Evening star., 1918-08-04

khho CSohOAi4C aeECCllChe
In itself was of little importance to
Germany unless the dismembered
parts which set up in business for
troll The obliging bolsheviki were
agreeable to this arrangement also.
having made possible the establish
ment OF the so-called Ukraine repub-
nc, they knew that Germany would
exact from the Ukraine what it had
exacted from them They did not an
e1cipate, however. that the Ukraine
would actually be used by Germany
70 their own disadvantage in supply
ing food. but Germany took no
chances.
4
The reports from Moscow and Petro-
grad that 10000 Russians are In a
condition Of semi-starvation may be
an -exaggeration as to numbers, but
In the main it is probably correct.
This condition is largely due to the
failure to obtain food supplies from
the Vo1ga basin and the Ukraine
country. The black earth region, as
II In called, Is the granary of Rus
sia- 1t formerly produced the cereals
IN abundance and had a large excess
OF wheat which was shipped out
through Odessa on the Black sea,
Now there fs no wheat to be had by a
large part Of the Russia that Is under
tho bolshevik rule. The Ukraine
simply does not have 1t to supply and
the oolsheviki Is blamed by its own
adherents for not getting wheat
where there is none to be obtained
Germany and Austria, in spite of
Gernanys IRON military grip on the
Ukraine. are also experiencing disap-
pointment They got some wheat In
the months Immediately following
the Berest-Litovsk treaty. but 1t was
from last years crop. The great dis
appointment now comes from the
smallness Of this years crop.
Carrying the bolshevik principles to
their logical conclusion. the Ukrain-
Ian peasants planted little more
than than was required for their own
mean to work as hard As in the old
times. and since the soviets, which
were controlled by the workmen's
councils. were reducing the hours Of
labor to q minimum In factories, tho
OkTaIaian peasants saw no reason
faTmR.
Farm life in Russia is no different
than farm life on the western lands.
And 1t never has been possible to es-
tablish even an eight-hour day for
farm laborers there. The UkraiEian
kSe@NASS SA4x1o nCAi 6I II II IhAn II u
possioie In the west, because they
were carrying out q theory that all
they needed to do was to produce
enough wheat for their own con-
sumption The theory would be all
right IL 1t was not necessary to buy
faTm implements and some other sup
plies. and therefore to raise more
wheat than is consumed locally in
order to sell the surplus and have
the means Of buying other things.
Yet Tor single season or two the
UkrAinians might have kept In opera
tion the bolshevik theories and rais-
ed enough wheat to provide for their
own wants regardless of farm imple-
ments and other purchases required
to insure future crops.
The Germans upset the calculation.
Berlin wants wheat from Ukrainia
and wants large quantities of 1t. If
the Ukratnian peasants fail to raise
more than they need for themselves
the German war lords decided to
take what they did raise. That is
what has been going on for months
past. 1t is the cause of the peasant
rebellion which the bolshevik CEN
sured cables say has broken out in
Ukrainia and which seems to have
military possibilities. The report that
there are $4,000 Of them, well armed
and ofi1cered and constituting fairly
efficient troops. may be an exaggera-
tlou. But tn0 Sf&n1nc2nCe Is the news
that peasant rebellion actually has
broken out.
It's first move. II It achieves sue
cess, will be to upset the puppet gov
ernment which Germany established
under the name Of Ukrainia at Kiev.
In the meantime It unquestionably
has made more difncult the work of
the German troops in policing the
region which the bolsheviki turned
over to Berlin nominally In ac-
cerdanee with the principle Of the
seh-determination Of the different
sections Of what once was Russia. =
The Ukrainians. 1t Is agreed by all
observers. are . sturdy people. They
are good fighters, and their intel
ligence is higher than that of the
great mass of the Russian peasants.
Their political leaders, who sought
to set up Ukrainta as an independent
entity, represented q sincere national
aspiration But these leaders, be-
cause they were sincere, were quick
ly throttled by Germany's military
commanders. How many of them
were executed Is not known, but sonae
undoubtedly escaped. However. it.
does not appear that they have mucf,
to do with the present rising. This
seems to be spontaneous
So far as 1t takes the form Of riot