The toiler. [volume] (Cleveland, Ohio) 1919-1922, 1921-08-06
By WILLIAM L. FOSTER Federated Press Staff Writer.
Copyright, 1921, by The Federated Press)

MOSCOW.-Another grave problem /
which the Red Army had to face was
the system of army control and COM
mand. In the Cars army extreme Bit
terness existed between the officers
and the rank and file. The former,
who were exclusively aristocrats and
bourgeois, lost no occasion to tyranize
over the common soldier. Hence, when
the revolution came, natural demand
of the soldiers was for the right to
elect their own officers. This was
granted, and the system introduced
into the old army, and later on into
the Red Guard after the former had
disintegrated.
The effect was chaos and general
decentralization. Discipline vanished
and the military units degenerated
into debating societies. Elections OF
officers and commanding committees
followed each other in swift success
sion. There was, no head or tail to
anything. Orders would be given to a
regiment, and then maybe a week
later word would be sent to head
quarters that after long consideration
the regiment had decided that the
orders were impractical and should
not be obeyed. The efficiency of the
armed forces as fighting organiza-
ton was reduced almost to zero.
The officers of the Red Army met
this issue. They pointed out the
weaknesses of the system of electing
the officers by popular vote, and de-
clared that although his measure was
a perfectly natural demand in an i'm
perialistic army where the ruling
powers were against the soldiers it
was altogether out of place in a
democratic army where the govern
ment was composed of workers and
bound to give the rank and file a
square deal. Surely such government
could be entrusted to select the Of
ficers of the army. This view pre-
vailed and the system Of electing Of
ficers by the common soldiers was
left out of the Red Army.
But where could the government
secure the necessary officers? The
workers themselves knew little OF
nothing of the complicated business
of modern war. Large numebrs OF ex
Czarist officers were at hand, ant
many of them wanted to join the new
army. But they could not be trusted
and violent prejudice existed agains
them. Finally, however, many of then
were accepted and put at the heads o
the troops. But their authority wa
limited to purely military matters
Side by side with them were place
Soviet Commissioners, who locke
after the political work of the arm!
They attended to the education Of tn
soldiers and made them understan
what the revolution meant. They ais
saw to it that the DEGREES of the go'
ernment were carried out and that tf
army was not used against the inte
ests of the revolution. III Jared Il
officers, indeed, who ventured to eI
gage in reasonable activities.
The general plan was to exploit Il
knowledge of the old-time officer
but not to let them secure any re
power. And so well was this done tn
the government has been able
educate large numbers of worker {
ficers and to build up reliable arr
comand. The ruling class monopoly
military knowledge has been fina
broken. Military experts declare tn
if this had not been done the worke
could not have constructed an up
date army and carried on modern W,
fare.
And so it was with a whole ma
of problems, many Of them unique
military experience. The Red Arr
triumphed over all of them and W
able to crushingly defeat Russi