The Clio messenger. (Clio, Mich.) 1907-current, 1920-07-01
RUSSIA'S GRAVE MO1aL ERROR
Forclble Seizure Of Land Understand
able, but to Be Regretted as Max
ing a Precedent to Justify
Dishonesty.
Article XIX.
BY FRANK coMERFoRD.

are necessary 10 complete the history
and physical examination.
Russia was rs per cent illterate.
This means that nearly four-hfths OF
the people In Russia could not read
or write. II does not mean that they
could not think. There is as great
difference between illiteracy and in
telllgence 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 reasons for the IL
literacy of the great majority OF Rus.
sian people. The autocratic state was
the principal conspirator against the
Russian people getting an education.
The autocrats knew that ignorance Is
the greatest insurance against up
rlsings, the greatest sedatve to keep
the slave from complaining. The
Church in Russia. the Orthodox
Church, was used 10 keep the light
from the people. The car 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, hut bent low before
the car. They betrayed Christ, even
as they betrayed the sons and dargh-
ters Of men. their own blood. the Rus
sian peasants and toilers.
Religion Their Only SoIace.
The people of Russia held firmly
to their faith In God. The rest ard
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
monkish rascaIs, with their sacrilegious
icons, sllencing the protests Of souls,
throttlng the cry for freedom. by
quoting in his name that those
who suffered most here would be high
est In heaven. A basphemy, a cor
ruption of the Lowly 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 name.
So IL 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 It's members. II was ar.
gued that IL the people had prayer
books they would learn TO read. and
II 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 abll-
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.
BoIshewsm Officially Launched.
The birth certificate OF bolshevism
was issued on November 10. 1917.
"The All-Russian Congress of the
Councils of Worklngmen's, Soldiers
and Peasants Deputies DEGREES the
form Of the administration e 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 he
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. TIE 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-Russlan Congress
OF the Councils Of Workmen's and
Peasants and Soldiers Delegates and
its Central Executive Committee"
The government of the car was an.
tocratic, not because II was bad gov
eminent and mlsgoverned the people
II was autocratic because the people
did not have a voice I'm II. 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