Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1921-08-18
THE RUSSIAN
EXPERIMENT
From the New York Evening Post

In decree signed by Nikolai Lenin
on August and embodying a radi-
cal reorganization OF the Soviet sys-
TEN OF economic control. these are the
compelling reasons cited for the
abandonment OF the pure Communist
principle:
prises which the State attempted to
direct without having adequate SUP
/ plies Of food and material.
Second, the confusion of powers and
handling Of supplies, which resulted
In too much red tape. cross instruc-
tions, and irresponsibiIity."
/ Third. the fact that with such
methods of supply and with The
methods of remuneration OF labor,
those engaged in production were not
and could. not be interested in the
work or in the Improvement Of the
methods of production
Fourth, the war and the extreme ex-
haustion of Russia.
In this summary from Moscow We
have a fairly sufficient reply TO the
/ regrets one stilI hears from we'll
meaning people in this country that
/ Russia has not been permitted" TO
work out the great experiment" upon
which she entered under Lenin's
/ guidance in October, 1911. Lenin
himself has now told US just what are
the forces that have hampered the
great experiment. The war, which is
usually cited as the great reason for
/ Rolshevist collapse. lis only fourth and
/ last in Lenin's diagnosis. All the
other evils that have beset the Rus
sian experiment were born out Of
that experiment.
/ An unhappy looseness OF language
has made il possible for a great many
people who ought 10 know better 10
speak with wistful sympathy OF the
i Communist experiment. They have
confused the laboratory with life. In
science the investigator is permitted
/ to create his own conditions and en-
I vironment II he needs a vacuum he
/ is given a vacuum. If he wishes to
neutralize the factor of gravitation
he is permitted TO do so. IL he needs
soundless room he gets his sound
I less chamber. If he needs dark, light
/ Is eliminated If he needs intense
light the sun is magnified for him
The scientist is permitted 10 create
the isolated state of nature necessary
for his experiment.
Social and political experiments
cannot be conducted in a vacuum.
but in life. The statesman would
write himself down a fool who should
expressly demand. for the success Of
his experiment. the elimination OF
human motives. passions. interests.
customs beliefs. habits. traditions, and
even prejudices Least OF all carY he
demand exemption from the couse-
quences of his own acts. That is
what happened in Russia. If YOU use
guns TO establish dictatorship OF
the proietariat you must expect those.
who are against a dictatorship of
/ the proletariat 10 use guns against
YOU; and you get civil war If YOU
abandon ycur allies at the climax OF a
life-and-death war you must not ex-
/ pect your former allies to love YOU
| IL YOU set out TO eradicate the "bour-
geoisie. then your industries will COLI
lapse for want of technical leadership.
In the midst of the tragedy of Russia
there is comedy, too, in the puzzle
ment of the Communist leaders. They
merely set out 10 destroy capital
istics world and they wonder why the
scapitalistIc" world does not regard
their experiment with sympathy
Neither the war, nor the civil war
nor the much -belabcred ~blockade"
viii account for Lenin's confession of
the failure of his experiment The
experiment has failed because Lenin
could not secure the political and So
cial and historic world vacuum which
his fantasies called FOR.