Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1920-07-30
A LENINE PARALLEL

A
L pierre, intellectual disciple of the
brilliant theorist Rousseau, fate placed
an instrument Of terrorism--the guillo
tine The French dictator, exemplary
in personal conduct and tyrant only
in so far as facts clashed with his phi :
losophy. beheld Utopia beyond the ex
ccution block. That was the purge
whereby France and civilization were
to be- redeemed.
In external characteristics. other
than the possession of certain per-
sonal charm, convincing analogies can
not BE- drawn between the ''incorrupti-
Bile" Robcsperre and the still unde-
featcd NiColai Leninc. It Is in their
reactions 70 controlling theories that
the resemblance lies. and there the
parallel is striking. Substitute Marx
for Rousseau. tho Red army for the
guillotinr. and the similarity is OBJ
viouS.
4 Norwegian Socialist. Jakob Friis.
anxious naturally tn interpret the
Soviet experiment from the most favor
able angle. has recently recorded in his
newspaper Hu 'uIIEHl'uIuS ll'''N''N
with Icninp. The Dialogue touched
particularly upon tho attitude of the
Russian peasants and the opposition of
this immense class to the principles and
practice of communism.
"Do you intend" was asked. 'to use
the Red army against this internal
enemy"
Yes. OF course" was the reply.
"What the peasants call divine right
(that of property we call high treason.
The peasant has two souls. He has
seen that the revolution has made him
free for the first time he has seen a
government which uses It's power against
the rich. lie understands that the gov
ernment has good intentions, even
though many mistakes he made This is
one Of his two souls. His other soul is
one of property rights. We wish to kill
this one-by agitation. circulars, ex-
plantations, but also by the help Of
weapons. by the use of the power of the
state. What has the dictatorship Of tho
proletariat brought the workmen?
Greater hunger than before. Whereas
the peasants. on the other hand. live
better than they ever did. The problem
now before the world is one Of rev
olution or whether 10000, 900 more
are to be sacrificed in new wars =
It is better that a civil war, for cx-
ample. should cost 200, 900.
In other words. bolshevism has
brought unspenkable misery to its ex-
ponents. and 1t Is to triumph in Russia
in the shambles of interneCinc conflict.
The Robespierre motif. through terror
to perfection. is here unmistakablc. The
dominance Of this ghastly theory in the
mind of the Russian dictator must
naturally have a vital bearing upon the
current rarley plans. both with refer
cncr to Poland and those involving the
recognition dilemma.
Premier Millcrand has clearly indi-
Gated that the chief concerns of France
are Russia's old debt to his nation and
the integrity OF Poland as buffer state.
The British policy is complicated by the
itch for trade.
Reconciliation Of these purposes with
an act Of recognition would seem on the
surface impossible. Inconsistency,
however. will probably play in the com
ing negotiations the significant role ex-
hibited at Versailles. In that case
something like a Bolshevist victory is
forcshadowpd.
But the supcrficiality of such an
achievement is not to be discounted.
The isolation Of Russia, though it has
wrought hardship, has undoubtedly
favored certain phases of the commu
mist policy. BY contact with the out
side world another drama will be staged.
Lenino, by his own admission. intends
to meet the domestic crisis with more
bloodshcd This was RObespierre' s
method and his tragic and conclusive
undOing