The New York herald., 1920-01-24
RED MENACE LONG
HIDDEN BY CENSOR
May Suck Americans Into Great
World Whirlpool, Says
w. T. Ellis. :
BY WILLIAM r. ELLIS.

ny WILLIAM r. ELLIS.
Suddenly and in panic phrase the rise
OF the red menace in the Near East has
gotten into the newspapers, as If 1t were
the happening Of day. like the loss Of q
battle.
Readers Of this correspondence know
that the condition is not new. Early last
summer wrote about it fully from Egypt
and Turkey; as late as December 10 I
devoted an entire article to the signifi-
cance Of the Bolshevik tragedy in the Near
. East and the Middle East. mention
these facts now merely to reinforce n
Urinary consideration which must be
grusped by America ere she can bear her
part in meeting this world emergency.
That consideration is that the rise of
Bolshevisrl in the East has been under
way for two years past; that it is wide
spread and continuing condition and that
it is of such magnitude that all the facts
concerning 1t need to be known by the
American public before any national action
is taken. We want no more precipitate
Archangel or Siberian fiascoes. This is
no time for the nation to go off half
cooked.
What the News Portends.
All America is asking for fuller, fairer
facts concerning Bolshcvsm in Russia.
The average citizen is between the upper
and neither millstones Of pro- Bolshevik
and anti ti-Bolehevik propaganda. Was there
ever before SO much heat engendered with
so little light accompanying?
Now that the mid-Asian hordes OF
Genghes Khan, Tamerlane and the Turks
are to be succeeded. apparently, by far
graver threat to wider civilization, the
public Is warranted in demanding that
the full, uncolored facts be given to it.
This Is no diplomatic incident, to be de-
cided by clostered bureaucrats or by a
conference of leading statesmen; 1t is a
vast human movement, which may not
only engulf individual American lives
and institutions but also may require the
enrolment Of American manhood in large
numbers. Already London Is talking ex-
citedly about vast military measures and
calling for participation by the United
States
Before ever Congress will consent to
such action there will have to be supplied
| a large amount Of information which
both Congress and the public lack. At
present the average reader has only the
haziest idea OF where the Near East is,
what sort of people are involved and how
we'll local conditions may be suited or un-
suited to the reception of the Bolshevik
propaganda In this preliminary article
upon the Bolshevik movement in the Near
East I str sss first the need for the pub
lication of all available facts by the gov
ernments concerned. The world is impa-
tient of the practice Of withholding vital
news until it can be given out for strate-
gic or sinister purposes by the manipu-
lations of interested governments. Why
has there been no official announcement
of the Bolshevik menace in the Near
East until now, although it has been fully
known for more than a year past?
Frankly. the abolition Of the censorship
in the Near East is necessary to the cre-
alton of public confidence in reports
from that region. News concerning the
Near East, which, as il has pleased the
European censors TO let the world see by
a momentary lifting Of the curtain. is to-
day universal storm centre. either has
been kept entirely from the world or else
permitted to percolate out in perverted
and misleading form.
II the facts In the case are to be made
a tool of diplomacy, a beckoning angel
one day. bogey-man the next. then
America will doubtless refuse to take any
share in proposed international activity.
No nation has any right to conceal inter-
national intelligence from other nations.
IF the Near East is to be preserved as a
private peep-show, then the power that
runs 1t must stand the gains or the losses.
Only as the world knows the truth may
liz be made free from the fear that It is
being fused" by special interests in deal
ling with organized Bolshcvism, which is
now flushed with victory and arrogance.
The censor must get off his job before
America will ever get on the job.
American Eyes on the Scene.
Even as the case stands--as later articles
may show-America is not without ac-
cessible and accurate information upon
the possibilities of Bolshevik victories in
Asiatic lands contiguous to Russia.
There is Russian division Of the State
Department in Washington. which has
been busily filing away reports upon all
phases of the Russian situation ever since
the revolution of 1917 Congress would be
amazed at the extent OF the mass OF re-
liable facts at present in the archives Of
the state Department. Several weeks ago
the Senate called for the report of the
Harbord Commission to the Caucasus.
which touches upon this theme. but it has
not yet been forthcoming.
In Taoriz Gordon Paddock. veteran
and able consul, whose qualities deserve
a bigger post, has shown himself heroic,
patriotic and resourceful during danger
Gus days. He knows all that Is moving in
Western Persia. In Teheran we have
both minister and a consul. The red
peril has been their daily intellectual and
official diet for more than year. They
know.
In all these places and others besides
there are American missionaries men ara
women used to the land and close to the
people. and perhaps best Informed Of all
foreigners concerning movements among
native life. Akin to them are the hun
dreds of American relief workers.
Besides, American army and navy of
ficers have been covering the territory
in question for more than year, as OBJ
servers and investigators. They have a
large body of valuable information that
never becomes public.
rDr. Eilis. next article will deal With the
growth Of ijelshevism In the Near Esst,I