Evening star., 1919-04-29

the COnultiOn OF tne army "hdl "ci
the views of the military leaders there
How was the balance of power between
the political parties?
Then we came to the conference al
Bern. In his sing-song German, he
bitterly criticised the result Of that con-
ference, about which he knew only what
Russian officials had been able to pick
up from wireless.
Against General Suffrage.
The motion made by Hilfording to
council at the side of the national con-
gress with general suffrage as the court
Of last appeal, he characterized as RI
diculous.
Lenin spoke in an easy and lively
manner, but with an undertone OF con-
fidence and convincing persuasion
which gave his words emphasis. 1t Is
easy to understand why it was just he
who became the power behind the Rus
sian revolution. Here is confidence and
power united in one person. A So
cialistic Peter the Great who cares
but little whether the Russian peasant
Is ripe for socialism.
with one ruthless sweep he snatches
off the kaftan from the Tartar peas
ant, so simple, so popular and SO
characteristic. This Is Lenin's sys-
tenn A man as simple and uneducat-
ed as the Russian peasant can grasp
this principle of soviet rule.
THE main duty Of the Russian peas
ant during the period Of political
transition" said Lenin. "is to estab-
lish a proletariat dictatorship in city
and country all with view of tum-
bling to the ground the regime of the
bourgeoise. to prevent one individ,
ual from making use of another and
to establish socialism. under which
there will be no division into classes
At last I had an opportunity to in
terrogate him.
What do you think Of allied inter
vention in Russia?'' asked him.
"It becomes a more difficult problem
for the allies every day." he said. III
would also be very much hampered
by growing sympathy for the soviet
government in entente countries. AT
the same time. the Russian red army
is growing in strength every day.,
The Farm Problem. -aa.
What about the agrarian ques-
tion?" asked.
"On that question we are divided
into three general groups" said
Lenin. 'The 'half-farmers,' or coun-
try proletariat, who now. as before
sell their labor, and who are our best
supporters; the small farmers and
the big farmers The last mentioned
are, of course. opposed to, US, as we
have taken their lands away from
them. But their resistance is broken
'The small farmers as I have
called them, contrary to the more
wealthy class. are wobbling. They
are, of course, against grain monopoly
and desire free trade for other stocks
There is a great lack of materials in
the country and of food in the cities
Our economical situation is also very
uncertain. Not the least serious fac
tor is the shortage of fuel. AS we
have just conquered the coal district
there Is hope of betterment in the i'm
mediate future.
There is no country which has suf-
fered to such an extent as Russia in
this world war. How many million
Russians have been sacrificed on the
altar of capitalism? During the war
I prophested that the world conflict
would develop into a class war. 1t
has.
'The idea Of annihilating capitalism
without civil war is Utopian. You
undoubtedly know that the number of
millionaries in Norway has been mul-
tiplied by ten during the war. Do
lionaires just because of arguments
will capitulate without the blow of a
sword?
War Until Victory was written or
Kerensky's banners War Until Vic
tory over the Bourgeoisie' is the
workers revision OF this slogan. And
there you have it all.
"Arming the proletariat-thiS we
must teach, and the disarming of the
bourgeosise. Give up the disarmament
program advised Zeth Hoglund. a
Swedish socialist in 1910. His opinion
was different from mine. Now he GER
tainly must agree with me-"
Shadow of the Entente.
How do you contemplate making
tho change from dictatorship to a
democracy" was my next question.
Lenin answered.:
'In my order to the national COM
time passes and the majority becomes
assured Of its power then we can raise
the question of general suffrage be-
fore the soviet. We must keep the
dictatorship in order to be. able to
control the bourgeoise. If the entente
geoise our victory will soon be COM
plete."
Here the interview ended.
On our way to Petrograd we heard
many rumors that the city was in
political and anarchistic turmoil The
newspapers OF Viborg all carried
stories that the. former capital of the
empire was about to be bombarded
from Kronstadt.
However. when we arrived we found
quite a different picture. The city was
quiet and no disturbances Of any inn
portance had taken place. 1t was per-
fectly obvious that a great deal of
discomfort over existing conditions
prevailed.
In the street cars and in the streets
there is constant talk of counter revo-
lutions. Diverse as Is the talk one
hears, there is no denying that the
discomfort is organized and chiefly
due to the famine.
The soviet, however, is in absolute
control, and it is out of the question
that any other party or political or
panization can gain a foothold in the
near future. The bolshevists have
broken up all parties. eXiled all politi-
cal leaders of other faiths and con-
fiscated their property and the party
archives, including membership lists.
State of Siege.
The bolshevists have taken advan-
tare of every phase of Russian in
ternal strife and banked upon the
Differentiation due to the Quarreling
of the old parties. In soviet Russia a
state of siege exists which not even
the most powerful milftarists or auto