The Daily News. TUESDAY, MAY 30, 1922. THE RUSSIAN PROBLEM.

Taranaki Daily News, 30 May 1922, Page 4

The Daily News. TUESDAY, MAY 30, 1922. THE RUSSIAN PROBLEM.

The statement made in the House of Commons by Mr. Lloyd George concerning the proceedings at the Genoa Conference is of worldwide interest. Even if Mr. Asquith’s opinion, that when the Conference rose matters were exactly in the same position as when it met, were correct, which is certainly contrary to fact, no harm had resulted from the deliberations, and the way is still open for arriving at a practical solution of the problem. The British Premier went straight to the heart of the. matter when lie said that without the assistance of Britain and the other thirty nations it was hopeless for Russia—whatever its form of Government might be—to extricate herself from the pit of squalor and misery into which she had fallen The main point to bear in mind is that it is for the peace of the world that some arrangement is necessary to help Russia swell her volume of trade on which, so many millions of her people depend for their daily bread, and thereby give a sense of stability and security to Europe. The crux of Mr. Lloyd George’s argument is to be found in the danger of Russia being driven to desperation, especially in view of the agreement between that country and Germany, the menace of which Mr. Lloyd George made perfectly clear when he said that “Germany could not re-equip Russia economically, owing to lack of capital, but that was .not the ease with armaments, when there was every natural resource in one country and every technical skill in the other.” The object of the Conference was to find some effective means for helping Russia to do her own work of restoration — truly a gigantic task, but not hopeless if the right atmosphere is created. The question of prewar debts is a mere detail that can be settled without difficulty, especially as the Russian leaders recognise they cannot get credit from the West upon a basis of confiscation and repudiation of debts. Neither can the Russian Government take the land from the peasants, for if they did they would be plunging the country into worse chaos and starvation than it suffers from at the present time. If all security of tenure is lost by a confiscation policy, who would be sufficiently insane to cultivate the land for others to seize the result of their labor and capital? The idea is too absurd for consideration. There is only one way of restoring that unfortunate country—by encouraging production—and to do this there must be financial help. That, in turn, means stability of government and giving the peasants, miners and industrialists a square deal. The outside nations have not the slightest desire to interfere as to what form of government Russia should have. All they desire and hope for is that it shall be a Government, which can be depended on to act rightly and justly not only towards the people governed, but also towards other nations, and particularly towards those who may be induced, when a settled form of reliable government is established, to advance the necessary credits and goods which will enable Russia not only to stand once more firm ly on her feet, but also to contribute towards the restoration of the

world’s trade. The more closely the problenl is examined in all its bearings, the greater becomes the conviction that once the foundation is laid of a sympathetic understanding between Russia and other nations, there should be no formidable barrier left to hamper or delay economic rehabilitation. Incomplete as the cabled summary of Mr. Lloyd George’s statement must necessarily be, there is quite sufficient to show that the spade work carried out at Genoa was like the. cutting Of the first sod of a great and benign work that will be of the utmost service to the whole world, but it is a work in which “making haste slowly” is more to be relied upon than more pretentious gallery display that only lasts while the limelight endures. When the actual facts have been agreed upon by the experts it will be possible to form a more practical idea as to what, course it will he best to adopt. Meantime it may be taken for granted that the utmost consideration will be given to Russia’s creditors in the matter of easing the burden of her debts.