The public ledger. [volume] (Maysville, Ky.) 1913-1968, 1919-04-14
HOW no ERADfCATEE
BOUSHBvISM AT HOME

Washington-The Republican Pub
licity Association, through Its Presl
dent, Hon. Jonathan Bourne, Jr., to
day gave out the following statemen
from It's Washington Headquarters:
"Bolshevlsm In the last analysis I
the protest Of the lower classes Of 30
ciety against what they conceive to b
the oppression Of those occupying
higher plane. II Is the attempt Of tn
peasantry to cast of the yoke Of hun
ger, discouraglng taxation. and en-
forced military service, under whicl
they have been struggling In Europ
FLOR years, and to give themselves tn
privileges they have seen enjoyed b.
the various strata Of society abov
them. The French Revolution was bu
an outbreak of Bolshevism, brough
about by the excuses Of the Frencl
court Of the times. The French Com
mune of a later date was another pop
ular protest against the condition.
under which the common people wer,
forced to live in the Second Empire.
1.-THE ground has been prepared fo
years for the outbreak of BolsheVisn
in Russia. Autocratic rulers, crush
ing taxation, no attempt to alleviate
the condition of the working class
all contributed to state of social un
rest which needed but spark to star
general uprising among the masses
The war furnished the pretext. Con
scription Of the men to fight for 8
cause they knew nothing Of; horrible
slaughter Of soldiers, undertrained
frequently unarmed, and utterly inca
pable Of competing with the German
war machine; and taxation, increased
even further by the wars demands
furnished a fertile field for the insid.
ious German propaganda cunningly
designed to encourage the plain peo-
pie Of Russia to revolt against exist,
ing conditions. Once they mad tasted
power and realized that no govern
ment could exist without their sup
port the people were quick to take
control, turn out their former rulers
and set up system Of their own. Pro-
gress from that state Of affairs to the
present chaos in Russia has been but
a natural evolution,
"In Hungary the people likewise
have felt the oppression of unreason-
ing monarchies. Their situation has
been similar to that of the Russians
although perhaps less severe With
them, too, the war has furnished the
fame to kindle the smouldering resolt
of the lower classes. The same may
be said of Germany, although in that
country another government succeed
ed that of the kaiser so quickly that
it was able by stern repressive mea-
shevism, at least for the time being.
sures to keep down the fires Of Boil
"But what Of our own country. We
hear of headquarters of the Bolshe-
Wiki in the United States. of hundreds
Of agencies they have established
among our people, and that our mails
are being flooded with their propa-
ganda. Largely in the proportion that
our institutions Cypress the Ameri-
can people, as the governmental sys-
TENS Of the Old World bear upon its
peoples, will the dangerous SEED take
root among us and flourish. II cannot
succeed among contented, well-fed
busy population. It will became i'm
planted and grow where discomfort is
the rule, where decent food Is beyond
the reach Of the poor, and where I'M
employment exists to any extent
ITO prevent Bolshevism in America
we must resort to introspectlon. If
any of those conditions are present at
any point then danger threatens at
that place. The causes for discomfort
whether from governmental auto
cracy OF otherwise, must be ascertain
ed and eradicated 1t is imperative
that the price of food be brought
down to the lowest possible level;
and employment found for every able
bodied man. When that is done land
a speedy consummation of the world
peace, with resumption of normal
commerce, will contrib
ute more to those ends than anything
else) then we can rest serene in the
that we are safe from the
destructive influences of Bolshevism.