Evening star., 1924-08-13
ARTICLE K.

ARTICLE x.
Sheer ignorance of farm life and
peasant psychology, together with
the inapplica bility of MARKHAM and
feminist industrial socialism to agri-
cultural conditions are responsible
for defeating and discreditfng boil
shevism with the Russian peasantry.
The bolshevist chieftains, like the
robber barons of the Middle Ages,
nesting with their Communist retain
ers in their city strongholds, still are
able to dominate the country and
levy tribute upon peasants and pri-
vate traders, but their influence with
the peasantry is broken.
No violent uprising to overthrow
them is in sight at present. In
stead. they probably will be steadily
crowded back out of the country
districts by the awakening political
activity of the peasants and isolated
in their industrial strongholds until
their reign perishes of economic star
walton or they fall easy victims to
some short, sharp movement of re-
volt.
The bolshevists themselves admit
rural Russia menaces the security of
their regime "Poohr they boast;
I'VE can smash the new bourgeoisie
hand as easily as we did before.
What If private initiative is besting
socialism everywhere in business?
Surely a government controlling the
key Observation-Disclosures banks
and credit, foreign trade and taxa
tion-can keep private capital in
check, even though it has regained
such a foothold that we don't quite
know what to do about it. But what
can we do against this peasant men
ace, particularly when we don't know
the A B C's of the peasant problem"
The bourgeois capitalist forces
which chiefly threaten the existence
of the bolshevist state, 1t was assert
ed at the recent Communist Congress,
are growing up, not so much in the
cities as in the country. The Stains,
Kamenevs and Vinovievs admitted
the impotence of the party and gov
ernment to subdue the new peasant
bourgeoisie, whose political con-
sciousness now is awakening in ques-
tions Of owning their own individual
farms and possessions. running their
own affairs without interference from
bolshevist carpetbaggers from town
and saving enough from the grasp of
the tax collector for a comfortable
prosperity.
Only Hope Is CLASS war;
Unless, as Zinoviev hopefully sug-
gested, we could stir up the poorer
peasants against their prosperous
neighbors and start a new class war
in the country. But bolshevists, he
added in summing up the debates at
the end of the congress, know little
or nothing about the peasants: the
congress had only touched the fringes
80 a 4 hahnnVnd
party to study the rudiments of rural
life before adopting any half-baked
policy He was right for once.
The satraps of bolshevism, almost
without exception, are city theoreti-
clans, with only q book knowledge
of rural life and problems. Lenin's
only contact with the farm during his
twenty years leadership Of the party
was when he lay out under a hay
stack to avoid arrest by the Keren-
sky government in 1917. There is
not a single peasant among the big
Seven" of the political bureau who
run bolshevism and the Soviet gov
ernment.
Kalinin, the Peasant President OF
the Soviet republic and the party 9
star expert on peasant problems, Is a
peasant in the same sense that Presi-
dent Coolidge is a farmer. Both were
born and reared on the farm, but left
1t when they grew up. kalinin be-
came a factory workman, then pro-
l.fessional party leader and bolshevist
officials, and for many years his con-
nection with the land has been an
occasional visit to his birthplace to
see his mother.
The title Government of Workmen
and Peasants" which the boIshevists
claim for the Soviet government and
which TchitohArin er tails to In
kosuaenfn IN -. 80 6inR saiI2omsnk1t