Evening journal., 1917-12-08
BY WILLIAM G. SHEPHERD.
UNITED Press STAFF Correspondentl

UNITED Press STAFF Correspondent.
NEW YORK. Nov 22-Kerensky's
gravest mistake In addition to refus-
ing to put the iron hand on both the
radicals and the aristocrats. was that
he never paid sufficient attention TO
the food question in Russia.
AS soon as the revolution was ac-
complished Kerensky began 10 try 10
spur on the Russian army TO activity.
While he was doing this the working
men, Including the railroaders were
striking for shorter hours and for in
creases in pay that amounted IN some
cases, TO 300 per cent. The railroads de-
creased In deficiency; vood-cutting on
which the railroads are dependent, fell
Off. The wOod-boats on the Neya, that
carry fuel TO the various railroad cen
ters, became fewer and fewer. Trans
portation became more and more in
efficient and food became less and less
In Petrpgrad and the great centers,
while in the rural districts, where food
was plenty shoes 'and clothes became
scarce for the same reason.
A hungry and poorly clad, and un-
happy civil population was growing
I behind The lines, while Kerensky at
] llll AANiilf was Nlhhlh6 NHfi'llfo anu
/ telling the Russian army that they
must fight. AZ last he got that pitlful
/ little drive at llalllch, when an army
composed in considerable parts Of
Let's, who had once been in the Ger
man army and had been taken prison
ers by the Russians. attacked a por-
tion Of the front on which there were
/ Let's on the enemy's side many Of
whom were willing enough to sur
render. That was "a staged drive, and
IL was all that Kerensky ever got out
Of his months of work.
Russia knows now that. n Keronsky
had spent those months i'm tranquiliz-
ing the w0rkingmen and peasants Of
Russia and had organized the fuel
supply and the railroads. he might
have solved the food problem Of Rus
sa, 10 an appreciabe extent and then,
with a contcnted civil population be-
/ hind him, he might have turned TO the
army and spurred IL on 10 battle.
The plain fact about Russia today Is
that the people in the big cities arc
hungry and The people in tho villages
are suffering for the lack Of shoes,
clothes and other manufactures.
Lenine and Trotsky could never have
succeeded in Petrograd il the civil
population had not been hungry. Last
July, in their attempt 10 take the city,
they failed, because the civilian popu-
lation was against them.
This November, with a black winter
before them and with food growing
scarcer and the bread limos growing
longer, with shoes and clothes almost
4 impossible TO purchase. the civilian
population took guns and went into
the streets to help the Bolsheviki. The
hungry Russians were willing to agree
to any change Of government, even 70
a Bolshevild government, in the des-
perate hope that they might, in some
mysterious way, get food and clothes
and fuel for the winter.
Kerensky, with all his tail and his
ideals had not secured for Nfom the
necessities Of life After four months
Of mastery he had done nothing but stil
the army TO a disastrous activity, anc
feed them on or8tory and precepts. The
army was against kerensky for the
same reason.
The 20OOO.0OO soldiers Of Russia are
not all soldiers. Putting a peasant or
a working man into soldiers uniform
and giving him a gun has not made
him military man; he remains the
same peasant or tile same working
man, with the difference that now he
is peasant or a workingman with a
gum 70 is this citizen with a gun,
whose family IS hungry, who has over
thrown Kerensky. This citizen who
fears that the land may be divided
while he is at The front, who knows
that his wife and children are going
ahnnt eifhar noorlv cloihed or hnngrN