RUSSIA AND BOLSHEVISM.

Taranaki Daily News, 4 May 1922, Page 7

RUSSIA AND BOLSHEVISM.

To the Editor. Sir, —It is surprising the numerous articles, distorted, malignannt, and ridiculously incorrect, concerning a great question, Russia and Bolshevism, that appear in the majority of our papers. Rumours of horrible, total collapse of educational systems, art, agriculture and industry, immoralities to and maltreatment of men, women and children. We whose only source of knowledge is the newspapers, form our deductions from these articles therein, and can only come to the one conclusion —that never has there been such a colossal, fiendish debacle practised upon humanity; but I will endeavour to show you such a contention is foolish in the extreme. We have had a few correspondents who have given us some information, but until quite recently it has been a bigoted and biassed informannt that we have listened to. Now let me endeavour to enlighten the many upon the real state of Russian affairs, with deductions from extracts of reports from authentical authorities. The only impression we can have of things Russian is an extensive, irreparable breakdown. The great Czarist monarchy that existed in 1914, and the administrative, social, financial, agricultural and commercial systems connected with it, under the strain of a six years’ war, has collapsed and wholly broken up. There is, and was, no doubt as to the rottenness of the Imperialistic regime, but this having now disappeared, we have in its stead a communistic party averaging about 650,000, the total population of Russia being 125 millions. This party, after much shorting and enforcement of strict discipline, effectively maintained order and suppressed brigandage, looting, and the daily atrocities. With the reports of these debaucheries and immoralities, it would appear as if some incarnate monster has suddenly appeared to reek endless devastation throughout Russia, and accordingly were they so magnified in articles in British and other papers; but when the actual truth was known, they were merely only the resistance put up by the peasants against the Red Guards commissioned to collect foods at regulation prices to feed the starving in the cities. Insufficient forces of Red Guards may be attacked and massacred. The London press incorrectly reported these as peasant insurrections against the Soviet, but they were merely the sensible peasant making himself comfortable under the new regime. The Russian smash of 1917 was certainj ly the most complete that has ever been visited upon a modern social organisation.

Upon the failure of Kerensky to establish a peace with the British naval authorities, and thus relieve the situation on the Baltic front, the shattered Russian armies, after three years’ war, weapons in hand, turned back upon Russia, a flood of peasant soldiers heading for home undisciplined, without reliable and adequate food supplies. What were the peasant soldiers to do? They must have food, so they looted and pillag 1 as they went, burnt the farmhouses, which occurrences were often accompanied with frightful atrocities. It was the culmination of the worst side of human nature in despair, and as for blaming the Bolshevik for this, it will be seen that he is as much responsible as the New Zealand Government. Armed guards, often professing to be Red Guards, murdered, forcibly entered houses, looted and robbed. Often people were robbed in the street in broad daylight of the very shirts they wore, while others passed by with nonchalance: Again, to say communism was responsible for this would undermine in people their political foundations.

The contention that the evil Soviet dragged Russia down to such degradation is childish. Deprive Russia of the Soviet Government, it would be crude to think that Russia would be happy. Russia fell into this state, beginning with the devastation wrought by the world war, and subsidised civil wars, and culminated at the event of the drought and consequent famine of 1920-21. Everything was plunged into absolute chaos, and trading stopped. Thus in the cities food was practically unobtainable, and the citizens drifted back to peasant life. 'Thus cities collapsed and were left in ruins. The population of Petersburg has fallen from 1,200,000 (before 1919) to a little over 700,000, and is still falling. With these conditions, the drought and consequent famine, civil wars, invasions, atrocities, pillaging, a community paralysed, what other Government could carry on? I say, considering the communistic party being only 650,000 of 125 millions, it is nothing short of' marvellous that it should have restored and maintained order in the way it has against almost impossible odds; so we must recognise this virtue in, communistic power. The Soviet Government undertook a system of rationing 125 millions against stupendous odds, of which the drought was the most formidable—a Herculean task indeed. The system was based on the self-indulgent, uncontrollable peasant, who, undisciplined, was always on the alert for a chance of illicit trading, and did not hesitate to act the profiteer when the opportunity presented itself; but if he was caught he was promptly shot. The drought so affected this system, by the curtailing of supplies brought in by the peasant, which eventually dwindled to a nonentity, that the basis of the Soviet rationing principle collapsed; hence inevitable ruin now faced Russia.

I The Russian corn production under nor(mal pre-war conditions was 75 million tons, but up to summer-time in 1920, owing to decrease in cultivation caused by civil wars and invasions, the harvest yield was only 53 million tons; but this year a much greater harvest was anticipated, and the Soviet Government inaugurated an extensive sowing campaign, and a few alterations in the economic system restored and instilled a new confidence into the population. The amount of the sowings was 15 million tons. During the critical months, from October to June, the rainfall normally is about 14 inches, but in 1920-21 only totalled 2’} inches. The harvest sprung into life early, attracted by the unusually warm spring and consequent thaw, but then followed days, weeks and months without a drop of rain, and a blazing sun which usually creates a glowing and abundant harvest, of the Volga region, thus called the granary of Russia, became as a devastating enemy, baking the soil until it was stone hard. It is calculated thus that the anticipated harvest yield of over 540 million tons perished. So complete was the devastation that the population now requires to live on a starvation diet of only a } lb of bread per head per diem—--60 million poods. Peasants have taken to digging un seed potatoes that have not yet sprouted.

With the best of intentions in the world, the Soviet Government is unable to produce sufficient to sustain a healthy life. So we can see that the famine is due entirely to the drought, and not, as is stated, from the lack of sowings and cultivation. But even yet you will say this spectacle of misery now existent in Russia, this ebbing of energy, is the result of Soviet rulings. This contenton is disgusting. This desolate Russia is not. a system that has been attacked and destroyed by something vigorous. It is an unsound system, that has worked itself out, and fallen down. It was not communism that built these great, impossible cities, but capitalism. It was not communism that plunged this tottering, bankrupt, inperialistic empire into a six years’ war. It was European imperialism. Nor is it communism that has pestered this suffering, perhaps dying, Russia with a series of subsidised raids, invasions, and inflicted upon it an atrocious blockade. The vindictive French creditor, the journalistic British oaf, are far more responsible for these death-bed miseries than any communist.

The communist task now is to rebuild Russia. Our task now is to help feed it. There has lately been some appeals from eminent correspondents and writers to help the Russians, and some have taken these up and couched them in terms malignant and spiteful, in an endeavour to further their own selfish purposes; and I am sure this is not the true form in which the correspondents and writers meant their appeals to be used. To use an urgent, sincere appeal, and distort it to serve a selfish motive, is the very essence of spite and rottenness, and only results in showing the true character behind the distortions. If there are to be appeals, do not let selfish mental-bigotedness creep in and take command, to distort them with slanderous untruths, because the appeal is to help those starving Bolsheviks as well as those whom the appeal maligns.—l am, etc.,, X. Manaia, May 1.