The Washington herald., 1921-05-29
HOSTILE MOUJIKS
FORCE SOVIET TO.
CHANGE DEGREES
Communism Gets Death
Blow in Yielding
Grain Rights.
special Cable to The Washington Herald
and Chicago rribuns.)
BY l.. C. WALTER


BY l.. C. WALTER
WARSAW. May 28. - Russian
Communism has begun its harikari.
Two years ago. after watching
communist Russia from the banks
Of the Dniester. i wrote that boil
shevism would have to expand or
burst. 1t burst
That the explosion caused no sud
den upheavaI in Russia Is due TO
the fact that the communist lead
ers have chosen to compromise with
the peasants instead of throwing
upA their hands. AS a consequence,
Niholai Lenin may remain in power
Tor an indefinite period:
-au- VIII Develop Democracy.
feminist communism, however,
reposed upon the hard and fast
o,-ctrlns that compromise spelt
death to the entire system. One
compromise must fatally involve
others. In the end. the soviet
sphinx will have lost most of its
red spots. Throughout the process
mach will probably be heard from
Moscow about revolutionizlng Eu-
rope. But behind the scenes Rus
sia will gradually develop into an
ordinary democracy.
Communism will be dead, and
Nikolai Lenin will know II. Under
pressure of realities, supreme
among which is countrywide fam
inc, the Moscow communists have
reluctantly entered Upon an era Of
recantation. One of the outstand-
ing facts in recent soviet develop
ments is the governments decree
of March 80 granting the peasants
liberty to dispose of their surplus
grain. potatoes, and fodder after
paying a fixed maximum tax in
these commodities
Forced Into Compromise.
This decree, which the soviet gov
ernment has practically withheld
from its foreign publicity came as
result of a decision by the tenth
congress of the Russian communist
party. AS recently as last Decem-
ber when a suggestion to denationa-
lize agricultural production was laid
before the party congress, the re-
suit was Indignant rejection of the
idea Since.the edict of March 80 was
proclaimed forecasts have been
reaching Poland from Russia that
the abandonment of the principle of
naturalization will shortly be ex-
tended to other agricultural prod
ucts.
Moscow was forced into COM
promise by the passive, silent hostil-
ity of the peasants, VINO during four
years have sown only for their owa
needs. What surplus remained they
concealed in forests, in the earth, in
streams and rivers-wherever they
thought the government requisition-
ing parties could not get at il. Un-
der communist law, all this surplus
should have passed automatically to
the state.
Peasants Hate Communists.
Vow this is no longer the case. By
their decree of March 30 the COM
munist rulers proclaimed their sub
mission to the property instincts of
the vast msujik masses, which form
SIS per cent of Russia's population.
When the communist rulers capit-
ulated before the passive resistance
OF the moujiks they received no as
surance that the decree would in
crease the country's grain produc-
tion. There exists a chasm of hatred
and distrust between the COM
paratively Insignificant communist
party and the peasants. Observers
returning to Poland after living in
SOVIET Russia since the Bolshevik
resolution report that over wide
stretches of the country villages are
free from communist officials.
Even before the free trade" de-
cree was issued the practice itself
was no novelty. Despite his dislike
Of paper roubles. the average moujik
frequently falls victim to the
temptation of huge sums offered by
disguised communists from the cities
who are not content to live on the
LrSscribsd food rations.
---- Copyright, l92l.)