The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1918-01-30
THE TOPEKA STATE JOURNAL
lNFORMATlOM BUREAU
by FREDERIC ,. aAskIN. Direcssr.
Washington. ID. o.
CONCERNING THE BoLsHEvIKI.

CONCERNING THE BOLSHEVIKI.
Some Data Bearing on the History of
the Party and Its Aims as Stated by
Member.
Washington, d. c., Jan. ga
change of attitude toward the Russian
bolsheviki is noticeable here. It can
be. traced principally to President Will
sons address, to congress. in which
he characterized the Russian repre-
sentatives at the Bresr-Litovsk peace
conference as sincere and in ear
nest" besides speaking in high terms
of Russia and her leaders at other
points in his address.
Even the action of the bolsheviki
in dissolving the constituent assem- bly,,
when it failed to give them a major
ity, has apparently not alienated the
sympathy of allies and neutrals, altho
this step undoubtedly created an I'm
favorable impression. But foreigners
are concerned principally with Rus
sia's attitude toward Germany, not
with her domestic pl oblems. and 1t is
on their foreign policy that the world
| judges the bolsheviki.
The bolshevik party must stand or
fall by the results of its coup in dis
solving the constituent assembly. If
the Russian people back the action
solidly, it is probable that the boil
| sheviki will soon be recognized as a de
facto government If. on the other
| hand. the mensheviki and the consti-
tutional democrats. whose ma jority in
the assembly was turned out-of- doors
with the bayonet, rally enough sup
| port to start a serious civil war with
| the bolsheviki. the latter party is con-
vlcted of failing to carry out, the will
of the majority. The bolsheviki claim
| that practically the whole of Russia is
| behind them, and point for proof to
| the support of hte aH-Russian council
of workmen's and soldiers delegates.
| They ascribe their failure to- show a
i,na1ority IN the assembly to the al
| legged fact that the elections were held
under rules drawn by other parties.
Inc accuracy of this statement win be
proved or disproved by the events of
the next few weeks.
Some light is cast on the n.t,,ra .nd
| purpose of the bolsheviki by an old
IneInter of the party now in Washing
ton- 1t is mistake, he says. to re-
gard bolshevikism as a new develop
LllenI Drought to the surface by the
revolution. The bolsheviki- as a party
are flfteen years old, dating back to
| the second congress- of Russian So
| c1al1sts, which was held on Austrian
soil in 1903 Lenine has held the
! leadership of the party ever since that
| date.
| Like most Russian radicals under
the old regime. Lenine. now premier,
| dates his active entry into Russian
politics from the time of his first ar
rest. which occurred in 1887. Most
| Russian agitation of that date was
1t was seven years later, in 1894, that
| Lenine founded the first socialist or
ga1ization in Russia In company
| with a comrade, afterwards executed
he published an illicit socialist news
paper. The first edition consisted OF
four copies, written by Lenine's own
| hand. Some of the later editions
| were written by hand in jail and
smuggled into the outside world.
Manuscript copies of this underground
recently come to the Library of Con-
Ngress in Washington.
Later Lenine was exiled to Siberia
but he managed to make his way &c
Switzerland, when he attended the
conference in Austria at which the
bolshevik party had its birth The
delegates to, this congress were quits
evenly divided into moderate and ex-
trenist camps. The moderates advo-
Gated working toward the purely com
munistic state by degrees, compromis-
ing at first with the interests of the
middle classes, who would naturally
be opposed to radical measures direct.
ed against property and commerce. The
extremists, on the other hand, advo-
/ Gated quick, direct action, the estab.
ing all land and industry at once.
vote was taken, and the extremists
won by a~sing1e vote. Hence they
took the name of bolshsviki. which
means the majority party" while the
moderate minority became the men
sheviki.
The present dominance 70 the boil
ksheviki over their various rival radica.
parties, according to the same mem
/ 10 no %r,A ovfvy 10 dr1o -r1C ne tf
the fact that they took steps to NEE
the popular demand in a war policy
The slogan of the Russian wa
Bread and peace" The sincerity ant
ideals of the Kerensky government
failed to hold popular support, appa-
emily, not because Kerensky failed Il
: make peace, but because he judged i
= inadvisab1e to. take any immediat,
steps leading toward peace. The PEG
. iple wanted action
When the bolsheviki leaders called
the peace conference at Brest-Litovsk
the world concluded that they woult
make a peace at any price, Sub
sequent developments indicate tina,
this is not the case. In fact, the.
have taken a rather uncompromisint
stand. If they were familiar will
conditions in Germany. where man.
of them had lived. they must hav,
realized that their peace terms stoot
scant chance of acceptance. Why
then, did they offer them?
Their course, according to mem
: bers of the party, was dictated by tw,
considerations: First, the remot
possibility that popular pressure a
home would compel the German au
) Ntocracy to yield, and second the alb
solute necessity for putting the war oil
a new basis If it was to be continues
at ALL The Russian troops hates
everything that savored of the OLE
regime in Russia. The war they wer
: fighting had begun under the car an,
been misnanaged by the old bureau
cracy. They were tired OF, it.
The effect of the peace conference
may be to begin another war which
will have the support of the Russian
, | people. If the German militarists d,