Abbeville progress. (Abbeville, Vermilion Parish, La.) 1913-1944, 1920-06-19
PROBLEMS FACING
STRICKEN WORLD
Shall Chaos or Reconstruction in
Europe Follow the Great
World War;
RUSSIA'S GRAVE MORAL ERROR
Forcihie Seizure of Land Understand
able, but to Be Regretted as Max
ing a Precedent TO Justify
Dishonesty.
Article XIX.
BY FRANK COMERFORD.

Article XIX.
BY FRANK CoMERFoRD.
An examination of Russia. the pa-
tIcnt, just before the treatment was
started. reveals several findings which
are necessary to complete the history
and physical examination.
Russia was Is per cent illltcrate.
This means that nearly four-fifthS Of
the people In Russia could not read
or write. 1t does not mean hat they
could not think. There is as great
difference between iIlitcracy and in
tclligenCe as there Is between iIlitcracy
and ignorance. have met many Rus
sian peasants who could not read or
write, who had good native minds,
genuine power of reasoning
spun thinkers. The head of Russia
had not been trained. but II was not
empty.
There are many reasons for the H.
litcracy of the great ma iority Of Rus
sian people. The autocratic state was
the principal Conspirator against the
Russian people getting an education.
The autOcratS knew that ignorance Is
IN" greatest insurance against up
riSingS, the greatest Scdative To keep
the slave from complaining. The
Church In Russia, the Orthodox
Church. was used To keep the light
hA Il
Little Father" the divine agent Of
God on earth and the "t'nho1y Synod"
of the Russian Church bowed not be
fore the Christ. but bent low before
the car. They betrayed Christ even
as they betrayed the sons and daugh-
ters Of men, their own blood, the Rus
sian peasants and toilers.
Religion Their Only solace.
The people of Russia held firmly
TO their faith in God. The rest and
ease their faith gave them was the
only comfort they had. In moments
of intense religious communion they
We're lifted out of themselves and for
seconds forgot their burdens. These
seconds were long spaces Of relief.
green spots in the endless desert waste
of life.
How Christ must have wept when he
witnessed the "Holy Synod" the
monkish rascals, with their sacrilegious
icons, silencing the protests Of souls,
throttling the cry for freedom, by
quoting In his name that those
who suffered most here would be high
est in heaven. a blasphemy. a cor
ruption Of the LowIy One, who used
the word brotherhood to define equal
ity, and the fatherhood Of God to ex-
press the justice that man owed to
man.
1t was agreed by and between the
Holy Synod and the czars that the
Russian worshipers of God must not
know how to read or write his pane.
So II was that the orthodox church
Of Russia used religion to Insult God
and hold his creatures In bondage. 1t
was the only great church In the
world that did not provide prayer
books for its members. 1t was ar
gued that II the people had prayer
books they would learn TO read, and
If they read the Christ message on the
Sabbath they might read other strange
and dangerous books on Monday and
Tuesday and the other days of the
week. They might misuse their abil-
ity to read, and read things like the
American Declaration Of Independ-
ence. The churches Of the Byzantine
painted the story of religion on the
side Of its walls. They gave the peo-
pie an education by the picture book
method we use for children before
they have reached the kindergarten
age.
BoIshevism Officially Launched.
The birth certificate of boishevism
was issued on November 10, 1917.
"The All-Russian Congress of the
Councils of Workingmen's, Soldiers
and Peasants Deputies DEGREES the
form Of the administration Of the
country, PENDING THE MEETING
OF THE CONSTITUENT ASSEM-
BLY,. The provisional workers and
peasants government is to be called
the Council Of Peoples Commission
ers. The administration Of the indi-
vidual branches of state life Is to be
entrusted to boards, the composition
Of which IS to secure the carrying out
OF the program proclaimed by the con-
gress in close contact with the organ
izations of workers, sailors, soldiers,
peasants and employees. The gov
eminent authority belongs to the board
and chairmen Of these commissioners,
that is. to the peoples commissioners,
and the right of systematiZing them
belongs TO the All-Russian Congress
Of the Councils Of Workmen's and
Peasants and Soldiers Delegates and
its Central Executive Committee"
The government of the car was au-
eminent and misgoverned the people.
II was autocratic because the people
did not have a voice in II. A good
government that denied the people a
voice would be equally as autocratic.
With the fall of the Kerensky regime
Lenine and Trotzky, and their bOlshe-
vik followers, did not have time and
1t was not expedient or possible TO
Birds and Shellhsh