The Daily News. MONDAY, JANUARY 13, 1919. THE SCOURGE OF BOLSHEVISM.

Taranaki Daily News, 13 January 1919, Page 4

The Daily News. MONDAY, JANUARY 13, 1919. THE SCOURGE OF BOLSHEVISM.

Arising out of German policy of intrigue during the war the world is now faced with a scourge that bids fair to spread like a raging fire, bringing in its train horrors and fiendish outrages by the side of which those committed by Germany will pale into Insignificance. Describing the awful Bolshevik atrocities, Mr. Jeffries, the wellknown war correspondent, says these extremists are reviving the most fiendish mediaeval tortures. A Polish landlord had bin limbs pulled apart until his body ripped. Russian officers were torn to pieces, some having their bones broken, and others being killed by electric current. These are some of the most recent specimens of Bolshevik devilry, and they cerve to show what may be expected wherever the red scourge holds sway. "When the German authorities made traitors of Lenin and Trotsky, supplied them with blood money, and turned them loose in Russia to convert it into a r.eetliing Hades they little thought that the day would come when tlte Fatherland would be engulfed in the relentless waves of Bobhevifcm. They sowed the wind and Germany to-day is reaping the whirlwind. Once the fires of Bolshevism were lighted and fed with unsparing hands they spread with i terrible eoaul and deadly effect

The world is standing aghast at this new menace of unbridled lust of power and illimitable savagery that is threatening to overwhelm the forces of sanity and good Government. It is a movement that appeals to primitive manhood, and in every country of the world, however civilised, there are to be found a large section of this type of citizen. They have everything to gain and nothing to lose by joining in a revolutionary campaign that aims at stripping the wealthier classes of their possessions and dividing the spoil among the masses. Although the upheaval in Germany may be regarded in the light of a well merited retribution for the awful crimes committed by the Teutons during the war, yet all rational people must deplore the successful germination there of the poison seeds of insatiable cruelty and tyranny. Military despotism was sufficiently hideous in its methods of terrorising and enslaving the people, ait Bolshevism is a thousand-fold' worse, for it destroys the last remnant of freedom and good Government, and preys on the people with a voracity that is unparalleled. Moreover it works in secret as well as in the open, and is flooding the civilised countries cf the world with its infamous propaganda. A recent cable from New York stated that the Department of Justice had discovered that a fund of a hundred thousand sterling had been sent there by Lenin for the promotion of Bolshevism in the TJnitpd States, and the message added that Bolshevism was making alarming headway in America. This statement is so significant that it demands particular attention, for what is happening in the United States in this respect is being experienced in other countries. We have just been through the most terrible military struggle of all time, and now civilisation is faced with a more far-reachmg and insidious conflict, for unless this curse is removed it will grow apace, with results that are only too patent in Russia and Germany. Bolshevism is the worst kind of brute force, for it panders to the baser instincts of mankind and destroys what little mental balance is possessed by its votaries. Thoughtful and far-seeing men may well pause and consider the sombre outlook with very great anxiety. They noted with satisfaction the dispersal of the storm clouds of war, but it is quite possible that) they may be filled with dismay at the gathering of these denser clouds of a communistic cyclone with its pent up forces of devastation and destruction of social and political conditions, bringing in their train such horrors and atrocities that may make the stoutest hearts quail. We bore the horrors and sacrifices of the war with becoming courage and confidence because of our unswerving and undiminished faith in the eventual victory of right over might Moreover, there was a deeply rooted conviction that after the confiict was over there would be a peace ■that would stimulate industry and bring happiness and prosperity, I but the spectre of Bolshevism is' acting like a pall over the nations, I striking at the foundations of law I and order and encouraging the overthrow of good government, i It would be suicidal policy to refrain from giving heed to the signs and portents of this evil, and the fact that it is making "alarming headway" in America should arouse the nations to a due sense of the peril that is stalking in their midst. No country .is likely to escape its machinations, and the measure of its success will be determined only by the steps taken to stamp out the evil. There is only one course to take and that is to grasp the monster with firm hands and shako every vestige of life out of it, even in Russia, where it has thriven on the sorry conditions which it created by means of German money #nd German backing. The only gleam of satisfaction is that Germany is in the toils of the viper it nourished, and that Germany will be made to pay for the destruction caused by the Bolsheviks in ttye Baltic provinces, where the evacuating Teutons left the Bolsheviks their arms and munitions. It is time that the civilised nations cried a halt to the spread of this scourge and took drastic means to end its pernicious activities. It is also time for sane Labor to assert itself with a laudable determination to uphold its manliness and not allow these extremists the slightest support, but to turn a deaf ear io their demoralising propaganda. Germany and Russia are now object lessons that should be taken to heart. If the world is desirous of enjoying the blessings of peace there must"be a united effort to eliminate discord and social warfare. Bolshevism has proved that it is a gruesome | evil force that would turn the pleasant gardens of the people into a wilderness of rank and poisonous weeds. It is for the people to arise in their strength and stand shoulder io shoulder with their Governments to resist the spread of this malignant movement that they may enjoy to the full the new era that the end of the war promised. .

THE FRENCH DELEGATES. It would be a mistake for the French delegates to leave New Zealand without visiting Taranaki. No inspection or visit to New Zealand can be- complete that does not include its richest and most closely settled part, nor the fine stretch of country lying between the provincial boundary and Wanganui, Before it was impossible, owing to the limited time available, for the distinguished commission to do more than visit the chief centres. Now that the 'Friscco boat has again been delayed it should be possible to arrange for the inclusion of Taranaki. We ora glad to see the Taranaki Chamber of Commerce and the Mayor of New Plymouth are interesting themselves in the matter. That the members of the Commission would be given a cordial reception here goes without saying. The fact that they represent our gallant Allies who for so long held the Hun beasts at bay, and sacrificed the prime of their manhood in the process, assures them the warmest of welcomes anywhere in the British Dominions. The primary purpose of their mission to Australia and New Zealand is, of course, to improve trade between their country and tho colonies. Taranaki people have perhapo ths greatest spending power of any people in New Zealand, and it ifl possible for France to supply tlicm with many of Hie articles previously purchased from enemy and neutral nationo. After Great Britain, France comes first in our regard, and it is our duty to translate our friendship into business terms when it comes to purchasing from abroad. France, in turn, will no doubt be glad to take our wool, tallow, skins, meat and probably — only in a lesser degree—batter and cheeso. Apart from the commercial aspect, however, a visit to Taranaki, the home of dairying in New Zealand, whore are situated the biggest and most up-to-date cheese and butter factories, would serve to give tho visitors a better idea of the dairying industry and complete their knowledge of New Zealand's great natural resources. It is a unique opportunity of coming closer to a nation we all have cause to love and honor, and it would be a mutual loss if it were missed.