The Meridian times. (Meridian, Idaho) 1909-1938, 1920-05-28

pie at once, so they issued the prom
ise / have quoted above. The words
of promise are printed in capital let
ters.
Il was their moral obligation to
keep this promise made to the people.
1t was necessary to keep it, If there
was to be a genuinely free Russia.
Who could anticipate and who would
dare write out and put into operation
the plan Of government without giving
all of the people of Russia a chance
to pass upon the plan and help formu-
late 1t through their own chosen rep
resentatives?
This was the first promise the boil
shevik leaders made to the Russians.
They broke it. 1t has never been full
filled. In the constitution and DEGREES
of the soviet government they have
tried TO explain, excuse and condone
this breach of promise. Fairly in
terpreted, all they have said in de-
Tense of this abuse of power, this vio-
lation of trust, is in substance: "It
was necessary to dissolve the Consti-
tuent Assembly; it might have inter-
fered with our plans; ii might have
jeopardized soviet government" What
right did they have to think, act, and
decide for the people any more than
the car had?
In speeches and writings Lenfne and
TrOtzky have since in a yelled way
suggested that the peasants elected
members of the middle class to
represent them instead of peas
ants. What of IL? If the peas
ants make mistakes they will learn
and profit by their mistakes. They
cannot become Independent until they
get a chance to exercise independence.
No man can get muscle by letting an
other fellow use the dumbbells. The
Russians-peasants, workers and
bourgeOise-are all human beings, and
| government, to be democratic, must
be, as Lincoln put it, "Of the people,
for the people and by the people," A
government that is afraid of the influ-
ence and power of three or four per
cent of the people isn't able to live,
| and it doesn't deserve to.
Gladly obeyed Lenine.
Lenine issued his famous order
peasants, seize the land" This COM
mand was obeyed with great enthusi.
asm. They forgot all about freedom
and the constitutional convention.
They understood what land meant
they had been taught that by being de-
MED it. They knew little about
| political phrases and framework. The
| order to seize the land tore from the
serfs their heaviest chains. Lenine
became their Iiberator-his was the
voice that said "seize the land"
| Probably the peasants would have
done it anyway. Disorder and unrest
had destroyed all respect for property
rights. Property rights had a differ.
ent meaning in Russia than elsewhere;
property rights meant the right to
! beat human beings, to buy and sell
serfs. Yet the fact that Lenine had
uttered the words made them reverence
and respect him, even as a man will
be thankful to one who has told him
| to be careful of a hole in the side
walk, notwithstanding the fact he has
already seen it. Bolshevism started
with great popularity. This was the
secret of it.
OF course the order to seize the
land, all land, was based on the idea
that the owners of land held title by
and through their own wrongful con-
duct. God had made the ground and
sunshine, and those who had taken IT,
| tie to it had only moved on and forced
others off. This is the way the boil
| sheviks reasoned, and from this point
| of view they were consistent. From
! the worlds point of view it was con-
| fiscation. 1t was dishonest. Many
| people believe that acquiring property
is frequently the result of industry
and thrift; in some cases the title to
property is based upon cunning, schem-
! ing and force. All of us know that
| there are some who are without any
! private property because they pre-
| fer to Squander their time, diSSipate
| their energy and live ShiftleSs lives.
| After all, it is matter of opinion, and
from the point of view of the bolshe-
| viks the order peasants, seize the
land" may have been justified
But when the order was given, the
peasants seized it not for the COM
munity but to own it privately. On
this point there can be no difference
Of opinion among honest, impartial.
fair-minded men, and when the peas
| ants seized the land to hold. use and
own it as their private property they
were guilty of taking title by the very
| means others had taken the land. and
| against whom they had complained
and cried Thief"
The Russian people have the power
to think. They realize that they have
acquired property by the very methods
they have always condemned in 9TH
ers. Their natural selfishness may
cOnstratn them to keep this property.
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