New Mexico state record. (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1914-19??, 1920-07-23
PROBLEMS FACING
STRICKEN WORLD
Shall Chaos or Reconstruction in
Europe Follow the Great
World War;
S0vIETS' MISUSE OF W
Conditions In Russia Under That Form
Of Government Not Of q Sort T.
Commend Themselves to
Thinking Men.
Article XVII.
By A

sN'NN
Soviet government has been a costly
experiment. Russia is almost Sue
cumbing to the treatment; notwith-
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 ofliciousDess. 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 1t Is under
democracy in other countries. The
soviet government is a political ma
chine. and communism has not
changed its character or its methods.
Ii has simply given it larger oppor-
tunities for spoils. Greater security
In Its corruption.
The "SOclaldemOcratin" prints some
interesting extracts from the bolshevik
budget for 1919.
According to this newspaper. the
revenue for the first half Of 1919
amounted to 2O.35O.O 900. 900 rubles. and
the expenditures to so. 7O3. 100000 ru-
bles. so that the deficit for the first six
months OF 1919 of soviet Russia
amounted 10 the enormous sum of over
$4,000. 10000 rubles. The acquisition
Of foOdstuffs and necessaries OF life
has cost a deficit of five billion rubles,
and the railways four and half bill
lion rubles; thus a half year Of boil
shcvik rule cost more than the total
outlay on the whole val.
Money Expended R~eckIessIy.
The report Of the bOlshevik. Nemen.
sky. on the audit of the central soviet
commission In charge of all textile fac
tories. appeared in the "SOvietskaya
Observation-Disclosures Zhizn' Of February
-, 1919: "The finance credit division
Of the central soviet commission re-
up to February I. 1919. 3.4O0.-
DOO.OO rubles. There IA no control
Of the expenditure of moneys. Money
was advanced to factories Immediately
upon demand and there were cases
money was forwarded to fac
tories which did not exist. From July
| to December 81, 1918. the central
soviet commission advanced on nc
of products, to be received.
.34S.619.OOO rubles. The value Of the
goods securing these advances re-
,eived up to January I. 1919. was only
AZ. 10000 rubles. The negligent way
doing business may be particularly
observed from the way the central So
'iet commission purchased supplies OF
wool. Up to January l, 1919. only
l29. SO3 pools of wool was acquired.
whereas the annual requirement is fig
lred at 100000 pools.
The tremendous staff Of officials
about 5000 persons) employed by the
commission are in the ma .jOrity OF
doing nothing useful. II appears
nat there were on the payroll Of this
institution l25 persons who actually
not in the service al all. but who
receiving salaries. There were
asses where the same persons received
twice for the same period.
efficiency of the officials Is negligi-
10 to a striking degree"
Such soviet institutions. Nemensky
avs at the end of his report. are n
eautiful example Of d%eadening bu-
eaucrary and must he %liquidated.
II would seem that the idealists in
barge Of the communist program In
ietbods. Payroll padding is among
ieir accomplishments. An innocent
ystander might suspect some Of these
Dviet officials of having a leaning
'ward private property, particularly {
hen II is In easy reach. 8
Their Own Condemnation. {
Probably IL is fair to the b~Olsheviks Z
} state their case In their w words. G
he bulletin Of the central executive O
,mmittee OF the ~soviets, No. Is, 1919. !
"We have created ex- c
n ordinary cOmmissaries and extraor- .
nary commissions without number. a
u OF these are. to a lesser or greater o
agree. only mischief-makers. O
The toillng population see In the U
laundering OF money right and left
+ the commissaries and In their in
loudness and profanity during
'eIr trips through the district. the 7
'mplete absence Of party discipline" u
Peoples Commissar L~unacharsky. c
to the "Severnayna Com &
una" Of March %. 1919. declared: r
rhe upper stratum Of the soviet rule q
becoming detached from the masses.
I'd the plumbers OF the communist v
are becoming more and more x
equent. These latter. according to a
atements by workmen. treat the q
asses In q high-handed manner and
very generous with threats and
pressions."
The soviet machine has had its run 4
" with the workers. The factory n
mmittees have been bulldozed. The r
la We been brutal in their treat q
eni Of the proletariat. {,
THE struggle between the soviets ] o