Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1919-08-04
Ing Hun. He y sure o. ! warm welcome wherever he
appears In the United states.
THE SOVIET CONSTITUTION

sveinbjorn johnson. Of this city. performed q useful
service when. at the Maple Lake picnic the other day,
he summarized and explained the Russian Soviet consti-
TUITION. from a copy Of which he read: This constitution,
under which the Lenine government is working. is the
document which has been praised by many socialistic
organizations in this country as presenting the ideal
system of democracy. The copy from which Mr.. johnson
read. by the way, Is reprinted in pamphlet form from
an article in The Nation, the well-known radical organ.
The original appeared in the magazine on January 4
of this year. and copies of the pamphlet, can be obtained
from the magazine publshels.
The first declaration in the constitution is that
Russia Is "a republic Of the soviets Of workers, soldiers
and peasants' deputies" All power is declared to belong
to these sovietA and. under the limitations later pre-
scrtbed, u It made clear that it is the intent to despoil
and disfranchtse q very large element of the population
The so-called republic, therefore. contemplates the as
sumption Of ruling powers by . class. and the subordina-
ton Of another class-an utter denial Of democracy.
It u decreed that all toilers be armed, that a
Socialist Red army be organized, and that the properties
class b disarmed. In section . we read that the project
involves the establishment Of a dictatorship Of the urban
and rural proletartat and the poorest peasantry." Free
dom Of the press is guaranteed, but only to the so-called
toilins masses, for the government turns over Ito the
working people and the poorest peasantry all technical
and material means Of publication Of newspapers, pamph-
lets, books. etc, and guarantees their free circulation
throughout the country" The suppression Of all forms
Of publication not in accord with the views Of the present
mob autocracy is therefore no mere local incident, but
part of a settled plan.
The chapter on the elective franchise is interesting.
In general the franchise is conferred on workers, peas
ants and soldiers, tothe complete exclusion of:
Persons who employ hired labor in order to
obtain from it an increase in profits. This would
exclude the small farmer who hires an extra
hand in harvest time, and the blacksmith who
employs a helper.
Persons who have an income without doind
any work. such az interest from capital. receipts
from property. etc. The man who acquires a
competence from his own labor and thrift is
therefore disfranchised.
Private merchants, trade and commercial
brokers'
Monks and clergy of all denominations.
Employees and agents Of the former po-
AS \ matter OF fact, a good many Of the restrictions
in the constitution are needless, for the whole purpose
Of the scheme is the abolition of private property, and.
when all private property is abolished. there will be no
property in land Is specifically provided for. All land is
declared to be the property OF the government, and is
to be distributed among the workers" in accordance
with their ability to till it This would be attractive to
the I. W. ". in this country until it came to the thing
part. Apparently the only way around that would be
to set the present owners at work for the new owners.
for your true I. w. ". will do anything rather than work.
In a similar way mills, factories, banks and other
institutions representing Accommodations of capital are
declared subject to seizure without compensation to their
former owners. This part Of the program, as we'll as tho
seizure Of land, has been very freely carried out.
This is the sort Of program that has been held up
to the admiration Of the sober and Industrious citizens
of the United States. 1t is a program of reaction, de-
generation and destruction.