Evening star., 1921-08-07
THE STORY THE WEEK HAS TOLD

of locusts, converging on Moscow. crying for
food and vengeance
{ Moscow by these accounts, Is feverishly
preparing for defense. and will welcome the
starvlings with machine guns. Chicherin
admits the migrations but says they are be-
ing helped and directed by the soviet au-
thorities. Nowhere are there the excesses
and violences reported by the western Euro
pean and the American press. The migra-
ttons have taken no form menacing soviet
authority or public order" One fancies that
the truth is somewhere between Chicherin
and the Baltic news purveyors; that there
have been terrible excesses and violences;
that there has been and is serious menace to
social security and public order. though not
so terrible nor serious as Riga and Hell,
sngfors would have us believe.
X X X X
Though Chicherin rightly charges exag-
geration as to the number of victims and
the amount of relief required, the situation
is. his own showing. hideous enough; for
the distribution of the limited food supplies
existing in the stricken provinces Is unequal,
and (even were it possible to separate the
fortunate ones from their hoards) thousands.
perhaps hundreds of thousands. must die be-
fore equal distribution could be made, be-
cause Of lack of transportation.
Chicherin is eager to convince that the
soviet authorities doing their best, even
taking heavy chances by admitting the op-
position parties to representation on the re-
lief committees. "a visitation of Cod; boil
shevism is not to blame for that. Naturally,
Chicherin would divert attention from the
fact that the visitation of Cod fell upon
only a relatively small part of Russia; that
but for the bolshevist regime. there would
be plenty of reserve supplies elsewhere in
Russia and sufficient transport for their dis
tribution; that there should be little NOR
tality. The French press, though advocating
haly
that such help from the west may be the
means of saving the soviet regime. else
doomed to fall before the universal wrath
The soviet press is very ungracious and
suspicious. 1t resents the necessity of ac-
cepting bourgeois charity; 1t processes to
fear that under cover of dispensation of such
charity, counter revolution may be TO-
mented.
Mr. Hoover's offer Of help has been ac-
cepted upon the conditions prescribed.
Radek. writing in the official Pravada,
has the following to say concerning the re-
ports of Russian mobilization. which re-
Gently made such a sensation: French di-
plomacy in disseminating and circulating
these rumors is trying to exploit the present
famine situation. BY reports of Russian
mobilization against Poland, France hopes
to stampede Poland into starting a surprise
war againt Russia in self defense France
thinks the right moment has come for over
whelming Russia, and also for breaking up
commerce between Russia and Germany by
Poland. Reaction is lying to the whole
world. Russia is making no war prepara-
tionS."
The accusation against France is, of
course. unwarranted; the rumors came from
those gushing sources of rumor-Riga and
Hesingfors.
X X X
CHINA.-I mentioned last week a report
that several armies OF the Canton republic
were converging upon Hu-Peh province, pro-
posing to wrest it from the control of Pekin
Apparently complete or partial junction of
the Canton forces effected just over the
Hu-Peh border north of Yo-Chau, and
halt was made for reinforcements. But the
Pekin commander discourteously declined to
walt, and attacked. At last report a battle
was raging" ten-mile front If
raging is the word, it will be something