Evening star., 1924-05-07

To the pessimists all things are
pessimistic-and disappointing. The
International League for Peace at its
recent conference in Washington
stirred up so many wars within the
ranks of Americans that its most fit
ting text appeared to be Peace,
peace, where there is no peace" The
good ladies who demanded peace
called upon Senator Borah to give
them a peaceful grafton, whereupon
that disciple OF non-Tesistance an
nounced from the platform: My voice
is for war-when il is war of de-
fense.@ He explained to the daughter
of Gen. John A Logan that the
Borahs had fought for their country,
and that the trouble with the United
States was largely due to its fasnre
to recognize soviet Russia Then he
told the delegates from China and
elsew here that the trouble with the
world was largely due to the failure
of their countries to disarTn. so that
it would be safe for the United states
also to come down to q 5-3-5 ratio
or words to that effect.
Pursuing the policy of Senator
Borah which demands that we recog-
nize soviet Russia it is timely to
note what that involves, Now that
Dictator Lentn is no more, the one
voice entitled to speak Russian in
the family of nations is that of Gen
Trotsiy, head of her military.
TroSky, too, has made a peace talk
within the last few days in which he
told the world what allied it Russia
owes many millions of dollars to the
United States, England and France,
and Mr.. Trotsky said:
'sThe man condemned to be hanged
who slips out of the moose does not
pay for the rope The struggle now
going on is a cautious exercise of
craft-the sword and the gold, in other
words France and America have not
recognized soviet Russia, Both are
arming, and therefore Russia must
siren gthen her army, especially her
air force. 1t is said that Communists
have become haberdashers, but, al
though we have learned to trade at
home, we remain the same as we
were on the night of October 25,
1917"
If Russia had been different on Oc-
tober 25, 1917, there might not have
been the necessity to send 100000
Americans upon Il war crusade, for
up to that time less than 150, 600 had
been sent across the seas
The spirit of soviet Russia, as
voiced by Trotsky-which, to the
mind of the senator aforesaid, calls
for recognition--is further elucidated
by Mr. Trotsky in the same speech.
delivered in Tifiis April II, 1924.
Referring to the financial aid which
England is giving Russia, Tro tsl1y
said:
but while the British proletariat
tolerate the financiers, we shall take
their loans Macdonald should have
crushed Great Britain's most august
idle rich and her lords, and SO have
made the toilers' hearts beat merrily.
But Macdonald failed, and the bour-
geoisie from which he received Office
will deprive him of it. We are still
unable openly to wage armed battle,
because the bourgeoiSie can still in
f1ict very heavy blows But we have
consolidated the revolution, and we
must develop and harden our army.
1--WE solemnly undertook in 1917 not
to pay the tSarist debts, and this
promise we shall honestly fulfill"
The question which will throw light
upon Senator Borah's viewpoint is
whether when Russia "hardens her
army" so that it need no longer fear
the bourge oiSie, he will count resist
ance as u defensive war" Just where
is the dividing line that lies between
defensive" and offensive defense"
The International League for Peace
will keep it's eye on Russia, for Mr..
Trotsky further said:
'"I'he world revolution has miScar-
ried. but we must maintain our hard
won positions and wait until the
Communists have been sufficiently
tempered to strike.
War has not been abolished. Ru-
mania has an army, and so have we.
They will fulfill their destiny. We