The Daily News. FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 1919. THE RUSSIAN STRUGGLE.

Taranaki Daily News, 14 November 1919, Page 4

The Daily News. FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 1919. THE RUSSIAN STRUGGLE.

That portion' of Mr. Lloyd George's Guildhall speech which referred to the attempts of the Supreme Council to secure a settlement in Russia appears to have created quite a stir in British press circles, and the London Times goes as far as to stigmatise what it calls the Bolshevik peace proposal as unmoral, and inspired by international financiers anxious to liave Russian money. The Times has long since lost its judicial tone in commenting on public events and become a violent party oracle, and the Daily Mail naturally follows suit, hence the reason for the latter describing Mr. Lloyd George's policy with regard to Russia as "shaking hands with murder." It is the Daily Herald Which sums up the situation more as it exists, by stating the speech means that the policy of intervention in Russia has been a complete failure, and that the Premier is reverting to the policy expounded in January at the Supreme Council. That the Allies have failed to suppress the forces of Bolshevism is only too evident, with the result that millions have been wasted, and the object in view is, apparently, further off than ever, the indications to-day pointing to a more prolonged and more sanguinary struggle. The raid on Petrograd failed woefully,, Yudenitch's forces (10,000 men) being absurdly insufficient for an enterprise which the Bolsheviks would oppose with all their strength and fervor. Yudenitch's enforced retreat still continues, and his army is threatened with a crushing blow. Koltchak's collapse on the Omsk front is equally disastrous, while, in the south, Denikin has received a' bad buffeting, though he seems to have made headway, with the . result cleatfx

concentrating all their efforts in order to stem his advance before the winter. "Russia," said Mr. Lloyd George at the Guildhall, i"was a quicksand. Victories were easily won there, but armies and Empires, in the past, had been overwhelmed in the sands of barren victories." However heartily the peasants may detest. Bolshevism, it is a force that fills them with fear and they are powerless to resist. It is easy to discern that the problem of how best to Ideal with, the Russian question | bristled with obstacles and comj plications. In the first it was an internal struggle primar- ! ily affecting the Russians themI selves, and interference in any j country's revolutionary operations iis clearly, outside the function, of iany other State. When the' interests of other nations were afifected, as at Murmansk, intervention was not only justifiable, but necessary. Whether the strength of the British and Allied forces in that expedition was sufficient is open to question, though the immediate object was gained, and the British troops recalled before the winter. In spite of the losses suffered by the Bolsheviks, they have grown in military strength, and refugees state that the Bolshevik army contains divisions which are, probably, better than anything seen in Russian history, "because they are composed of communal workers who fight for a religion." The British Premier asserts that peace is impossible until there is peace in Russia, and he has expressed the hope that 'some method will be found of obtaining peace. This has been taken by a section of the press) to mean negotiating with the' Soviet leaders, as it follows an announcement by Colonel Malone, M.P., that he was authorised by the Soviet leaders to repeat the terms offered through Mr. Bullett, former expert of the American Peace Mission, whose version of the interview with Mr. Lloyd George (which recently created a great stir) is said to be "absurdly inaccurate in important particulars." Whatever may be the true facts relating to Mr. Bullett's mission to Prinkipo, it seems established. that the object was to obtain the Bolsheviks' terms on which peace could be based, and that President Wilson, as well as Mr. Lloyd George, were the instigators of the mission, which was opposed by the French Premier. Possibly Mr. Lloyd George desired to verify his prediction, made in the early days, that Bolshevism could not be suppressed by the sword, and that other methods must finally be found. That illusion is no longer possible, and there seems to be no good reason for expecting that a second effort to negotiate terms of settlement Would be crowned with success, while |there are cogent reasons why organised military force would prevail. Who is to supply that force is the crucial point, and each of the Allies, including America, can give sound reasons why they should not interfere. Civilisation may not be able to afford to be distracted by a desolate Russia, yet it has to deal with victorious and well organised Bolshevik forces, and not with a rabble. No solution of the problem is in sight, and the struggle continues, and, seemingly, nothing but effective action will suffice. Meanwhile the Russian winter is on the side of the Bolsheviks, and the outlook is as grave as it can be.