The New York herald., 1920-12-05

lack of organizers in the ranks or the Reds
And it is almost unnecessary to add, Gov
ernment work is not well DONE
Despite the electric thrill which the pres
ence of the Red army Commissar -mmuni-
Gates to every Government department which
he enters there is a glut of work which
clogs the whole machinery, and there are
not enough experts to deal with that work.
The offices are in cha otic state, filled with
visitors who cannot be attended to and
with incompetent clerks rushing hither and
thitber Many of the old bureaucrats are. it
Is true, dribbling back from Paris with their
tails between their legs. but as they are dis
trusted and are always placed under incem-
petent Reds really good work can be
expected of them. There is nothing in the
world which ruling class dislikes much
as being placed on an equality with people
whom they had been accustomed to regard
with contempt as inferior beings.
The stories told of Trotzkys revels and
dssipations are obvious nonsense. The only
dissipation the Bolshevik war lord allowed
himself was a short walk every day in a
beautiful pine grove where I used to walk
myself and hours hard physical exer-
else daily .shovelling snow from the railway
track. In this physical exercise he made
every man, woman and child in his train
take part; and the example he thus set was
good, for, as / think l have already re-
marked. the educated Russian has the same
contempt for manual labor as the white
sahib has in India. Even Mrs. Trotzky,
Master Trotzky Ga boy of eleven or twelve)
and Master Trotzky's governess. young
Jewess of twenty twenty five, had to
shovel snow like the rest; and this craze
for manual work remained even when
Trotzky was not looking on.
Trotzky Makes War on the Louise
III
Nc sooner had he arrived in Ekaterinburg
than Trotzky plunged straight into work,
and marvelled at the audacity with which
he tackled matters which ought one woul6
think to have been left entirely to experts.
l shall give one example, the typhus ques-
ton, for 1 know something about it, having
had, a year earlier to visit all the typhus
hospitals in the Urals to interpret for Col.
Clarke the head of the Canadian medical
service, whom Gen. Sir Alfred Knox had
sent to the front with the object of doing
something to stop the terrible wastage Of
men caused by typhus among Kolchak's
troops. Dr. Clarke found most of the trouble
to be due to the apathy of the Russian doc
tors who would do nothing unless they were
given unlimited quantities of unprocurable
insecticides though, as DR.. Clarke told them
until he was hoarse and exhausted and final
ly caught the disease himself heat would
have served their purpose equally well.
On February 10 Trotzky summoned the
d. M. 81 listened in ominous calm to his
statement that there was no chance of
typhus decreasing in any till the month
of April, and then attacked him with a
sudden burst of violence which nearly fright
ened that worthy but inefficient functionary
out Of his wits.
"I am no DOCTOR said the Bolshevik war
lord, "but know that typhus is communi-
Gated by lice. Now it must be possible to
destroy these lice by delousing apparatus and
by certain degree of heat, which could, If
necessary be produced in some of our pub
lie baths. Several of the baths are very
nearly hot enough for the purpose as it is;
and even if the soldiers have not got a
change of clothes they might wash in one
part of the bathhouse while their clothes are
being disinfected in another part. l am not
a believer in this doctrine of fatalism that
you preach l will Immediately appoint a COM
nlittee to investigate this question. and If
find that you do not at once take some steps
in the matter / will hand you over to the
Extraordinary Commission. Good day.
Next day an excellent bathhouse was
opened free at the railway station. and I
my self erjoyed the first bath that had hal
for three months. The committee was never
theless appointed. and it published every
thing, even details of hospital msmanage-
ment that were enough to make ones hair
stand on end, for the Boshevists, when II
suits their purpose, allow the fullest liberty
TO the press.
The great propaganda engine which had
raised the Red Army and smashed Kolchak
and Denil<in was then turned onto the louise.
and all Ekaterinburg was soon placarded
with posters preaching cleanliness and de-
nouncing dirt. Some of them contained rep
reservations of louise magnified to the size
of a small COW, and pointed out In the ac-
companying letterpress as worse enemy
than the Supreme Ruler" XIII it," yelled
the posters, "as you would kill Kolchak 1t
is a far more dangerous enemy. Kolchak
has put to death thousands of Communists.
1t puts to death tens of thousands" The
number and variety of these warnings were
very great; and there was every kind of
striking life size picture in glaring colors to
attract the attention of the illterate. as
we'll as good medical hints to impress those
who could read.
Powerful Engine of Propaganda
Serves More Sinister Purposes
The same al-powerful engine of propa-