The Daily News. MONDAY, OCTOBER 13, 1919. THE RUSSIAN MYSTERY.

Taranaki Daily News, 13 October 1919, Page 4

The Daily News. MONDAY, OCTOBER 13, 1919. THE RUSSIAN MYSTERY.

The Russian riddle is one that; would seem to defy solution. Day by day the tangle appears to grow more complicated, and the operations of Yon der Goltz have created a new element of chaos. The ordinary, level-headed human being cannot be blamed if he fails to ralise exactly what is taking place, and whither events are pending, for the closer the position is studied the more utterly baffling it becomes. The basis of the trouble is undoubtedly unrest, coupled with shortage of food and the ravages of the Bolsheviks. The reason why both Mr. Lloyd George and President Wilson were opposed to intervention in Russia was that they did not know what was actually happening there, and the only factor that weighed with them was the necessity of forcibly frustrating the attempts of Germany to exploit Russia for, her own ends. To have helped' Russia in the way President "Wilson originally proposed would, after Russia passed into the control of Lenin and Trotsky, have been impossible. The assistance would have been promptly turned against those who supplied it. Lenin would have taken the rolling stock and ploughs from Washington just as he took gold from Berlin, with the intent of making the Bolshevist Government in Russia the motive force of Bolshevist revolutions in Germany and the United States. Unfortunately it is well nigh impossible to discover what is even now happening in Russia, but the news that is coming to hand has a very ominous appearance now that the Allies have evacuated their forces. At one time we are tol'd that General Denikin is carrying all before him and taking thousands of prisoners, while almost simultaneously it is reported that he is held up. The state of affairs at Petrograd, Moscow, 'and other cities is shrouded in mystery. There is, however, one factor that stands out clearly as a distinct menace to the future peace of the world,' and that is the part which Yon der Goltz is playing, evidently with a definite object in view. Germany's designs for acquiring an Eastern Empire are well known. Her defeat by the Allies might reasonably be supposed to have put an end to that dream, and the exit of the Hohenzollerns might be taken as a reason why all fear of such a project is at rest. We have, however, to bear in mind that the wily Teutons are not crushed, but merely repressed, also that Kaiserism has deeply-rooted tentacles which still grip the hearts of the people. Von der Goltz is both ambitious and unscrupulous. He is quite capable of forming an alliance with the Bolsheviks if it will serve his ends. Although he has been ordered to evacuate the Baltic provinces he has practically treated the command Avith contempt, plausibly stating that he cannot compel the Germans under his command to retire to the Fatherland, where there is no food for them and no work. It is stated by the London Times' Berlin correspondent that large quantities of munitions liave been going to Von der Goltz's arjny, but the German Minister for Defence (Herr Noske)., in spite of the fact that such a proceeding is a distinct breach of the terms of peace, closes his eyes to the fact, and merely issues an order—never intended to be enforced—that any. mau crossing the border will

be shot. "What is the result ? Some BOfiOO German soldiers crossed the frontier and formed the Russian Keller Corps, threatening Riga. These men receive Bolshevik rates of pay, and have been promised land grants as well as a share in industrial enterprises. Under the circumstances there is good reason for suspecting that a definite object is in view. It may well be that it is a move by the Imperialists for making Russia the : jumping-01l place for a new German Empire that will be a greater world menace than ever before. "While Germany herself is demonstrating that she is obeying the mandates of the Peace Treaty in the Fatherland, she is transferring her military activities to Russia, where conditions favor intrigue and evasion of responsibilities. On the one hand it is announced from Berlin that the Germans are steadily "withdrawing from the Baltic States; on the other hand the Matin's Berlin correspondent declares that workers eastward of the Emigration Council's headquarters at Leipsig are negotiating with the Moscow Government to transfer 800;000 German unemployed to Soviet Russia "with the privilege of becoming Russians.'' The move is so transparent that it is astonishing the Allies, with their knowledge of German duplicity and cunning, have not realised long since the danger that is so patent to the careful observer. Apparently they are now awaking to the menace, for a late cable states that the recent dramatic J move of the Germans in Courland jis compelling the Allies to ,'searchingly review the situation. : How far the Baltic States, in their : desire to secure independence, are| ! pledged to Germany remains to be seen, and the suspicion as to General Denikin's good faith appears to be well founded. The situation at present seems to partake of a battle of wits, pnd in this department Germany has proved herself to be a past master. I The fact that Von der Goltz'k troops are fed and paid by the j German Government is veryj significant. The aggression of 1 Yon der Goltz is regarded as the first sign of the Imperialistic German offensive eastwards, and the cable significantly adds: "The cards of the German reactionaries are now upon the table." Under the circumstances developments, as far as the Allies are concerned, will be awaited with interest, not unmingled with anxiety.