Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1918-11-29


people many facts concerning the war,
and doubtless this has been wise, but
they could not If they would oncea
the part the German people as a whole
have played. Every one of us knows
that the latter, whatever their status
or their politics, supported their gov
eminent as long as it appeared to be
winning, gloatingly approved all the
crimes and outrages committed, and
repudiated the leaders of the criminal
conspiracy only when their failure
was assured and it became necessary
for them to look for some. way of
crawling out from under the wreck.
age.
Why, then, should the president of
the United States or any other repre-
sentative of the powers that defeated
Germany, feel it necessary to make a
special plea for a square deal for the
vanquished? Paraphrasing the old
saying, what we demand for the
Germans is plain justice, n ID
little of that.
Mr.. Wilson is said to be especially
concerned in the problem of estab-
fishing a stable government in Russia,
and there is reason for his concern.
That distracted country has bobbed
up again in the news columns and the
situation there is, if possible, more COM
plicated than ever. The new all-Rus-
sian government that vas established
at Omsk and recognized by most OF
the anti-bolshevik elements is now In
control of Admiral Alexander Kolchak.
The council of ministers executed a
coup d'etat and made Kolchak the vir-
tual dictator and commander of the
all-Russian army and navy. He is
called supreme governor" Several
opposing ministers were imprisoned.
What the course of the commissioners
of the allied governments will be is
not known.
Along the Dvina the bolsheviki at
tackled the allied forces and were re-
pulsed with heavy losses. Since then
they have contented themselves with
Smelling the Russo-allied positions
from the gunboats, with which they
are better supplied than their adver-
sarieS.
An event that was very gratifying
to Washington and the entente cap
itals was the overthrow of the Ukrain-
ian government and the capture OF
Kiev by anti-bolshevik troops from
Astrakhan under General Deniktne.
This opens the way for the allies d.
rectly into the heart of Russia. While
they were being Ousted at home, the
U~krainians we're engaged in continu-
GUS fighting with the Poles in Galicia,
where they had taken Lemberg, and
in Bukowina, where they held Czerno-
WITT, There, as in the Ukraine, the
Ukrainians were helped by German
officers.
No news has come from eastern 81
IBERIA, nor is much to be expected,
since it's dissemination is under the
control of the japanese. The recent
lifting of the censorship does not
seem to apply to that region.
The government took two steps last
week that aroused much comment and
not a little protest. The first was an
order making effective governmental
control of all the marine cable sys-
tens of the United States; and the
second was the consolidation of the
services of the Western Union and
Postal Telegraph companies under
governmental control. Postmaster
General Burleson is in control.
Ia
Congress adjourned on November
q in order that the members might
have a brief rest before the short ses-
sion opens on December 2. The pres
ident has planned that all important
legislation shall be held up during his
absence in Europe, the scheme being
to have the vice president and speak
err withhold their signatures to bills
passed; but considerable opposition to
this plan is developing. Many leaders
in congress contend that there is ur-
gent necessity for legislation in the
line of reconstruction, in which Amer
lea already is being outstripped by Eu-
ropean nations.
IA
President Wilson signed the food
production stimulation bill with the
Jones rider, and consequently the
United States will be "bone dry" from
June 80 next until the time when the
rehabilitation of its fighting forces
has been completed. The Importation
of all intoxicating drinks stops at
once, except that wines may DE inn
ported until May l, 1919. The liquor
interests may contest the constitu-
tionality of the law.