The Hartford republican. (Hartford, Ky.) 18??-1926, 1919-04-04
BRIBE BOLSREViKl
IN ORDER To live
Robbed BY Tyrants, Bour-
geoise Now Profits BY
Formers Greed.

Stockholm, March 3O--ttow do the
burgeois manage to live at all in Rus
STA?
Bribery!
The bourgeoise is given no bread
by government authority. He is CIV
on no check to buy other foods as is
the proletarian.
But the bourgeoise lives by the
dishonesty of the tyrants who have
robbed him.
The corruption of the ears regime
was we'll known. It reached to the
very rank in life.
The corruption of the Bolshevist
government is greater.
The Bolshevists have permitted the
continuance of pensions granted by
the formal imperial state where thev
do not exceed 5000 rubles-$1, 500
in American money under the old
government, but a mere trifle with
the present depreciation of Russian
money.
paid rs per cent to Soviet official to
have his pension continued. Then
others we're compelled to do the same.
Then bOurgeoise who never had pen
Sions under the old regime got on the
pension rolls by similar bribery, and
now the practice is almost universal
Thousands of Russians who have
gone into Scandinavia have taken
with them vast sums of rubles. They
have bribed port officials with % per
cent of the sum involved The ru-
bies are sold in Stockholm at third
of their par value. They are bought
at home for fifteenth to a twentieth
of their par value. The transaction
is very profitable.
One Russian was caught smuggling
out a million rubles. He was Irinof,
former district marshal of nobility.
lie was beaten, jailed and starved
until he died.
Only one-fifth of the tax budget for
the last half year was paid in to the
government. In most of the regions
controlled by the soviets there is no
official tax collection system. Some
times the elected members OF the
councils of Soldiers and Workmen
collect. Then they arbitrarily de-
eide how much shall go to the central
government-and the rest goes to
the collectors.
A levy of 10000, 00G,O 900 rubles to
be paid by the bourgeoise was to be
in the hands OF the government by
December IS. Little of it has been
turned in. In some districts only
one-tea thousandth part has been
paid, but the Bolshevik tax inspector.
ZasharSky reports two or three times
as much has been paid in as has
reached the government. The tax
collectors pocket the rest
Soviet heads sell for 500 to 200
rubles a permit to buy a suit of (
clothes which costs an equal amount !
4 permit to buy loaf of bread may
be had by bride OF five rubles.
Permits may be bought by bour-
seoise TO remain in their houses de- |
spite the right of EXPULSION held by !
The Communes Of the Poor. In fact !
a middleinan class has grown up
which acts as go-between for cor
rupt officials and Russians with IA lit
tie money who would he permitted to
exist.
OF course there have been efforts |
on the part of the central govern
ment to stop some OF the corruption /
in the lower ranks--and some of il in
higher circles. Dzer2hinski, head of /
the extraordinary commission for
combating counter revolution and !
sabotage had five members of the SUI
Dreme council shot for stealing. And
he had hundreds OF others of lower
rank shot. But Dzerzhinsl.i snubbed /
Lenine himself, fell from grace, and
others found way to curb his pow
er. He was too honest for Bolshe-
yism.
"Commissaries, be honest! Do not
steal like the czardoms functionaries,'
was the warning of Lenine in one of
his speeches.
But BOlshevists set their own
of honesty.
sI4g----