The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1919-01-03
BOLSHEVISM SELF-REVEALED
prepared by William English Walling
for the League of National Unity
THE PRO-BOLSHEVIk PROPAGANDA


dence as to the Bolshivik regime in Russia. This
evidence comes from every possible source With
out exception the diplomatic representatives and
the commercial agents of America, France and
Great Britain have told the same story. With one
or two exceptions, the large corps Of correspond
ents stationed in Russia for many years and ia
mar with the language Of the country substan-
tate the story Thousands Of American citizens,
tens Of thousands Of other foreigners who have
lived in Russia for many years have upon their
return to America or their native lands, given
an account which is identical in every important
particular. - \.
f'' But unfortunately the extreme liberaity of the
American press and the "Reminiscences of the
American public has resulted in an almost equally
wide publication of utterly baseless pro-Bolshe-
vik statements These statements have had a
certain success because the Bolshevik censorship,
beginning in August, has very much decreased d.
rect communications with Russia.
This pro-Bolshevik propaganda resembles in
every way the o-German propaganda. 1t begins
by denying absolutely the mass of ext listing evil
dence, including even the original documents put
forth by the American Government with the d.
rect authorization of President Wilson. All the
vast masses of material gathered directly or in
directly through any governmental sources are
rejected on The entirely false assumption that it
is all officiasor governmental. The daily papers
and correspondents with the exception of few
pro-Bolshevik writer's are repudateds as being
capitalistic. The same is said of all foreign wit
necesses. The immense amount of testimony
gathered from ether political parties in Russia is
rejected as being either bourgeois or partisan:
Have thus gotten rid of all existing testimony,
the pro-Bolslievk propagandists then proceed to
build up an entirely new and imaginary structure
Of their own. 40 ,fss.....ts .s..e.v1..
The pro-Bolshevi agitation has had little or no
success in accomplishing it's main object. It has
produced few Bolshevists in this country and not
many pro-Bolshevists. But it has succeeded in
confusing the public mind. For four months there
has been comparatively little new material from
Russia. During this period the pro-Bolshevists
have succeeded in getting before the public many
of their imaginative productions What is the
origin CT these stories? A few newspaper cor
respondents of Bolshevism. For example, the
New York Times and other newspaper for many
months published the artie ) Df Arthur Ransome
as coming from their own official correspondent.
At the end Of this period The Times several &C.
cations printed notice to the effect that RAN
some was the official mouthpiece of Lenine and
Trotzky. There were several other similar cases.
The second group of pro- Boshevist propagandists
is composed CT correspondents or social work.
ers' who knowing nothing-of the Russian Ian
guage, Russian politics, Russian geography or
the Russian people, went to Petrograd or Moscow
and spent few weeks or few months in the
country under the chaotic conditions of the revolu
ton. Even in times of peace Russia is difficult
to understand because of its huge size and COM
pcated conditions-even by persons who have
spent many years in that country. During the
revolutionary turmoil, communication has been so
bad that it would take months to gather evidence
which might be secured in day in ordinary times.
The evidence of these feeting visitors, most of
them entirely without any qualification whatever
for such difficult investigation, is all but worth.
less.
Fortunately there is method by which the
whole situation can easily be cleared up 1t is
not necessary to consider either the so-caled tes-
timony of the pro-Bolshevst propaganda or the
mast mass of evidence gathered from hundreds
Of other sources. The avowed position of the Boil
tons which they do not deny are quite sufficient
for all practical purposes.
! This article therefore concerns itself almost en-
tirely with the Bolshevists' own statements and
acts which they themselves do not deny, but, on
the contrary, boastfully avow. In order to re-
mind the reader Of the nature of some of the EVIL
dence which comes from non-B olshevik sources,
some Of it il referred to briefly, but most Of our
space i giysn to tie Dolshsvistgs ewn statements