TaÌˆgliche Omaha tribuÌˆne. [volume] (Omaha, Nebr.) 1912-1926, 1917-10-09

come, he wished to live the
change, drink deep Of the cup Of
freedom.
When our aspirations mater
ialize, they are at first bathed
in glorious light Of their parent
the ideal.
To all the nations at war,
this war is the great issue.
Everything else is irrelevant. In
Russia they felt the same, but
that was before the revolution.
Now they feel emotionally for
one thing alone: and do not for
get that the Russian has the in
tense temperament of the east.
He cannot have a divided pas
sion. The revolution has crowd
ed every other emotion from his
heart. Can any one but a Rus
sian grasp its true significance
The spirit liberated, the soul for
ages in the gloom Of Dostoyevs-
khan melancholy, suddenly ra.
diant with joyous exaltation.
In this mood men do not wish
to kill and die-they want to
live and let live!
However, all this is true only
OF the great masses. The in.
t~ellectuals, who include the
present government, and the
bourgeoisie are confronted with
other considerations. They are
not carried away by the present
they are anxious over the future
and strive to live up to their OBJ
legations to their allies.
Russia's honor is at stake.
They realize that the vital prob,
lens which have arisen, are in.
timately linked with the con
tinuation Of the war, with an Al
lied victory.
They oppose the will Of the
factions who cry for bread
peace and liberty. The results
are disastrous. The very life
of new Russia is endangered.
Now we come to the last
group, the extremists comprising
the pacilists, Unlike the simple
peasant soldier who quits the
trenches because he longs for
his old simple life, with its
"schtzi' and "kasha," "kwas"
and vodka, the intellectual pa.
cifist passionately loathes war.
These men, though in the min.
GRITTY, are to be reckoned with,
for they express the will Of the
majority. To these men the Re
yolution signifies the death OF
the old order and the beginning
of a new life-they feel that
Russia has burning, immediate
needs, which cannot await a so
luton until the war is over.
There is also the dread of re-
peatlng the errors Of former re-
volutions. 1t is unjust to call
them traitors, because they too
sincerely believe that they are
acting for the f~atherland's well
fare. It is quite likely that Ger
man agents have found their
way into this group, just as for
merly spies Of the government,
posing as nihilists, managed to
get into the most secret revolt
tionary circles; but to stamp
them all as traitors and German
agents is absurd. Because Of
the obvious benefits to Russia's
this form Of patriotism
has fallen into disrepute. Any
that hampers the success
pursuit of the wal is called
treason We are jealous Of any
issues save those which are CON
nected with the war. Now in
Russia suddenly appeared a
new issue, TO the people Of even
greater Importance than the war.
There was bound to be a clash
between the war issue and the
new one, though now the at
is being made to fuse the
-wo. Whether this attempt will
succeed still remains to be seen.
While this is taking place
allies are grieved and
concerned. The disappointment
n the Russian debacle at the
.ront is due to the prevalent
nisconception OF Russia.
When the war broke out, the
.lliance seemed quite perfect.
and France were to be
he controlling mind and nerves,
whilst huge Russia was to fur
lish the powerful muscles.
And then suddenly this body
collapsed and instead a spirit
merged trying to make itself
Ieard amidst the roar of guns
the hate-hlled war cries of
world in a death grapple. This
rail, newborn spirit, keenly
apcititta 10 4ba forca -.