New Mexico state record. (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1914-19??, 1920-05-28
Shall Chaos or Reconstruction in
Europe Follow the Great
World War;
RUSSIA'S GRAVE MORAL ERROR
Forcible Seizure Of Land Understand
able. but TO Be Regretted as Max
ing a Precedent to Justify
Dishonesty.
Article XIX.
BY RANK oMERFoRD.


and physical examination.
Russia was IS per cent illiterate
This means that nearly fOur-fifths OF
the people In Russia could not read
or write. 1t does o mean that they
could not think. There is as great a
difference between illiteracy and in
telligence as there is between illiteracy
and ignorance. have met many Rus
sian peasants who could not read or
write. who had good native minds,
genuine power Of reasoning-home-
spun thinkers. The head of Russia
had not been trained. but 1t was not
empty.
There are many rea for the IL
%literacy OF the great majority of Rus
sian people. The autocratic state was
the principal conspirator against the
Russian people getting IN education.
The autOcrats knew that ignorance is
the greatest insurance against up
risIngs, the greatest sedative to keep
the slave from complaining. The
Church in Russia, the Orthodox
Church, was used to keep the light
from the people. The ear was the
Little Father" the divine agent Of
God On earth. and the "Unholy Synod"
Of the Russian Church bowed. not be-
fore the Christ. but bent low before
the czar. They betrayed Christ. even
as they betrayed the sons md daugh-
ters Of men, their own blood, the Rus
sian peasants and tOilers.
Religion Their Only soIace.
The people of Russia held firmly
10 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
were 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
moniish ~rascals. with their sacrilegious
icons, silencing the protests OF souls,
tli'ttiiik lnt Wy " lIttfIOlu, ny
quoting In his name that those
who suffered most here would be high
est In heaven. A blasphemy. a cor
ruption Of the Lowry 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.
II was agreed by and between the
Holy Synod and the cars that the
Russian worshipers of God must not
know how to read or write his name.
SO II was that the orthodox church
Of Russia used religion to insult God
and hold his creatures in bondage. II
was the only great church I'm 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
II they read the Christ message on the
Sabbath they might reed other strange
and dangerous books on Monday and
Tuesday and the other days OF the
week. They might misuse their abll-
ity to read. and read things like the
American Declaration Of Independ-
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.
6oIshevism Officially Launched.
The birth certificate Of ~bolshevIsm
was issued on November 10. 1917.
THE All-Russian Congress Of the
Councils Of Workingmcn's, soldiers
and Peasants Deputies DEGREES the
form of the administration of the
country. PENDING THE MEETING
Of TIE CONSTITUENT ASSEM-.
BLY,. The provisional workers and
peasants government is to be called
he Council Of Peoples Commission
,rs. The administration Of the indi.
branches Of state life is to be
'ntrusfed TO boards. the composition |
" which is to secure the carrying out |
u ~ l''eihii li'' idltllfl ny lIf ftl- |
in close contact with the organ
cations Of workers. sailors, soldiers.
Ieasants and employees. The gov
authority belongs to the board
md chairmen of these commissioners.
hat is. TO the peoples commissioners.
md the right Of systematizing them
to the All-I,ussian Congress
II the Councils of Workmen's and
'easants' and Soldiers Delegates aad
Is Central Executive Committee
The government Of the car was au-
ocratic. not because il was a bad gov
and m~isgoverned the people.
{ was autocratic because the people
ID not have a voice in IL. 4 good
'overnment that denied the people a
dice would be equally as autocratic.
the fall of the Kerensky regime
and Trofzky. and their bolshe-
TX followers. did not have time and
was not expedient or possible to