The Washington herald., 1919-04-06
RED PERIL MAY REACH RHINE
WHILE PEACE ENJOYS ARGUE
Balderston SAYS Indecision of Allies Is Throw
ing Germany, Austria and Poland
Into Arms of Soviet

I pagandists are thronged with politi-
/ cal leaders who are not socialists,
and my information is that very
! showly Hungary will pass under So
Wet rule. arguing that she cannot be
worse of and may do better. The
revolution in Budapest is variously
timed for the end of this month and
/ the beginning of April. II it comes
| IL will be due to the blindness or lack
of control of the Peace Conference
?. Rumania. Little news is coming
through from beyond the Carpathians
but despairing Rumanians here de-
clare that nearly half their country
is Bolshevik, and that a Soviet con-
trolls Jassy, made the capital after
| the Germans had captured Bucharest
I The Bolshevik movement in Rumania
appears to be closely connected with
, that in the Ukraine. The Russian
province is largely inhabited by Ru-
manians and il Soviet rule gets a
! firm grip on the Ukraine. it is not
likely that the Rumanian peasants,
| for generations oppressed by medic
val land laws, will refrain from TAX
ing power out of regard for a fara-
way Peace Conference, that has no
| Influence whatever on events upon
any of the Rumanian frontiers.
Meanwhile. by strange irony the Ru-
/ manian cabinet in Bucharest appears
to be using its last remnants of au-
| thority before being overwhelmed by
its own Bolsheviks in promoting Boil
shevism in Hungary. invading that
country with several divisions of
troops vet unaffected by the prevail
ing political microbe-
5. German-Austrla. There are va
| rious reasons brought forward here by
| specialists in Austrian affairs for the
| growing strength of the Bolshevists
| in Vienna. Perhaps all is explained by
| lack of food. due to blockade by the
/ CZecho-Slovaks and inability of the
allies to agree and act on a common
| feeding program, for which omission
none of them are wholly blameless.
| In addition, opponents of the French
policy of forbidding GermanAustria
| to federate with the new German re-
public on the ground that this would
| increase the population and power OF
| Germany say that France lacks vision
and is driving German-Austria over
to the extremists.
, I. Poland. What luck Gen. Heller's
| Polish army will have in Poland, IL II
gets through by Danzig, may depend
upon whether Germany BolsheviZes
and cuts the Polish communications
with the allies. But even without this
difficulty there exists in Poland a
strong Bolshevist party, or rather
many parties. all of which are nour-
ished by the prevailing starvation and
by propaganda from Russia. In Po-
land. as elsewhere. lack of food and
employment explains most OF the dan
IL 70 allinG haVA
wasted precious time in getting relief
through to the starving populations.
Say Allies Aid Extremist.
Some of the Polish propagandists
here have argued to me with great
vehemence that the allies have
helped the extremists in Poland by
overthrowing the more popular Pill
sudski government and setting up a
government of landlords under Pad
erewski and Dmowski. The peas
ants, they say. have caught from
Russia the intense desire for the
land that was the handspring of the
revolution in 1917, and to take away
the land hat the peasants had al
ready commenced to occupy must
throw them into the arms. of the
waiting Bolshevists. On the other
hand l have heard Dmowski with
great eloquenCe and peTsuasiveness
contend that only strong govern
ment in Poland by the upper classes
can possibly save the country from
chaos. Whatever the truth may be
here, o. all accounts agree that con-
ditiOns in Poland are going from
bad to worse, and I have not met
Pole who was optimist enough to
believe that his country can stand
out against Bolshevism IL Germany
goes under.
;. Germany. Americans will be
kept in touch by the cables with
developments in Germany's political
situation later than those that have
taken place as this story Is writ
ten. Everybody here agrees now
that Germany is heading towards
Bolshevism. but there are two
views regarding the policy of the
Weimar government.
Most Americans and British argue
that Germany should be given food
and raw materials promptly. without
food and work, they say. Germany
must "Bolsh." Unfortunately, this
probably correct view from other
tered such opposition from other
sources that food and raw materials.
when forthcoming, may come too late.