Weekly Nome industrial worker., 1919-04-19

all sound working democracy origi- ing tEa+f ictritor!al 1T rIl. CN'nciIs !, Their poor success up to date in keep ing these assemblies democratic isl not surprising. Surrounded as they were by enemies who had no sympa- thy with their aims and who never consulted Russian popular interests JT needs, Handicapped as their gov arnment was by the destruction of the material and social equipment of Russia, they could not be expected to succeed. Yet they are groping in 3 direction which may we'll lead them to a source of political light at once for themselves, for Europe and the future of popular government. They are attempting to constitute political and social units which will provide a training ground for democratic. cit izenship and which Will be too tough and tco deeply rooted to permit themselves to be overgrown by 8 bureaucratic standardization. They realize what they have suffered and lost from an official, administrative caste which exploited and cultivated popular political ignorance and in difference. They fear a centralized democracy just as we Americans did when our democracy was young. They have the more reason to fear it, because their bureaucracy has been corrupt, ignoble and oppressive. They are struggling blindly and wild iy but still justifably for some method of escape.
 Instead of having their escape barred they deserve all the assistance from the western domocracies whica one people can render to another. The dominant object of French. Brit
 ish and American policy towards Rus sia should De to assist the Russ ans in founding 8 government which. whatever else it may be, is at least an experiment. in constitutional de- mocracy. The Soviet Republic has In t the possibilities of such a demo- cratic experiment. The present con trol of the Soviet by the Bolsheyis.s ard tao capture Of the Soviet Republic by paoiatarian dictatorship is traceable to fugitive causes derived from the war and the revolution. It does not imply d necessary association between Soviet government and Bol- shevism any more than the capture 9f the French convention by the Jaco5ine involved a necessary assoc
 atioEs between a constituent assembly and government by terror The western dGmocractes should seek to unite the association between the soviots and Bolshevism rather than to tie the knot closer. They need in Russia precisely the loose, inofansiye net too well organized democracy, preoccupied with it's own internal nrnblens, which a soviet Republic, in 90 far as it was Successful, would probably become. let they are do- ing their Best to include the Soviet democracy in the condemnation which they are justified in fastening on 8 prolatarian dictatorship. They are forcing on Russia as the only alterna- tive to anarchy and foreign interven- tion the leicester and discredjted yoke Of a centralized military bu.eaucracy.
 The connection between the Soviet Republic and the prolotarian dictator ship will never be broken by coercion. IL can only be broken 6y striking at those economic and social evils which nave enabled the Bolshavistg 10 cap ture the Soviets. Bolsheyism like French Jacobinism was able to usurp political power because the pouiar mind was possessed by hunger, fear suspicion and despair. It's power is icing pcrp2tuat2d by the apparent in- s9nJloa of the governments Of ali other peoples to intensity this hunger. fear, suspicion and despair. The Ger man plan of isolating Russia anG s,aryins the central Russians is lo~ being initiated by the Allies. They are starving the Russians in order 10 place in power emigra monarchists such as Kolchak and penikine. This policy must be reversed unless the western democratic governments pro pose to involve democracy in Russia in the same ruin as the poietarian dictatorship Let them begin by as- suring Russians that they will not cooperate with react'onary dicta-