The Washington herald., 1922-03-24
Opening War With Two Letters.

III
| i which has put the proetariat in the saddle
not only has succeeded in totally submergng an
aristocracy perhaps shot through with decadency
but, as might have been foreseen inevitable the oil
garchy of real intellect Untutored peasants and
townsmen sit ludicrously in the erstwhic seats
of the pundts while professors and scientists find
themselves bound to the most menial tasks.
Naturally, there has been decline in thinking,
creative thinking and careful thinking. The Soviet
government in its own realm perfectly capable
of sinking the nobility of intellect And seemingly
converts to Boshevism in some other lands would
do the same thing. Fortunately, there is strength
to resist this sinister invasion of undeveloped men
tality upon the places of thought.
An index of this struggle, a trivial but signif-
cant symptom, is deserted by the Christian Science
Monitor in the recent strike at the University OF
Sofia, where faculty members walked OUT because
of ukase from the government eliminating certain
photographed features from the Bulgarian tongue.
The situation" says the Monitor, "is not with
out its specifically humorous aspect. The chan
cellor and professors have suspended educational
activities and closed the doors of the university be-
the pcasant-controed government has
dered the two mute vowcls designating the soft or
hard termination OF words ending in a consonant
eliminated from the written language
But, behind this attempt at smplihed spelling,
innocuous it may seem to the surface observer,
goes the Monitor, "a vital moral issue has taken
insistent form in Bulgaria. That issue is local
manifestation of the problem that confronts every
European country and has loomed up ominously
in America. The issue involves the sanity Of
the world in every phase of its activities whether
economic, scientific or spiritual
BE it noted that simplihed spelling govern
mentally decreed in Bulgaria came from Russia.
Having eXpunged all the recognized economic laws
from the Russian statute book with stroke OF the
pen, the Bolsheviki of Russia have extended their
legislative campaign to every phase of the national
life, including grammar and dictionary.
"The Bulgarian peasants have patterned their
modified Boshevist regime, hard-headedly salvag-
ing only the right of private property after that of
Russia. Some of the innovations introduced by the
peasant majority through the government now in
power deserve commendation. None can cavil, for
instance, at the legislation that imposes equal
share OF the public burden upon every back,
whether rich or poor, male female.
an period of distress, when the Bulgarian
people can pull themselves out of the slough of
despond only by intensive and universal labor the
Peasant party has not exceeded the bounds of COM
mon by exacting equal contribution OF
labor on public works from every adult citizen of
either
Education, however, is, like economics, mat
ter on which legislation the basis of majorities
offers endless vista of disaster. 1t is this mob
tendency to legslate questions comprehensive
only to expert minds that has finally goaded the
Bulgarian intelligentsia' to open revolt
"1f the peasants arbitrarily decree the
spelling of our language argue the professors Of
the University of Sofia, what is to prevent their
legislating on economics astronomy, medicine, art
and every other intellectual and moral question in
the same arbitrary wayF
Doubtless, the peasant-controlled government
can rctort to the protesting of learning by a
blanket dismissal from office. The university is
state institution under the complete control of the
ministry of education. And the ministry of educa-
tion, constituted, is faithful reflection of
the peasant mind
But if they fall victims to official displeasure,
the revolving professors will not have protested in
vain. They have already put in motion a move
ment toward sane thinking which is significant
revelation of the force and depth of the reaction
against Bolshevism.
"The academic strike in the Bulgarian capital
is volley fired from the advanced trenches against
the economic and political doctrines that are fast
turning the eastern half of the European continent
into Wilderness