New-York tribune., 1917-12-12

In many quarters the greatest fears are ex-
nressed for the future of the Russian nation.
These fears are unfounded. The future OF
the Russian nation is as safe as that OF the
American nation. The proofs OF this state
rnent are easily presented and readily
crashed Russian national unity. political
and social. Is founded deep upon her essential
geographical unity. That is why, as ma
tional entit, the Russian nation viii weather
all The storms which may come upon her
Place before you a map o. Europe. You
will note that the soil Of every nation, 81
most without exception, is a geographical
unit. Generally the land of people is sur
rounded By sea or mountains, or both. In
the case of Germany it is not so. nor as re-
cards the Balkans. Thereby hangs "A tale.
The terrible history of Germany and of her
vengeance upon the world for that history
rests upon the fact that she is not physio-
graphically a national unit. The Balkans
are entirely open on the north, on the east,
on the south. They are neither a nation
nor number of nations. The babble OF
their many tongues, the hodge -podge of their
races and creeds, calls for an ordering which
cdIlIOb COUlt lloU Nlbulh III bhaS 6NhN'N~''''
With Russia it is entirely different. Here
the limits of geographical national life are
pretty carefully set. Russia, from her his
torical birth in the west centrc-of her patri-
mony thousand years ago, spread west to
the Baltic and the Carpathians; east, first
to the Urals and then to the far away Pacific;
southeast to the Caspian and south to the
Black Sea and the Caucasus Mountains.
These are the limits set by relentless physi-
cal geography to the enormous Russian ma
ton Even if Russian Poland were Topped
off by the Germans the Russian nation would
suffer no great physical injury The modern
European nations are located upon single
islands, peninsuas or unified plains Rus
sia is a vast plain upon which single ma
tion naturally evolved.
Her home has been the hinterland Of
Europe. Sea commerce, the mother of Eu-
ropean civilization, did not touch Russia.
Open to constant invasion from Asia, she
remained long Asiatic IN character.
Religious Antipathes
The Russian nation undoubtedly presents
considerable internal variations. We shall
show that these will be overcome in the
future much more easily than in the past
The religious differences can be quickly dis
posed of. They are not fundamentally inn
portant in moderni2ed peoples. With the
development OF the machine process, of mod
ern market and of the social classes pro-
duced by the modern industrial regime popu-
lations of various religious beliefs live to-
gether and work together without real diff
Guilty Harsh religious antipathies are pro-
L.
madic tribes and primitive agricultural pop
ulations The peoples in modern nations
do not quarrel about religion, although re-
ligous differences, so called, are often used
as a means of deception to serve the inter-
ests of classes or groups in political and
economic conflicts. The Russians proper
form the great bulk of the membership of
the great Greek Orthodox Church. Besides
this national religion there are three other
groups the Polish Roman Catholics the
Protestant Lutherans OF Finland and the
Baltic provinces. and the Mahometans in
the provinces Of the Caucasus. But the ma
tionalism of the Firms. of the Poles and
of the Baltic Germans is not primarily re-
ligous. 1t is linguistic and traditional.
The climatic differences of Russia do not
endanger national unity in this age. Extend
ing from the far Arctic regions to Trans
Caucasia, the variations of climate are much
less important than would seem. The far
north resembles Alaska. The furthest south
might well be compared TO Pennsylvania.
Such differences are easily overcome by mod
ern means of transportation and communica-
ton. In fact, the climatic differences here
in the United States, including Alaska arc
much greater than in Russia.
Variety in economic production in a mod
ern nation is an advantage rather than
otherwise. Until we have universal free
trade great nation is much the richer and
the stronger because of different forms of
economic production. Russia, primarily ag
rcultural. has enormous forests in the
north and centre which have recently yielded
her great wealth through export. Her ex-