The news scimitar. (Memphis, Tenn.) 1907-1926, 1920-01-29
Peace With the Bolsheviki?

THE lifting Of the Russian blockade. "
prophesies the Boston Transcript lind
Rep can only be interpreted as the
prelude TO the early recognition by the
allies of the soviet government" "A
forecast of eventual recognition of So
Wet Russia" agrees the Omaha Daily
News Ond.), and these opinions are
strengthened by later news from Rus
STA that the Lenine government will re-
fuse to trade with the allies unless a
military armistice is declared.
If. as the New York Mail (Ind) says,
the lifting of the blockade constitutes
complete reversal of allied policy to-
, ward the soviet republic" what are
the reasons for this change Of heart?
The declared purpose, as announced by
the supreme council in Paris, is ito
remedy the unhappy situation of the
population of the interior of Russia,
but the Mail calls this IAN obvious at
tempt to place upon high moral plane
| an innovation Enthusiastically undertaken
| because Europe needs Russia's grains,
her flax and her other raw products,
| and the New York Journal of Com
merce Qnd.) takes somewhat similar
view:
Russia offers an enormous market
| for machinery tools, locomotives, rails
automobiles, agricultural implements
| textiles, clothing, rubber goods, chem
icals and great variety of other prod
| ucts produced here. In exchange Rus
| sia has to offer a certain amount OF
gold, besides raw materials like hemp
hides, flax and other products which
this country is prepared to buy
The Journal of Commerce points out
that while trading with a country you
refuse to recognize is a new thing in
International diplomacy" still lin the
history of the world there has never
been anything quite like the situation
existing in Russia"
The Boston Post CInd DEM offers
yet another reason for trading with Rus
sia--it may tend toward making the
Russian government more conservative.
To quote the Post:
1.-THE sufferings and privations of the
Russian people through inability TO
trade with the rest of the world are
just the factors that sovietism thrives
best on. Furthermore, it is believed
that the red leaders have been able to
weld the Russian people together by
pointing out that the entente nations,
as shown by the blockade, were banded
against them"
This reasoning does not satisfy the
Tacoma Ledger Qnd.), which thinks
Bolshevism has triumphed," and that
trading with the Russians will give
aid and comfort to the men who are the
enemies of democratic society and who
are avowedly building and planning for
the future overthrow Of democracy
throughout the world" The Toronto
World likewise warns us that sit Is not
that trading with the Russians that is
so important as the implications of the
proposal, and no one outside of Russia
can set limits to the possibilities So
too, the Detroit Free Press Und) has
doubts of the wisdom of the new pol
icy-which clocks little like a policy
L lt S,n nf INN ant
sordidness and weakness, rather than a
policy born Of broad visioned considera-
ton of the best permanent interests OF
the world Further, the Free Press
says:
when the utterly perfidious nature
! of the soviet regime Is taken into con
sideraton, when the avowed aim OF
cost is before the mind; when the Bolsh
evist reputation OF all moral law and
of all the code of honor is recalled, II
Is not very difficult to be impressed by
the argument that supplies sent to Rus
STA from the outside world will never
reach the mass of the people but viii
be grabbed and controlled by the soviet
landlords"
The supreme council hopes to avoid
this by dealing, not with the Bolshevist
authorities direct, but with the Rus
sian cooperative societies. These SO
cietieS, the Providence journal una.
tells us, have always been force in
Russia's economic life They are non
partisan, and at the present time their
representatives in the United States
insist that they have nothing in com.
mon with any Russian government, ano
they would repudiate any commercial
agents sent here by the soviets. Witt
| a membership of some 20000,000, theil
| transactions affect the lives of more
| 000 mn They hpU(
| their agents in all parts of the world
and seem to be the one od-tme Rus
sian institution that has survived the
general chaos"
To the Pittsburgh Leader prog
! Rep.) it seems that the new policy Il
practical testimony that a ray of san
| ity has penetrated the supreme cOun
Gil. and the Seattle Times, QndJ wei
comes "a Russian policy-at LAST
though it doubts the permanence OF thu
new arrangement and predicts tina
"Bolshevism will continue at war unit