The Greeneville daily sun. (Greeneville, Tenn.) 1918-1920, 1918-09-03
OBSTACLES IN RUSSIA

OBSTACLES IN RUSSIA
The death Of Nikola Lenine Is reported He IS known
to have been grevousy wounded by two bullets fired by
assassin in Moscow. If not dead he is at least out
Of action for the time being and with his hand absent
from the helm Of the BOlshevk government that shaky
and errac craft win soon go on the rocks This is not
to say that it would be success if Lenine were to re-
and retain control for Lenne is not conspicuous
for his statesmanlike qualities He is chiefly influential
in stirring up fanatcism in the minds Of the creduOus
Russians, who led to believe that by nOnresstance
to Germany the "capitastic" nations viii soon be fight
ing among themselves and thus open the way for mill
ennial internatOnasm in which the shftless the igno-
rant and the criminal will not be called to account
Boshevism is doomed in Russia, whether Lenine's
death be true false No man. not even if backed by
Germany, it. 1t absurd anachronism in its
nominal doctrines, and a criminalism in its everyday
practice Some enlightened students Of Russian affairs
go far to say that there is no deasm in bolshev-
ism, either expressed implied that is pure unadul-
terated selfshness in which each man aims to obtain
what belongs to his neghbOr The other day an Ameri-
referring to bOshevism "a halfbaked international
ism which pretends that there is world community of
spirits too high and too fine to be bound down by the
usual obligations of nationality" The army officer
writes:
have yet to meet any exponent of this cult
who has any idealism whatever, or in private
conversation urofesras ouv The norrntval snrp
of the Russian bolshevid was "Give us peace"
not so that they could have an opportunity to
assist in eliminating injustice from the world,
but $50 that class warfare might Immediately sue
coed international warfare" There is nothing
whatever atruistic about their views, and they do
not pretend to any. Boiled down, their dogma is,
"Take it away from the man who has it and let
him take it away from me, if he can"
The actions, if not the words, Of the bOIshevik sus
tain the above statements They may seek universal
justice hereafter but for the time being they have made
Russia hell by perpetratng Infamous acts of injustice
and crime They may be opposed to Germany at heart
but in their acts they have aided Germany The plight
of the world is such that be accredited with
soOu acts wrong. Inere IS not time
in which to sft out intentions when the world is on fire.
If by their acts increase the size of the conagra-
ton they must be exterminated just as though they were
incendiares.
Therefore it does not matter practically, whether
Lenine is traitor playing an amazingly audacous game
for Germany ignorant egotist bent upon installing
new social system at moment when the world is try
ing to all Of the good that it has accumulated He
and his teachings and practices must be thrust off the
stage of Russia The allies must stand firmly behind the
Russian people, furnishing them all possible assistance
and overlooking opposition resulting from prejudice,
ignorance or enemy inspiration.
More potent help must be furnished The task of saw
ing Russia whether Lenne lives or dies is very great
The boshev only element of the obstacles that
confront civilization in its efforts to restore order in
Russia preliminary to the organization Of free
government of the Russian people There hundreds
of thousands of active enemies in Russia many with arms
in their hands. The Germans and Austrians in Russia
must be run out or captured This is an undertaking
that will require the services of goodszed army The
allies should not hesitate to send troops to the number
of 100000 more always under the assurance that
all allied forces will be withdrawn when Germany is de-
feated and Russian government established-Wash-
ington Post.