The Lakeland evening telegram., 1917-08-07
BY William English WalliEg
OF the Vigilantes

signed from the Socialist Party since
the outbreak of the war because they
believe that the American Socialists
are playing Germany's game. Mr.
Nvalling is incidentally an authority
on Russia, and is the author OF
'Russias Message etc.
Ney York, Aug. - Nobody who
knows Russia and the Russian So
cialists believes that Russia is down
and out. On the contrary the present
show down of the traitor regiments
in the army and the traitor elements
at Petrograd was the one thing that
could save Russia for herself and To-
the great cause for which the inter
national democracy is fighting. Ger
manys tens of thousands of paid
spies-present in every regimen. and
every factory, and her hundreds Of
thousands of anarchist allies not
positively pro-German, but Irefel
ring to deliver Russia to the Kaiser
rather than to the Kerensky Social.
lists made any other cure impossi-
BILE. The terrible plague had to
break out, delivering its hundreds of
thousands to be butchered by the
Germans and it's tens Of thousands 70
be shot down at the hands Of loyal
Russians.
am no prophet, and when / pre-
dict these events again and again In
recent months and welcomed small
scale civil war as a chaos, | ain sure
! saw no more clearly than Others
who know Russia and the Russian
Socialists Over and over again VIC
pointed out that there would be no
separate peace But there was 10 de-
nying the seriousness of the anarchy
in the army and at PetrograG. |
pointed out frequently that # ten
per cent of the regiments mutined in
time of battle it would enable the
Germans to make an enormous num-
ber Of prisoners, capture vast
amounts of Russian supplies, and oc-
cupy immense Russian territories. I
was always asked whether this
wouldn't lead to the capture Of Pet
ragrad l replied it would not be-
cause a military advance into the
Doundless tradts of Russia becames
more and more difficult as it prog
resses, which gives Russia time to
rally. And she can be relied upon
to rally because the overwhelming
majority Of her army is loyal. This
fact is SO certain that it can be dem
onstrated by figures.
Tile plague spot of Russia is Pet
rograd. Yet in the municipal elec
tions held in Petrograd in June, the
anarchist-Socialists obtained only 25
per cent of the vote, while SO pc:
cent went to the Socialist factions
who support the government, gov.
erHment that has at last declared TO,
the restoration of capital punishmen,
in the army and the use of extreme
measures to put the anarchist-Social
lists down. In Moscow the Kercnsky
Socialists who have long favored az
even stronger policy won the Jul,
elections by large majority. Tho
ether cities are still more loyal tt
the cause of international democracy
while the peasants all over the coun
try-and they are so per cent of The
population-demand the immediat:
repression of the mutineers at an,
cost.
1t is true that these traitors to in
ternationalism and to their own So
cialist government probably arr
numbered by the hundreds of thou
sands both at the front and in tn,
munition factories. But it is certain
that Russia's militant democracy il
numbered by the millions. And it il
equally certain that when a suff
cient proportion of the traitors will
aave been shot or imprisoned by th
internationalist and Socialist govern
ment the rest will be comparativel,
easy to control
1t is the territorial immensity, th
poverty, and the poor organization
of Russia that left her So long th
victim Of C2arsm Only the vas
sacrifice OF life caused by the wa
could nave vitalized this inchoat
mass sufficiently to enable It t,
throw off the Czarism, Only anothe
such holocause could have fused /
once more into a united whole, de
termined to stamp out anarchist So
cialism in the same way it could b,
stamped out-by wholesale execu
tions-and to fight the war to it
only possible finish, the overthrow