Baxter Springs news., 1918-08-23

disasterous treaty accepted by Lenine
and Trotzky, for the Bolsheviks, Rus
sia has steadily disintegrated from n
nation to complete chaos during the
past year. Russians have found that
their first year of "peace" under Boil
shevik rule and German penetration
has been worse for her, as q nation,
than any single year Of the war. The
effect of Russia's collapse has been
10 augment in great degree Germany's
military power, making possible her
tremendous hammer blows on the
western front.
During the past year Russia has
been q land torn by civil strife, a
victim Of iniquitors German CHI
cAnery and misapplied sccial;a!'c doc
trine Without strong Genital gov
ernment or any leaders with a re-
gencrative social policy, Russia Las
seen her fairest provinces come Who'll
IL under German domination, her in
dustries paralyzed, and discomfort be-
cone rife among both peasants, who
refuse to grow grain which is sub
ject to seizure, and among workmen
who found that committee control Of
factories and vindictive confiscation
of wealth did not bring them either
daily bread or riches.
With the Bolsheviks at the head Of
nominal government, which through
terrorism and German assistance
rule with varying degree Of success
the districts adjoining Petrograd and
Moscow, Russia truly may be said to
be not a nation but the former name
of a number of communities, some Of
which have taken upon themselves
the claim of nationality, but which
do not function as nations, while some
have become appendages of Germany.
The Bolsheviks, whoch for q time
had q considerable following, due to
large promises never fulfilled to
workmen and peasants, have gotten
Russia into 2 position where there
are practically no trains operating,
no means of communication except by
courier, where food is scarce, where
government is a travesty, where
criminal and irresponsible and igno-
rant persons are given positions OF
authority, and wherein the men OF
ability will have nothing to do with
their government.
The net result of this chaos has
been that Germany shifted all her
forces on the western front, except
about fifteen divisions of the Land
wehr, still doing police duty, to aug
ment her forces on the Western front,
giving that numerical superiority es-
sential for large scale offensives.
1t also has made necessary the
speeding up of American troops and
war material to France. Ludendorff
marshalled Germany's strength
against the Franco-British forces,
hoping to force a decision before the
United States could bring her full
weight to bear upon the situation.
Thus Russia's downfall has had di-
rect effect upon American plans and
her folly will be paid for in thou
sands of American lives.
In addition, Germany has been able
to penetrate Russian frontier prov
inces and build up several vassal
states, while other provinces have
been incorporated into Germany. Thus
the Russian "bugbear" has been
eliminated, Rumania forced out of the
war, and great strides made toward
establishment of q "Mittel-Europa,"
the first step in the Kaiser dream
for world domination.
Finland, which early declared its
independence of the Russian revolu-
tionary government, has, with Ger
man help, driven out all the Red
Guard, or Russian peasant troops.
Economic treaties advantageous to
Berlin have been signed, making Fin
land in reality q German province. To
support this arrangement, Germany
had the help of large landowners,
bankers and the merchant class in
Finland.
Other Russian border provinces,
Livona, Esthonia and the Courland,
are now, according to Baron Won
Kuehlmann, the former German Sec
retary for Foreign Affairs, to be re-
garded as Integral parts" Of the Ger
man Empire. This gives German con-
troll of the Baltic and shuts of Rus
sia from the North Sea.
The adjoining Russian territory OF
vice Staff Correspondent.
Ukraine, with a population Of some
&c, 100000 Little Russians" negoti-
ated separate treaty with Germany
even before the Bolsheviks signed
their ignOminiOus pact, and a govern
ment was set up at Kieff. Again the