Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1918-01-24

The message to the Smolny institute
is the first rumor of an actual revolu
tionary movement in Hungary
United Press dispatches for the pa3
week have reported great social anC
economic unrest in the dual empire
The people were reported incensed al
the militarist pro-annexatiOnst attl
tude of Teutonic peace delegates a.
Brest-Litovsk. They were represented
as crying cut for peace to end war
WEAKNESS constantly increasing, anC
manifest through a general strike thru
out the dual monarchy
The Bolsheviki from the very first
have sought increasingly to overthrow
the Teutonic governments by move
ment of the precisely as the
Russian people overthrow the czar
They went step farther than Presl'
dent Wilson has urged. The Bolshe
wiki propaganda workers began SOW
ing the seed Of a social uprising imme
diately after the armistice became eff
fective on the northern fronts. The
closest f lternizataion between Rus
clans and Austrians was noted every
where. Russian revolutionary litera-
ture was spread broadcast.
About ten days ago Swiss reports
carried runners of a gerenal strike
movement gaining headway in Emper-
or Karl nation. Apparently this start
ed in Hunoary-whic has always been
restive under Austrian domination and
whose people are racially related to
the Russians
Budapest was the scene of mum
her of demonstrations for peace. News
papers there openly denounced Ger
man junker leaders as endangerln9
all uopes of peace with Russia through
their insistence en- annexationist aims
Vienna apparently joined mkt in
the general unrest. A number OF
strikes were reported nearly week
ago Food demonstrations followed:
The general strike movement spread
rapidly throughout the nation, Austria
Immediately clapped on a rigid cen
sOrship Her frontiers were ordered
closed. But even through this veil oe-
casicnal reports sifted into Switzer-
land indicating almost complete paral-
ysis of industry in AustriaHungary.
1t is possible that with the Bolshe-
wiki wish for a revolution in Austria
Hungary father TO the thought. the
Smolny dispatch may be merely an ex-
aggerated report of the general strike
movement, As against this, however,
is the fact that such a message was
actually received by wireless-lndi-
eating that some revolutionary force
in the country may have control OF
this system of communication.
United Press dispatches from wash
ington during the past two days nave
expressed the American government S
warning to all people that the Tenton-
ie autocrats would not be above a gl-
gantic hoax in spreading broadcast the
Impression that conditions in the
Central empires were near the break
ing point-the scheme being to thus
to relax war preparations under the
belief that President Wilson S plea to
the German peoples to form a demo
cratic government has borne fruit.
Russia is peculiarly susceptible for
Germanie propaganda at the present
time. 1t is entirely within the BOUNDS
of conjecture that the Germans may
have sfplanted" such a wireless mes
sage with the hope that the Bolshevllki
enthusiasts would hurry to accept the
separate peace proposals of Germany
and her allies on the assumption that
the Germanie peoples were ready to
Join with the Russian pToletariat.