Daily Kennebec journal., 1919-03-28
The Hand Of Germany?

6iatt something which evidently has
a bearing on the situation when he
says: ..
"Gsrmany, threatened with dishon.
or instead Of security in the west
must turn eastward to satisfy her
needs and realize her future"
Here is also a sheaf of pertinent
items all culled from one days dis
patches:
Count Won Brockdorff- Rantzau, Ger
man foreign minister has sent kari
Kautsky to Moscow to see the chiefs OF
the soviet government with view to
bringing about closer political and econ
omic rela tions with the Russian bolShe-
Wiki.
Karl Radek. the leading Russian boil
shevik agent in Germany who was ar
rested in connection with the SPARTA
can movement in February has just
been released. the authorities finding no
reason for keeping him under surreil-
lance.
Spartacan agitation has begun again
coincdent with the Hungarian rising.
Edua,L Bernstein. the veteran lnde-
pendent Socialist leader. has left tina,
party and gone over to the Majority
Socialists. alter administering sharp
rebuke to his party and disclosing the
further details of its close alliance with
the Rus sian bolsheviki.
Perhaps most significant Of all is
the prompt message from Berlin
blaming the whole thing on the Rus
sian bolsheviki. and exonerating the
peace conference, in spite of Count
Karolyi's proclamation:
Recent events in Budapest were not
the result of the entente note outlining
the new boundary line between Hun
gary and Roumania. The
communists il the result of Russian
bolshevik missionary work.
Such a solicitous desire to shield
the peace conference from the onus
of responsibility has not been evil
denced in any of the entente coun
tries. Most of us can remember an
occasion less than five years ago
when Germany likewise held up her
hands in pious horror and blamed it
all on Russia.
Bolshevism in Russia served it's
purpose as far as Germany was con-
cerned last year. 1t may do the same
in Hungary this year.
The treaty of Brest- Litovsk was
signed March 3. 1918, Immediately
releasing tn German forces on the
Russian front. The great German
offensive, Ludendorffs last throw on
which he risked everything, known as
the battle of Picardy. began on
March 81 and continued with uniform
success for more than month as
fresh divisions were brought up and
placed in the battle line. The fact
that his plan did not finally succeed
was due to certain factors which are
history and which do not concern the
subject in hand.
The Russian army then. n2 longer
obliged to keep up the pretense even.
Of fighting Germany. and having been
changed by Kerensky's imbecile 're-
FORMS from an army Of 2O,000,O0O
soldiers to a mob of 20,O0O,0O0 half
armed malcontents turned to the ex-
ploitation of Russia. For the greater
part of the past year they have more
or less consistently carried out their
doctrine Of giving all the possessions
! of the boL rgeoisie to the proletariat.
until Lenine found out that his brand
! of communism didn't work and didn't
pay. Since then the bolsheviki have
stopped being bolsheviki, and have
been setting up military dictator
ship under the organizing genius Of
Trotzky. and the craftiness genius OF
| inc, both Of whom have never been
| far out Of touch with men and at
fairs in Germany.
Lenine, who is generally believed
to be sincere, but most narrow IA
natic in his desire to spread social
revolution all over Europe and the
world, is surrounded by a desperate
gang of adventures who are ready
! for anything. The people of Russia
! are paralyzed by fear and terrorism:
the allies 60 nothing: the call is for
| a strong military leadership to stop
the march Of bolshevism, and to sta
bilize Germany. The man who can
do it will win the everlasting srati-
tude of the peaeemakers and SEEM
ingly solve most of their impossible
problems. Such man may appear in
the person of none other than Luden-
dorff, who has been in Berlin for the
past two weeks negotiating with GER
tain officials
1t is intimated that he is the only
man with enough energy to allay the
tempest Of anarchy in Germany and
| restore law and order. A Ludendorff