Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1918-12-28
THE GREAT DELUSION
[From the New York world.l


The correspondent of the London
| Times with the British army of oc-
cupation on the Rhine reports that
agents who have lived in England
are at work disseminating Bolshe-
vik doctrines among the troops. The
fact may be accepted without at
tributing any of the responsibility to
the present German government
which is battling for its life against
| Bolshevism at home. 1t is not nee
essary for the Germans to preach
| Bolshevism to the British troops.
There are plenty of British Bolshe-
wiki to do the work willingly and
gladly.
| Bolshevism is the one overshadow-
ing issue which Europe now con-
| fronts. Everything else is second
| airy. German militarism has been
| destroyed, but it was not destroyed
| until Europe was exhausted econo-
mically, and Bolshevism is the di-
rect product of economic exhaustion.
The Central Powers broke down be-
( fore any of the Allies, except Rus
| sia, went under; but the difference
in time was not so great as it might
appear. Except for the economic
power OF the United States, the AL
lies would have collapsed first and
| Germany would have been nominally
the victor; but even in that case the
Bolshevik problem would have been
the same.
Civilization cannot destroy all it's
accumulated wealth and wreck all
its resources without paying the
price, and Bolshevism threatens to
be the price. 1t will inevitably be
the price unless there is enough
craftsmanship in Europe to deal
wisely and sanely with a situation
that increases in gravity daily.
! Bolshevism cannot be checked by
impassioned harangues about the
sacredness of property. Millions of
men have been engaged for more
than four years in destroying both
life and property under orders from
their governments, and they are no
longer impressed with the sacred
ness of either. No government any
where has as yet presented q re-
construction program that makes
any real appeal to them. The one
definite thing that they understand
is that food is scarce and that some
people are much better off than
others.
1t was desperate German auto
cracy which first invoked the spirit
of Bolshevism, aided and abetted, to
be sure, by the diplomatic stupidity
of the Allies in dealing with the
Russian revolution; but no German
autocracy was needed to spread the
fire. The danger has steadily in
creased since Junkertum was over
thrown, and in resisting the advance
of Bolshevism in Germany the Ebert
government is performing as great q
service for the British, the French
and the Italians as 1t is performing
for itself. The problem belongs to
no country. In the broadest sense
1t is universal and is making itself
the common issue of the war.
There is not q responsible states
man in Europe who does not realize
the gravity of the situation; but
neither is there a responsible states
man who has yet formulated dell
mite program for dealing with It,
Most of them are trying to convince
themselves that IL they can gain
enough economic advantages out of
the peace conference the danger
Il will disappear so far as their own
countries are concerned, and the
rest of the world may safely be left
to shift for itself.
This is likely to prove the great
delusion of the peace conference.