The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1920-01-19
MINUS BLOCKADE
SOVIET Will BE
FAILURE-H00vEn
(By Associated Press)

WASHINGTON, Jan. 19.-Removal
of the blockade on soviet Russia has
Knocked one of their greatest props
from under the Bolsheviki, Herbert
Hoover said in a statement here Satue.
day night. Speaking from his knowl-
edge of world conditions. the former
director Of European relief said the
soviet government has laid all it's fail
ures on the blockade and used it as a
stimulus for raising armies, on the
ground that the Russians were fight
ing to save themselves from starvation.
With the blockade removed In large
part. Mr.. Hoover said, the "Bolshevik
tyranny" will face collapse when it
fails to relieve suffering.
II have advocated, ever since last
winter" Mr.. Hoover said, that the
blockade on soviet Russia should be
removed on evrything except arms and
munitions, not because it would do the
Bolshevik tyranny in Russia any good
but because l believe the removal OF
the blockade will take out from under
them one Of their greatest, props.
Blame Blockade.
! For the past year they have laid
| every failure of socialism onto tho
blockade. They daily and hourly
blamed the allied blockade for the
shortage of food and agricultural i'm
Elements and the misery that has
arisen therefrom, and they have sue
ceeded in impressing this upon ar
ignorant people. They have also used
it as stimulus to raise armies under
the contention that they are fighting
to save themselves from starvation.
These shortages and this suffering
are not due to the blockade, but due
to the total industrial decentralization
and bankruptcy in production. which
will continue as long as socialism
and the Bolshevik rule last. II the
blockade is opened, the Bolshevik gov
eminent must secure the import O
food and clothing at once and thereb!
great suffering will be mitigated.
1.-THE acute starvation is in thu
larger cities; these will be the areas
that must receive imported food. Thu
peasants have food enough at home
but few months after. they have ex
hausted the fifty or seventy-five mil
lion dollars in gold and securities
which they have remaining from thu
amounts they have stolen from thu
banks-then they will need to expor
commodities in exchange for inward
goods.
No Credit.
mo one is going to give them cred
it. They have no commodities to ex
port without causing further suffer
ing to their people. They can not ex
port wheat when the population il
hungry, nor cotton or fax when the,
are in rags. Their imports will thel
automatically cease.
> THE greatest blow they can receiv
Is to have such an exposure of tn
, complete foolishness of their indus
trial system to their people. More
over lifting Of the blockade will a
low the real truth Of the horror @
Bolshevik rule to come out Of Russia
, Zone thing that needs to be watch
7 ed in the United States is that on
frontier and port officers must RI
| double their vigor against the expor
to us Of Bolshevik agents, propagand
, and money for substituting criminal
to create revolution.
1.-THE Bolsheviki also ought to b
called upon to recognize the frontie
| of Poland and Russia as settled b
the peace conference and to ceas
: fighting on that zone"