New-York tribune., 1919-08-09
Russia In 1919
New Book by Arthur Ransome
Brilliant Record ofObservation

, BoishevSsm has enough to do at home
without interfering with the economic
theories of other lands, no matter what
its leaders may profess.
They would not admit it, am
sure" lse writes, "bu. few of the
Soviet leaders who have now for eigh.
teen morths been wrestling with the
difficulties of European Russia. have
acquired, as it were in spite Of them
selves, national domestic point OF
view. They are thinking less about
world revolution than about getting
bread to Moscow, 'or increasing the
output of textiles, or building river
power stations to free the northern
industrial district from it's dependence
on the distant coal fields"
Another seeming misconception, pop
ular IN this country, which Ransome
attacks is that Russian leadership is
recruited from uncducated men. The
term "tarlor Bolshevik'' is used in
this cc~Antry as reproach by people
who feel that these talking men are
dllettartes who are paving the way for
rougher leadership of the Big Bill
Haywood type. But, according to
Ransome's testimony, practically all
the Russian leaders, including Lenine
and Trotzky, are of the "parlor Boil
shevist" type. Certainly they are all
Z.
There is sharp wit, for instance, in the
quoted remark of Lenine, describing
George Bernard Shaw as "a good man
fallen among Fabians," and eloquence
in Trotnky's declaration: "If we are,
in the end, forced to go, we shall slam
the door behind us in such way that,
the echo shall be felt throughout the
world"
To many of US Bolshevism i Lenine
and Trotzky, but Ransome e7sabuses
our mind of that notion, and is able to
glimpses of other leaders, but some
thing of the spirit Of Russia in the
mass In a charming introduction the
author apologies that he has not more
capacity as a political economist.
The book" he writes "is in no sense
of the word propaganda For propa-
ganda, for the defence or attack of the
Communist position, is needed a knowl-
edge of economies, both from the capi-
talist and Socialist standpoints, to-
which I cannot pretend. Very many
seemed to me a tragedy that no Eng
lishman properly equipped in this way
was in Russia studying the gigantic
experiment which. as a country, we are
allowing to pass abused but not ex-
amined. I did my best
Mr.. Ransome's best is very good in
deed While it is true that the book
does not enter very deeply into the
governmental or economic structure of
Bolshevik Russia, it is enormously in
formative in its treatment of the gem
eral spirit of the movement. This is a
personal and human book which is
SO we'll written and so thoroughly in
teresting that its timehness becomes a.
minor quality.
"Heritage," by V. Sackville West
(Doran), is remarkable first novel
1t inspires US with melancholy con-
tirmation of the fact that for every
American who can write passable
novel there are ten Englishmen who
can write brilliant one. Worst Of all
1--WE speak from d strictly national
standpoint), new ones are constantly
coming to the fore. Indeed nine
yearold girl, Daisy Ashford, in. The
Young Nisiters,'.s quite puts all our
Witwers and Streeters and other artists
in misspelling into second place.