The Cordova daily times., 1922-05-10
WEDNESDAY, MAY 10, 1922
OPPORTUNISM AND THE GENOA CON
 FERENCE

The Genoa conference represented an et- fort on the part of certain European powers to bolster up bolshevism in exchange for po- litical and trade advantages Tn Russia NO question of right wrong, of honor or dls- honor, of justice or unJ justice, was permitted to stand in the way of the scheme to strength en the strange hold of the military masters ot Russia on people already ground deep Ill the bloody mire of oppression by thieves and mur- dereds Out of the situation the opportumst statesmen of other European powers sought only to gain some selfish national advantage. The effect on civilization of such condonauoh of the most frightful orgy of crime ever ln- aueuratod in the name of government was glV- in no consideration. It was konWn Ii lett to her self Russia migh soon overthrow her oppressorS and establish government based on pupllc opinion, recognizing the fundamentals ot na- tional morality That there were resources Ill Russia to exploit, wealth to acquire and trade to gain was enough for statesInenshlp which thinks only in terms of today, and lets the morlow take care of itself.
 No good to the world could be expected from a conference so conceived and It IS fOr- tunate indeed that the United States declined to participate. There is no reason why the Onlt- ed States should sacrifice self respect m the hope of gaining economic advantage III Rus- sia or anywhere else in the world. If there are nations so situated, they should be permitted to play the game in their own way and take the consequences without involving thls na- tion in the trouble sure to follow compromise with wrong We did not go into the war to overthrow one autocracy in order to go into conference for the purpose of fastening anoth= or less intelligent and vastly more brutal and undemocratic autocracy upon a hundred mll- lions of helpless people and through that auto cracv to menace all civilized society. ~
 Opportunism is not statesmanship. Europe needs Lincoln or Washington, but has only master politicians who are working to retain power for themselves, rather than to exercise what power they have for the good of the world even if it risks the loss of power States manship would have averted~ the European war; the opportunism of politicians seeking constantly to dodge issues rather than meet them made the World war certainty. Since the war manipulators rather than statesmen have been conspicuous in the handling of peace problems, and the result is chaos. Certain of these master opportunists are politically long lived but the time will come when they will be as thoroughly discredited politically as the American President they caught in their tolls and who later was subjected to the discussion and the verdict of an intelligent, informed public opinion.
 What is going on behind the scenes at Genoa no one can certainly say. The game is played with the curtains pulled down, with marked cards and loaded dice. France is attacked for her reluctance to deal with the bolshevist die tators who have raised the black flag and de- clared war against civilization and all it's standards. Germany is criticized for making a separate treaty with Russia; yet no one knows that this was not coup inspired by still an- other power as part of the program to put France at disadvantage and promote the trading interests of other nations, and every one knows that the course followed by the vic torious powers since the war has been one cal culated to force Germany into the arms of Russia. Communism is by this conference be- ing advertised to the radicals throughout the