New-York tribune., 1919-05-06

H NAN~N>A~
Nation" ] read your periodical regu-
larly and keep my copies on file. I do
not find in it the information believed by
me to be authentic which readily find else
where. You say: "We have also been util-
izing absolutely every source of informa-
ton concerning Russia that we can get"
emphatically dispute this statement and
shall show that your belief in its correct
ness involves almost incredible degree
of self deception. True enough, l ind IN
"The Nation" much that is pertinent and
valuable-the text Of the Soviet constltu-
tion. of various Soviet DEGREES, etc-and
willingly pay tribute to the enterprise OF
your periodical in gathering and publishing
these documents. But the publication OF
them does not compensate for the omission
of other and equally important matter.
The text Of a constitution or decree is
not description of the workings of gov
ernment You who are always censurlng and
rdiculing the delinquencies of our admin
istrators would greet with sardonlc laughter
the publication in Russia of the United
States Constitution and pure food law as
evidences Of the kind of government under
which we live. If you know anything OF
what is going on in Mexico you would hard
ly regard the publication Of the new con-
stitution as a description Of political con-
ditons in that land. 1t is even conceivable
that convention of horse thieves might
draw up constitution containing many
altruistic and high-sounding declarations
But the publication of such constitution
would give only a very misleading notion OF
fAc WHAT
the world Is entitled to know Is not only
what the horse thieves have to say about
themselves, but what the people felonlously
divested OF their horsefesh have to say
about the thieves.
The Gvossest Partisanship
In all that you print about Russia find
only the grossest partsanship; IN the
testimony, only that which favors the
Lenine-Trotzky regime, and in the editorial
comment the assumption that no other
testimony Is of the slightest value You
Go, indeed, occasionally print q sentence
discaiming support of the bolshevlK
regime, and on two recent occasions (De-
cember 21 and March y you generously
permitted two correspondents, in letters to
the editor. to enter mild demurrers to the
Polshevik claims. But aside from these,
all that you print on the subject Is notorl-
ously pro- Bolshevik matter.
What you think of the adverse testf-
mony is perhaps best summed up IN an
editorial declaration in the issue Of Feb
ruary 1:
"The emigrant Russian princes and prin-
cesses, ex-ambassadors of the Car and
Kerensky, and secret agents, who, safely in
eiile in Europe or America and abundantly
supplied with money from mysterious
sources. have been filling the press of both
continents with denunciations of the Soviet
government Of the Bolshevki. and
who in the mean time have been carrying
on an inpudent and insidious propaganda"
You here link together revolutionist and
renctionary, democrat and imperialist, the
lifelong servant Of the Russian people
with the parasite who has lived upon them,
in one common mass Of discredited adven-
turers; and you cannot see, such Is the
blind violence with which you have written
this sweeping sentence, that in the Nse of
the little phrase "safely in exile" you have
perpetrated a ghasty joke on your own
assertions Of the mildness and business Of
Bolshevik rule.
One Side Only
say now that you cannot point to a
single line In these fifteen issues that pives
to an open-minded reader the slightest indi-
cation Of a wish to treat the Russian situa-
ton fairly You may have wished to treat
1t fairly; you may have thought you were
treating 1t fairlyi but the evidence that Won
have not so treated It Is here In unmistak-
able black and white. There is one side,
and one only, presented. The honored lead
ers in the long history of the Russian revo-
luton are for the most part ignored. or
they are mentioned only to be dismissed as
Of no consequence.
Your failure to print anything expana-