New-York tribune., 1919-12-21
Bolsheviki Force Officers
and Men to Serve by Fear
Wives and Children Will
Be Harmed if They Desert
Green Guard Is Active
Peasants Who Wish To Be
Neutral Form Irregular
Army for Own Protection
Neeo York TRIBUNE


LONDON, Dec. 1.-"When is Red
not Red?" asked Paul Dukes in "The
London Times" "When he is a
'radish.' A 'radish' is man who fer
vently processes devotion to the Com
munist cause while harborinc a secret
longing for its overthrow Red out
side, but white, YOU see, inside. The
epithet was invented by Trotzky.
ut has been one of Trotzky's chief
aims to root out all the 'radishes. ,
There are thousands in the Red army
There are many especially young Red
officers, to whom the Red army offers
an easy field for career. There are
also many who do not care either way.
neither for the Communists nor for
the Whites. | am talking of more or
less thinking people, but people with
no will of their own-with no color to
their character, if l may put it that
way.
Radishes' are found everywhere, in
the army, fleet. Soviet institutions
- pauper committees and in the Com
munist party. There are fewer among
1ne workmen. There are scarcely any
among the peasantry. Workmen and
peasants, taking refuge in their num-
oers' rarely simulate sympathy with
the Bolshevik regime. At the elections
to the Petrograd Soviet in july the
workmen and women Of the Baltic
Works openly cried: 'We are for Kol-
chak!' So the election was declared
'old' as the workers could not e$per~
suaded to work for Communist.
Afraid to Rebel Openly
"One discovers 'radishes' only after
iong acquaintance and cautious feeling
OF the ground. | was astonished ,vhen
joined the Red army to find how
many "radshes" there were amongst
the soldiers. | am inclined to think
this was feature of the Petroprad
front. will call them by a commoner
serm~-'counter revolutionaries.' In
England, the term counter revolution
ary appears to imply an enemy of the
revolution as whole. That is not
the significance applied to it in Russia.
~ means simply any one who is against
the nresent soviet regime There are
muitltudes Of counter revolutionaries'
VINO Will oppose any tendency towards
reaction; The most violent and un-
aries are the Left Social Revolution
ary. party. They are preaching terror.
against The Bolshevists.
Every regiment has a political or
ganlzation attached to it, It is called
the Communist Grour.' ard is an
pointed by the Communist party The
duties OF the Communist Group are
70 show revolutionary example TO
the non-Communist soldiers, to aid in
sne propaganda of Communist ideas
am mong'the latter, to assist in the main
ttenance of discipline, and generally to
br1ng up the Red soldier in the way
he should 60 '
"In the military unit (numberino
about 200 mem to which I was at
tached the Communist Group consist |
Cd OF six men. This is about the per |
centage IN most regiments. Ore Of the
Six was the commssar. The duty of the ].
commissar is to supervise the politicaj
work of the whote regiment. He is
oroered to keep strict watch over the /
actlons and behavior OF the commander
OF the regiment and over the officer
sIah, who are always under suspicion.
mere are some special regiments con-
slsting q most exclusively of Commun {
lists. These are the backbone of the
Red army. There are others Of for
elen nationality, who are we'll paid and
well kept-the Bashkirs, for instance.
Family as Hostages
There is law in force that no man
may occupy any position of authority
IN the army or navy upless his wife or
near relatives are living in soviet Rus
sla. The reason for this is that there
nave been SO many cases of infidelitv I
among the officer staff, or, to put it
colloquially. 80 many sradishes' have
Deen discovered among them, that il
became necessary to adopt some really
effective method of control. Every Of
ncer is compelled to sign declaration
10 the effect that in case of his inf |
deiity he is aware that his wife and
children, or other near relatives. will
De arrested and deported.
know numbers of men who ara
violently hostile to the soviet regime
nut who will certainly fight for II
IN view of this last regulation II
was the most effective measure introS
duced by the Bolshevists to check tbo
officers desertlng or attempting to
Join the Whites. "
Having proved so successful AGAINST
the officers, the measure was annl;nS
to the common soldiers when desar
raon became epidemic. When / left
rretrograd at the beginning of Septem-
per there was near Luga a new CON
cehtration camp containing from 10. 0OO
70 io'ooo women, the wives, sisters
ana mothers not of officers. but of COM