New-York tribune., 1921-12-04

making by members Of tho central executive
committee of the All-Russian Soviet had pro-
duced in at least one American present.
A man of medium height, dressed in baggy,
brown Norfolk suit. advanced to the front of
the platform, which had been erected in
large reception room OF one of the Kremlin
palaces and launched Immediately into earnest
discourse.
I could catch frequent references to "Lord
Robert Cecil'' and ''the League Of Nations"
Then there followed thick and fast the words
proletariat' and 'bourgeoisism,' and it was
easy to see that capitalism was coming in for
another arraignment.
But there was no outburst of answering
cheers from the 13o delegates present. They
applauded mildly, and at length began to
wonder whether tho old shibboleths weren't
losing some of their potency. =. The orator
wound up with tribute to the American Re
lief Administration, in which he remarked
that even if the American bourgcoisie hadn't
given Russia diplomatic recognition it had
sent food, and this elected some real en-
thusasm.
1t SO happened that the next afternoon
called at the big red building of the Moscow
the orator Of the previous night.
Went you please sit down." he began in
good, clear French, drawing up leather chair
before blazing log fire. IL am very sorry
to have kept you waiting.
Without preliminaries began the questions
I wished to ask him. They concerned the
changing economic policy of the Soviet govern
fnent; full and frank answers were hardly to
TOD ..>l1& Io.~
changed to Paris or New York, for the per
fervid platform speaker of the previous night
and the calm, intelligent business man who
was giving quick, incisive answers to point
blank questions were as far apart as the poles.
The nietanorphosis was complete
The incident was illustrative OF whole
phase OF the present Russian situation, for the
fact is that whatever may happen in the future
at present communism in Russia is passing as
rapidly as it came. The stage properties and
the catch lines remain but the substance is
dwindiing.
Communism and Bolshevisn it must be re
nlcmbered, are quite different things. Bolshe-
visrn is merely The term for whatever policy the
Soveit government may hold. It is the Boil
sheviks who arc junkng the policy Of COM
manism, and Bolshevism doesn't appear to be
passing or likely to pass in the near future.
Ono does not have to go far back for his
torical basis with regard to Bolsheysm. The
Bolsheviks first showed their hand in 1905
and in the showdown the Car won During
the first phase Of the present revolution-from
March to November, 19l7-the Bolshevik lead
ers were cautiously emerging from their hiding
places When they finally staged their coup
It was not against the Czarist government, but
against the interim one Of Kerensky. 1t is
now exactly four years that the present gov
crnnent has been in power.
Under the leadership Of the Communist
party (an organization which, as regards dis
cipline and construction, instinctively brings
to mind Sim Fein) the process Of nationali-
zation proceeded rapidly. The state was to be
the bc-al and end-aIl the Alpha and Omega.
1t was magnificent fallacy, and Russia
got drunk on it. Following the exhiaration
Gas usually happens) Russia got violently
sick. Whether not the sobering-up process
has really begun hesitates to say fatty,
and yet every criterion points to the belief
that Russia is now suffering national head
ache, and that its tongue is feeling very fuzzy,
and that it is beginning to wonder whether
it was quite wise TO have those last few part
ing drinks So that is why one feels justified
in saying that the second Russian revolution
is at hand.
No government, no dcspct no theorizcr has
ever yet been able to throw a monkey wrench
into the machinery of economics and get away
with it. That is so obvious that quite a lot of
people regard it as an axiom. But the Boz
sheviks had to convince themselves that THEN
monkey wrench would actually wreck the ma
chine And it has almost done so.
The majority Of them do not admit the
failure of communism, Of state control, as q
doctrine, although by their actions they pro
claim it useless as a working hypothesis.
They say:
I'VE never had fair chance We Inherited
tottering empire and great war; and then
tha world blockaded US and set about to stir
up domestic troubles for US. We realize now
that it was impossible to set up communism
on auch foundations. So we shall wait until
we again have highly developed industrial
system, and then we shall gradually--very
gradually--nationalize it,"
szeae are yet other Soviet officials who
state their case thus:
''All of the naturalization and state control
Wac intensified by the war, and by cur own
domestic wars following it. Did not England
& %oln frfJv1 StrSoa xgha