Evening star., 1918-01-20
EXPLAINS POWER
OF RUSS LEADERS
Noted PubIicist Declares Land
Hunger Sways Peasant To-
ward Rulers of Republics. !.
DESPISE RELIGIOUS HEADS
Cablegram to The Sunday Star ana
Chicago Daily News. Copyright, 1918.

Cablegram to The Sunday Star ana
Chicago Daily News. Copyright, 19lS.
LONDON. January 19.-Explairing the
power of Nikolai Lenine and Leon
Trotzky, we'll known Russian publi-
cist now in London, says:
"First-Land hunger on the part of
the Russian peasant is his sole incen-
tive to thought. Land hunger caused
him to take part in the war. To him
successful war meant merely solution
of the land question along lines suita-
BILE to himself. Such lines were pro-
posed by Alexander Kerensky. but
Kerensky acted slowly, while Lenine
acted swiftly. For the Russian peasant
the war is over simply because he
thinks he has obtained his land.
"Second-Lenine and Trotzky prom-
ised the peasants deliverance from the
power of the clergy. Western talk
about the popularity of the Russian
clergy is a fable. Only the peasant
women have any respect for these men.
BY the majority of the male peasanta'
the clergymen have been immemorially
identified with czarism tyranny. The
Russian peasant is deeply religious and
just because he is SO he despises the
clergy. If you went to village churcn
in seeing that the officiating minister
was cordially hated. When Russian
peasants standing in church offer up
prayer they ask the Almighty among
other blessings to grant them reflex
from their nominal spiritual leaders.
Property Owners Few.
Third. Only one-third of the RUS
sian peasantry owns private property
in
the Caucasus, Transcaucasia and Turk
estan. all of which are now organised
as republics. These are the people VINO
oppose the bolsheviki. All the peas
ants of northern Russia are deprived ot
private property. They do not under
stand its meaning and have no respect
for it. With these northern peasants
Lenine and Trotzky are all-powerfuAs
because they stand for what we may
call anarchy. Fortunately. the balances
of power as between the property own
ing and and non-property owning RUS
sian peasants lies with the former.
Siberia. the Ukraine. the Caucasus,
Transcaucasia and Turkeston represent
IS per cent of the total wealth. and
at least 65 per cent of the total c.
pacity of Russia.
ssg1. Must Confine Sway.
! esyvhat will Issue for the complicAte1
situation nobody can predict. From
what one can see now II tne DOiSneVtR4
are content to conf1ne their sway, II
northern Russia they will not be at
tackled by the new republics. Appar-s
emily also the bolsheviki are inclined to
restrain their rule in northern Russia
Perhaps they are painfully aware OF
the insecurity of their tenure even
there. If the republics have their way
Russia will be organized on a federal
basis.
But Germany may decide the fate Of
Russia. Just now she is showing all
the signs of being ready to back Lenine
and Tretzky. The so-called bitches in
the negotiations at Brest-Litovsk are
only maneuvers on the part of Ger
many to test the influence and power
of the Leninites. Once the Leninites
demonstrated their true weakness tho
Germans would back them. On the
other hand, should they demonstrates
their strength the Germans would
break with them. In my opinion the
allies should envisage the whole Rus
sian situation and give vigorous sup
port to those elements which stand for
law and order as well as for liberty.
while not needlessly melting and stir
ring the Indignation of those who seem
to us so extreme in their views as to
postulate thu destruction of civilizar
ton"