The Hope pioneer. [volume] (Hope, N.D.) 1882-1964, 1920-07-29
Shall Chaos or Reconstruction in
Europe Follow the Great
World War?
sovIETs' MISUSE OF POWER
Conditions In Russia Under That Form
Of Government Not Of a Sort to
Commend Themselves to
Thinking Men.
Article XVII.
BY A

standing the RED" army is meeting
with success on the field, back of the
army conditions In Russia are grow
ing from bad to worse. The soviet
leaders are drunk with power and they
have conducted themselves as drunken
men generally do. Reckless waste, in
tolerant o%fticiousness, greed for spoils,
are the record they have made. The
political machine is the same plumber
ing graft organization under COM
munism in Russia that it Is under
democracy in other countries. The
soviet government is a political ma
chine, and communism has not
changed Its character or its methods.
1t has simply given it larger oppor-
tunities for spoils. Greater security
In its corruption.
The "Socialdemocratin" prints some
interesting extracts from the bolshevik
budget for 1919.
revenue for the first half of 1919
amounted to 2O,35O, 900. 1000 rubles. and
the expenditures to so. 100000 ru-
bles, so that the deficit for the first six
months of 1919 Of soviet Russia
amounted to the enormous sum Of ever
3 10000, 1000 900 rubles. The acquisition
Of foodstuffs and ~necessaries Of life
has cost a deficit of five billion rubles.
and the railways four and a half bill
lion rubles; thus a half year of boil
shevik rule cost more than the total
outlay on the whole a
Money Expended ReckIessIy.
The report of the b%olshevik, Nemen-
sky, on the audit Of the central soviet
commission in charge Of all textile fac
tories. appeared in the "Sovietskaya
Ekonomicheskaya Zhizn" Of February
%, 1919: 1.-THE finance credit division
OF the central soviet commission re-
ceived up to February 1, 1919, 3,400,-
100000 rubles. There was no control
Of the expenditure of moneys. Money
was advanced to factories Immediately
upon demand and there were cases
when money was forwarded to fac
tories which did not exist. From July
I to December 81, 1913, the central
soviet commission advanced on ac-
count Of products, to be received,
1,34s,619,00 rubles. The value Of the
goods securing these advances re-
ceived up to January l, 1919. was only
143.716,O0O rubles. The negligent way
of doing business may be particularly
observed from the way the central So
Wet commission purchased supplies Of
ray wool. Up to January l, 1919, only
129.SO3 pools of wool was acquired,
whereas the annual requirement is fig
ured at 100000 pools.
1.-The tremendous staff of officials
(about G.0OO persons) employed by the
commission are in the majority of
cases doing nothing useful. 1t appears
that there were on the payroll Of this
institution 125 persons who actually
were not in the service at all, but who
were receiving salaries. There were
cases where the same persons received
salaries twice for the same period.
The efficiency Of the officials is negligi-
Die to a striking degree"
Such soviet institutions. Nemensky
says at the end Of his report. are a
beautiful example of deadening bu-
reaucracy and must be liquidated.
1t would seem that the idealists in
charge Of the communist program in
Russia are experts in 'graft-ring"
methods. Payroll padding is among
their accomplishments. An innocent
hystander might suspect some of these
soviet officials of having a leaning
toward private property, particularly
when it is in easy reach.
Their Own Condemnation.
Probably it is fair to the bolsheviks
10 state their case in their WI words.
The bulletin of the central executive
committee of the soviets, No. Is. 1910,
Announces: 1--WE have created ex-
t%raordinary commissaries and extraor-
binary commissions without number.
All Of these are, to a lesser or greater
degree, only mischief-makers.
1.-THE toiling population see in the
squandering of money right and left
by the commissaries and in their in.
decent loudness and profanity during
their trips through the district, the
complete absence Of party discipline.'
Peoples Commissar L~unacharsky
according to the "severnayna Com
muna" of March %, 1910, declared
1.-THE upper stratum Of the soviet rule
is becoming detached from the masses
and the blunders Of the communis'
workers are becoming more and more
frequent. These latter, according tt
statements by workmen, treat thu
masses in a high-handed manner ant
are very generous with threats ant
rep:essions."
The soviet machine has had its "rul
in" with the workers. The factor.
committees have been bulldozed. TIL
soviets have been brutal in their treat
ment of the proletariat.
1.-THE struggle between the soviet