nature, gives no cause for real alarm. The worst feature of the whole affair is that Germany considers it safe to remove huge forces of men and guns to other fronts, but even in this it must be kept in mind that Germany is in the direst extremity on the West front and therefore likely to take extraordinary risks. A SHIPPING SURPRISE. An unpretentious paragraph appears in the local columns of the “‘Wanganui Chronicle” to-day, which, if true, profoundly concerns every man, woman and child of this Dominion. The paragraph is as follows: “‘Shipping regulations passed by the Executive to-day prohibit the transfer of the register of a New Zealand ship to a port of registry outside of New Zealand or the sale, or mortgage, or transfer of any New Zealand ship or share therein. The Minister of Marine is given full control of ships leaving for oversea ports, which will be gazetted in due course. It is further provided that it is unlawful for any New Zealand ship at present engaged in trading in or with New Zealand to be withdrawn from that trade.” We are positively astounded at the casualness of our Wanganui contemporary, displayed in the heralding of such momentous intelligence. It is with joyful satisfaction we note that our Government deserves more public confidence regarding the shipping problem tha'ii we have given it in our discussions of the subject. Our Government has risen to more than public anticipations in its decrees that not a New Zealand-owned ship is To pass to other ownership; the port of registry is not to become foreign; not a ship or a share therein is to be sold, and

of course this puts a stop to the Union Company being absorbed by the shipping ring 5s the New Zealand Company was some year or two ago. It is indeed joyful news for our producers to know that the New Zealand Minister of Marine now has control of every ship leaving for oversea ports, and that it is now unlawful for any ship at present engaged in carrying our produce to be withdrawn from that work! It is a complete and fitting denouement to the combine’s "efforts to get possession of the New Zealand producer, body and soul. The Government has earned the thank's and congratulations of every man, woman and child in the Dominion. What is to be the ultimate outcome?