The Caldwell tribune. [volume] (Caldwell, Idaho Territory [Idaho]) 1883-1928, 1920-07-06
Shall Chaos or Reconstruction in
Europe Follow the Great
World War;
MEN TURNING TO B0LSHEvIsM
Something Profoundly DIsquIetlns N
the Constant Repetition Of Word
Which Seems to Convey Such
Sinister MeanIna.
Article XII
BY FRANK cOMERFoRD.

~ SnDs
met a young American major Just
back from the French front. had
known him for many years. Before
the United States entered the war he
was one Of the many impatient at our
delay. He believed that it was our
duty to join the fight when the ruth
less submarine campaign torpedoed
the Lusitania, sending to cold, wet
graves American women and children.
l distinctly remember his face AZ he
read the headlines in the papers tell
ing of the murderous slaughter Of
Americans on the high seas. Now
when he greeted me he startled me
with his first words, ''The war is over.
I'm bolshevik." did not know what
the word meant, yet 1t carried to my
mind IN impression. and while the i'm
preston was hazy. 1t was clear at
least in one particular. It sounded
like the confession of crime.
He had always been Of a quiet, con-
sentative type. Before the war one
would have Judged him to be pacifist;
he was even-tempered, mild Of manner,
and I still think that before August,
1914, he was a pacifist in head and
heart. It was only the call Of q Just
cause, the fight for an ideal In which
he believed, that had made him a SOL
der. In this respect he was typical
Of 80 per cent Of his countrymen.
had spoken to him the day he en-
listed, for he was one Of those who
volunteered. who might have waited
for CONSUMPTION and claimed q just
exemption. He was In the beginning
, of his married life, with two very
young children. By profession he was
an engineer. Going to war meant
leaving a wife and two babies, leaving
Job that promised advancement. I
recall his enthusiasm, the intensity Of
his patriotism, his quiet disregard Of
the danger to himself. I am sure
that there was little h%e in his mo-
rale. He saw danger to the world.
The honor Of his country had been
offended against. he was an Ameri-
can. one Of those upon whom the duty
fell, so he went.
He bolshevikl Why7 l was con-
founded, confused. The only messing
gave to his remark was that he was
an anarchist. The word "bolshevik"
sounded red to me. It fared Of the
torch, photographed disorder, lawless-
ness-it registered blood, violence, as
sassinatiOn, force, hate, insanity.
wondered how this nine-lettered word
had become the vehicle for SO many
sensations that disturbed peace Of
mind and sounded alarm.
Where had the word come from and
what company had it kept that so
fouled it's soul? What did 1t really
mean-had 1t definite meaning?
Was 1t bug like the "flu" germ? Had
1t come among nations to destroy them
and to the hearts Of men to silence the
heavenly message, peace, on earth.
good will to men," Would 1t run
around the world as q scourge7 Was
1t postscript to the bloody war les
son, prophesying more anguish and
tears than four years fighting had
brought Would the world, coming
out of the war bent. now be broken1
Or was 1t meaningless myth Was
the word a boyle. a bad Joke, a night
mare pressing heavily on tired, nerv-
GUS worlds head7
Seeking Words Real Meaning.
Or was the meaning that men had
read into the word a Lief Was boil
shevism the message Of q new Mes
siah being cried down by the money
changers Of our time in the same way
their ancestors had silenced the word
from the Mount and destroyed the
Message Bearer with the lash and the
CROSSE
from every tongue fell the word. Rus
STA had given the world q word. II
had encircled the globe. Everywhere
people were speaking the word-it
found Judgment In every brain, liv
ing place in every language. Its use
had become universal. The old. thu
young, rich and poor. the learned. the
uneducated. the serious, the simple
the toiler, the artist. the poet. and tn,
peddler, the tinker and the thinker
held the thought and spoke the word
Men. women and children spoke thu
word. read the word. and felt tn
thought It carried.
To the nine hundred and ninety-nin,
It was word Of ill-omen, q word o
terror and fear. To the one In a thou
sand 1t was q word of hope. a hgh
for the feet Of a stumbling world. AM
the nine hundred and ninety-nine sal
that some Of these people called Dol
shevikr were dreamers Of q strang
dream. that twisted idealism had mad
them mad. that the majority Of thos
= who profess faith In bolshevism wer
sick with a strange. social fever. tha
they were mischief-makers, ne'er-dt
wells, criminals. that they sought I
burn the world.
made up my mind that I woul
learn the real meaning of the wort