The Meridian times. (Meridian, Idaho) 1909-1938, 1920-06-11
Shall Chaos or Reconstruction IN
Europe Follow the Great
World War;
ANALYSIS OF SOVIET RULE.
Cold Reasoning Easily Proves FaiIacy
on Which the Idea 10 Based
Demagogisnn Its Foundation
Stone.
Article XXI.
BY FRANK coMERFoRD.

BY FHANN COmEHFOnDs
Lenine has frequently observed that
representative government is a fall
ure. He has insisted that the demo-
cratic form of government is de-
bauched and destroyed by the political
machine; that political corruption We
toes the will of the people. II Lenine
is right in this conclusion, then the
bolshevik government in Russia offers
just from three to FIVE times as much
chance for political corruption as our
own form Of government. If 1t is dam
gerous for the American people to
entrust their business to an agent
whom they directly elect and who is
directly responsible to them, how
much more dangerous must 1t be to
turn over the public business to II
men appointed by central executive
committee, the members of which
have been appointed by an All-Russian
congress, which, All-Russian congress
is elected by soviets for whom the
people did not voter Applying this
plan to our own government, our con-
gress would be elected by the state
legislatures and the aldermen of the
cities, then this congress so elected
would pick an executive committee of
200, and this committee would elect
IL commissioners to whom would be
given the supreme power of the state,
both legislative and executive power,
the right to make laws, and the au-
thority to enforce the laws.
Democracy or Autocracy7
All down through history two the
cries Of government have been at war.
One is that the majority shall rule
the other, that the minority shall rule.
The people struggling for freedom
have battled for the former; the few
seeking special privileges have fought
for the latter. The first is democrat
ic, the second autocratic. No compro-
mise is possible; there is no middle
ground. These two antagonistic ideas
have nothing in common like parallel
lines, they can never meet, in their
nature they are separate and apart.
The government of the late kaiser of
Germany, the government of Nicholas,
the autocrat of Russia, were founded
on the idea that the minority shall
rule. History shows that minority
rule has always enslaved the major
ity. The rule of a minority over a
majority means slavery for the many.
1t Is human nature. The principle
always works the same result If II
Is political meeting and the minor
lily runs 1t, the result is a machine
and boss. When 1t is a nation, Won
have bureaucracy and dictator de-
irving his power not from the consent
OF the governed, but from the bay
onets OF the army. There may be room
for honest differences of opinion be-
tween honest men on many questions.
but there is not any room for differ
ence Of opinion among honest free
men ON the proposition that minority
rule Is menace.
In Article III of the bolsheyik con-
stitution we find incontrovertible evil
uence that the government of soviet
Russia is built on the tyrant's stone
minority rule. Section 25 reads:
The All-Russian congress ia COM
posed OF representatives of city sow
ets In the ratio of one delegate for
every 25,0O0 voters, and of represents.
atiVes OF the soviets of the provinces m
the ratio of one delegate for every
l25,OO0 inhabitants"
Discrimination Against Peasants.
No explanation is given for basinp
tne representation in congress from
the cities on the number of yotars
while the representation in congress-
IRON the provinces is based on tba
number of Inhabitants. The words orc
not synonyms, voter is an inb.hIt
ant Oh certain age and possessing Ger.
tain qualifications. An inhabitant is
anyone VINO lives In the province ra.
CARELESS OF age or qualifications II
the word inhabitant is given the same
meaning that the word voter ;s .,,,n,,
then 1t is apparent that the const,t,,
I,on un1ustly discriminates against
the poor peasant" As they have bod
no general elections in Russia. n d
Impossible to give the official constrnc,
tion OF these two words. If the word
lnnaoitant means any man, woman ~
enid living in the province, the die
examination against the "poor Mos
ants" is just as obvious, altbopgb :,
does not go to the same length A.
an Illustration, If we read This ~,
portant provision of the constltutiar
giving to the word inhabitant the Same
meaning as we give to the word yotar
then we see that the voters ~ ~
city have one congressman for evars
5000 while the poor naosan..,,
have one congressman for eyerv log
QUO. II we construe the word vota,
to mean the qualified legal voter 80
tbR word inhnhitank ehAAh