Evening star., 1921-04-24

operation OF the ideal government.
Here at last was his God-given chance
to exercise his will.
Whereas Kerensky had only talked.
Lenin acted. He believed that the key
TO all the worlds trouble was the ex-
istence of the capitalists. Accord
ingly he Immediately proceeded to eX-
terminate all the capitalists in Russia.
He thought he had made a thorough
job of this. but forgot that the peas
ant, fundamentally, is a capitalist also.
l. When some one protested that the
Russian peasant was not ripe for too
rauical a change at once. Lenin re-
piled: We must impose our will by
violence and terrorism. Russia must
be rebuilt fundamentally; before we
rebuild we must destroy. The very
souls of the peasants must be changed
to see our way. The basic principles
of capitalism are SO incorrect as to be
! irremediable. We must destroy cap
ita'ism even il il takes forty years
and ruins the present-days Russia. Our
grandchildren must reap the benefits
of bolsheviSm.
That was almost three and a half
! years ago. and Lenin and his colleagues
/ are still imposing their will by
violence. We are conducting an
illimitable experiment." says he. but
he omits to add that millions of the
Russian people have succumbed to the
fumes of that experiment. which has
also wasted most of Russias re-
sources. This is just the beginning
says Lenin. The present destruction is
opera of endless experiment. Yes. that
is Lenin. the dictator of soviet Russia.
The bolshevists believed that their
chance had come to create heaven upon
, earth; and surely no country could be
better adapted to a trial of any such
sweeping change as bolshevism i'm
led. The population was used to
autocracy and to hardships. There
was unlimited natural wealth and the
revolutionary party was very extern
sive
Briefly speaking. their platform was
that the state should assume the du-
ties of owner and operator of all the
property. institutions and functions
that go to make UP a modern civilized
ration. There should be no such
vidual rights The individual would
only be obliged to supply his labor
and the state should supply the rest.
No man would be able to make
profit from the results of his labor.
There would be no poverty and no
three meals a day and all the luxuries
that the law allows-always except
ing card-playing, of course; that is
illegal because some one might lose
something.
MY own experiences IN my nlght
4'i before and final capture by boil
shevist soldiers are still vivid in my
mind. only death itself can erase
them. and I believe them typical, so
i retell them.
In Omsk. during the latter days of
October. one had the impression of
the calm before the storm. The avail
able news gave hope of favorable
change in the situation. and we
thought that there might still be
chance of returning home by way of
Moscow and Petrograd. The weather
was calm and glorious. but seemed to
share our tense expectancy.
There were insistent rumors that
Deniken was advancing rapidly upon
Moscow and that Yudinitch was about
to capture Petrograd from the north.
We know that Trotsky had Just visit
ed his troops on the Crai front and
we decided that the next act would
stage the grand finale.
On the first of November the cur
tain of winter descended with dra-
matte suddenness. simultaneously
we received the startling news that
the military situation was hopeless
and that the city must be abandoned
within a fortnight.
Day and night the incessant flood
of transport swept through the
/ stroets-horses. oxen. sleighs. wagons,
camels. motor lorries, with their car