OUR ALLIES.

Taranaki Daily News, 21 May 1917, Page 8

OUR ALLIES.

WILL RUSSIA SIGN A SEUERATE PEACE, (By S. Turner, F.R.G.S., author of "Travel, Exploration and Climbing in Siberia, etc."). "Will Russia sign a separate peace? As one who has studied all the Russias for the last 15 years and having travelled extensively through Russia, a few words on the present critical situation may be interesting. Eighty-live per cent, of the Russian peoples have been striving to get control of the country for the last 20 years, but the power of the Czar was so despotic that he could nullify the attempts made through the Duma to make the voice of the people heard. When the war came a powerful military class who, by the latitude and freedom gained by* war conditions, became a power in the country. This in itself could not have forced the blood■less revolution to stop a separate peace, without the 85 per cent.' (mostly uneducated people) seeing that they would probably be able to form a republican Government on socialism.

The dethroning of the Czar was done by this combination of peasant and educated military class. The prospects of dividing the Czar's possessions were the reasons why the ncasants overthrew their 50 years ago liberators from serfdom, the Romanoffs. To make sure that no separate peace woiiTc! lie signed was the reason why the military class overthrew the Czar.

Seeing that vast possessions, 'about twice the sine of France, are to be divided amongst the peasants, they have realised the height of their ambition, and it is not reasonable to r.xpect these uneducated peasants to understand the necessity of overthrowing the Kaiser, / I consider that the Russian peasants can only be influenced by the workmen and socialist organisations of different parts of the world, and the America]", message to the Russian people a few days ago was r> (he right lines. I would not bo sir- sed to see the Riissians controlled by the most socialistic fiovornment ever known in the history of Hie world, and it is almost certain that the educated classes will have a great difficulty to steer the country away firm serious complications. Jf the Russian people can he made to nee that their socialistic ideals and the welfare of the people depends upon overthrowing the Kaiser and his military cranks, Russia will fight ,to the bitter end. If not, I am afraid to say what will happen. lam certain that the overthrowing of the Czar was not necessary to prevent a separate peace, because the Romanoffs' destiny depended upon exterminating the German influence in Russia. I have had a personal insight into what the German influence in Russia means, and although this influence misled the Czar into making serious mistakes, it is idle rumor to say that the Czar would have signed a separate peace. I have always believed that: the Czar would have given e,aeh peasant a vote, and his representative plenty of power once the Czar was sure that the vote would not fall into the hands of men like the "Barons" who once held the serfs in bondage,

The question of vital Importance is: How far the peasant Is developed politically? If education in Russia had another 2;') years' growth I would Ije quite liappy at the present juncture, but with rulers comnosed of men ns wise as Solomon of Biblical fame they would find the governing of Russia an extremely complicated problem, because you not only require clever rulers, but you require well educated people to hare a good governed pountry,