The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1914-09-09
KROPOTKIN SPEAKS
FOR HIS COUNTRY
Sets Forth Russian Reasons for
Joining i'm the Great Struggle
Special Dispatch by the International
News Service.

been said and written since August
81. of the causes of the great Euro
pean war and the attitudes, aims
and ambitions of Germany. England
and France in the tsruggle, but little
has been heard of Russia's side of
the affair.
Sasha Kropotkin, one of the best
| informed Russians and a man who
knows whereof he speaks. has writ
ten the following article on the war
from the Russians viewpoint
ITO say that the present war is a
war against militarism is to be guilty
of a platitude. For days past every
leader-writer in the country has
been saying so. Yet the attitude on
this subject of a great number of
people is extremely curious. They
seem to be oppressed by the thought
that they may have to cry, when the
war is over, lie roi est mort, viva lie
roi.' after Germany Russia.
England cannot crush German
militarism alone. All of us who
have followed the lead of Germany
for forty years must strike together.
Belgium has struck her blow. France
and Russia will strike harder; per-
haps the heaviest blow Will come
from Russia. And there is the rub.
For what if Russia having helped to
crush Germany, develops psychol-
logy analogous to that of Germany
after 1870, and after tasting power.
decides to become the greatest of
all-fosters the sprint of militarism
which we are now arrayed against?
Let us picture Russia victorious.
Then, so argues AIr. Bernard Shaw,
! (and in the given case he represents
not only himself, but quite a number
of other people), the Russian gov
eminent will triumph. Ger
many will be crushed the
balance of power will incline in ia
vor of Russia. After that the situa-
ton becomes too horrible to contem-
plate.
'.NIr. Shaw might be reminded
that there is another Russia-the
Russia of Tolstoy, Bordine and
Cork. But for the time that is for
: gotten; or people refuse to realizt
the extreme important fact that i
Russia is instrumental in defeating
!: Germany, it will be largely owing tt
!: the intelligence of that other Rus
: sia
Russians have sunk their differ
: ences; they are showing a uniteC
: front. A month ago there were bar
ricades in ST. Petersburg; the da,
the war was declared the barricade
: disappeared, and the men who hal
held them were the first to join tn
army. They were willing to la
: aside their personal grievances i
: the desire to strike a blow at Ger
many; and it is military Germany a
which they are aiming the blow. Fo
= those men and women owe an enor
: NOUS debt to the culture of Ger
= many. They know more about il
= too, than the men and women G
many other countries, having studio
= it more closely, eager to assimilat
= what was best in It. AT the sam
= time they realize perfectly that th
the stirling atmosphere of Germa
= militarism is German culture. FroI
supplying the world with the hes
music and literature and philosoph.
= on uniforms and decorative dimes
: ware. The Germans may hay
= fashioned great empire, but the
= have become small people.
= Now, at last they may become
= great people. II Europe succeeds
- bursting the bonds of militarism, I'll
= first to benefit by the change will !
= Germany. How much remains to I
- seen; but it is interesting to remen
= Der Bebel's words: Behind evel
= war of the future turks a revolution
= Many, on the other hand, expect
= revolution in Russia. 1t is too ear
-, to foresee what exactly the war VI
. bring, and | do not say that Russ
. viii necessarily have revolutiS
. when the war ends; but what j I
= affirm is that Russia, just as in eve
= other country in Europe, there W
- be rapid evolution of the prese
= forms of government.
~ Since the declaration of the W
. in Russia there has been the mo
= extraordinary spontaneous truce b
. tween all parties. In the Duma. Mo
81 Pourishkevtich, most rabid of rea
y tionaries, has openly repented, al
. recanted his antisemetic views, a
= nouncing his belief that all shou
. har-o on11n1 rinhtr &c lR,,r-inn 1.