The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1917-11-21
RUSSIAN ROW
I FAKE TEMPEST
SAYS RUSSELL
War Correspondent Recently Re.
turned from Petrograd Says
Bolshevili Will Fail.
WOULD SEND MEN AS WELL
AS MONEY AND MUNITIONS
Believes People Need Expression
of Confidence to Lead Them
On to Victory.

"This is no time to think or advo
cate change" said Charles Edward
Russell in an interview here Monday
Our one consideration should be the
winning of this war. Nothing else
should be given a thought at this time
1t is on this point that am forced to
disagree with my friends of the Non
partisan league, which l have taken a
great deal of interest in, and in whose
organization had some small part.
Il am thoroughly in sympathy with
any movement which will make farm
ing more attractive, safer and more
lucrative. But, giving the league lead
ers credit for being honest and sin.
cere, they must see that these better
ments which they seek can only come
through genuine democracy, and we
cannot have a real democracy unless
we win this war. Everything that is
done to- annoy and handicap our gov.
eminent now puts that democracy
just so much further beyond our
grasp
'' Socialism Not Issue. F..
Il am not here to discuss socialism.
Socialism means change and it must
be forgotten for the moment. The big
gest thing in the world to me is this
war and our necessity for winning it.
The situation is terribly serious. We
are fighting at a great disadvantage.
The war will be fought out in Europe.
We viii never face the necessity Of
defending our own homes from the
invader. But we must fight 1000 miles
away from home, confronted by vast
difficulties in the transportation Of our
troops. That is the thing that defeat
ed Russia. That is the one thing,
am convinceds after three visits to the
western front, that may defeat us,
should things 60 badly. There is the
possibility that this war may drag
along to a point where the allies are
exhausted, and where the United
States, bearing the brunt Of the bur-
den, cannot amass men in Europe rap
idly enough to conquer Germany, even
thought we may have an unlimited
supply or men and munitions here in
America. s
'@~ The Russian Situation.
america has an utterly wrong con.
,oeptiOn of the Russian problem" said
Mr.. Russell. "The BOlsheviki are
taken too seriously This party has
control in Petrograd, a bare majority
in Moscow and some strength in Odes-
50. and there it. ends. Controlling
Petrograd, it was simple for the Boil
steviki, with the army on their side,
to seize the government, depOse the
premier seat their own man, and send
out messages claiming Russia as their
own. The report that Premier Lenine'
has sued for a separate peace, even if,
the report is strue-and most of the
news which we get from Russia is
not true--is farcial. Should Lenine or
any other leader seek to negotiate a
separate peace the peasants of Rus
STA, who form so per cent of the pop
ulation, would revolt. Lenine would
have to account to the Russian peo-
pie. The peasantry is opposed to the
IBolsheviki The Russian proletariat
will never abandon the proletariat of
other countries. They stand for a
universal peace. and for worldwide
democracy. 1t is astonishing to find
the Intelligent grasp of world issues
which the peasants in Russia have
been able to gain. go
THE Real Russian Problem.
1.-THE Bolsheviki problem may be dis
missed as purely temporary and incon-
sequential. The Russian army still
holds the Galician and Rumanian
fronts, it still holds 143 German army
divisions. A more serious problem is,
the lack of sympathy and understand
ing between Russia and America. l
have been convinced ever since l re-
turned from Russia that we should
send troops to Russia. The sugges-
ton has been ridiculed by our news
papers. They have asked how we
would get men there to begin with and
how we would feed them in the second
place. Neither of these propositions
presents any real difficulty. We have
enough bottoms to transport the men;
Russia has an abundance of feed. 1t
is with Russia principally a question
Of efficient transportation, which the
stevens commission and the practical
operating men who we have just sent
over will solve. r".,s ,.
: "The Russian army never would de-
sert> American soldiers fighting in Rus
sia. We must do something to hold
that Russian army on the frontier. The
withdrawal of the Russian forces
would release at least 100 of the 143
German divisions now on the Rus
sian front. 1t would free from Rus
sian prisons 100000 German prison
ers. every one veteran fighting man.
It would dump this entire mass of
skilled soldiers on the western front,
and would mean terrific added bur-
den for America there. sa.
Good Offices Must Continue.
eve must continue to lend Russia
money and send her supplies. The