Evening star., 1924-10-13
j. s. WATCHES RED
ISSUE IN BRITAIN
Defeat of Macdonald Would
Vindicate Hughes Nom
Recognition Policy.
ny FREDERIC WILLIAM VILE.

by FREDERIC WILLIAM VILE.
Such attention as it can spare from
its own political fate is being devoted
by the Coolidge administration to the
| outcome of the British elections on
October %. One of the major Cool
| idge-Hughes foreign policies-non-
recognition gof Soviet RusSia-is d.
rectly involved in Ramsay MacDon-
aids campaign for self-pr eservation.
If the Liberal coalition
smashes the Laborites on the para
mount issue of ratification of the
Russian treaty, 1t will amount to
British vindication of the American
attitude toward Moscow.
Though he was technically deposed
on another question, Premier Mac
Donald's opponents are fighting him
mainly over the treaty he negotiated
with the Soviet last Summer. Their
antaEonism Is aimed principally at
the proposal to extend the Russian
government the freedom of the British
money market under guarantee OF the
British treasury. The reason the
British commercial and financial world
opposes that project Is the precise
reason why the United States declines
to recognize the Soviet. British mer-
are outraged by the thought of pledg-
ing British national credit to a regime
which openly and defiantly scoffs at
the validity of private contracts and
public obligations.
If the British electorate goes on
record against non-ratification of the
Mac treaty it will do
more than sustain the position the
United States has consistently main
tanned for the past four years. 1t
is likely to hold up general European
treaties with the Soviet. Premier
Herriot announced. Immediately after
the British Russian pact was ne
gotiated, that France would now
scrutinize the conditions which per-
suaded the Macdonald government
to come to terms with the Soviet,
with a view to following suit. II
is hardly proba that IL the British
people reject the treaty France would
continue to move toward an ar
ranSement with Moscow. The Mac
Donald treaty was hailed in Russia as
the finest advertise the boil
shevist cause ever received. The
Red autocrats at the kremlin pub
licly sloated over it as their su-
preme diplomatic achievement and
limited that they had pulled the wool
over the eyes of "capitalistic'' Brit
ain. They particularly expe tied their
deal with Macdonald to pave the
way to breakdown cf Americas non
recognition policy. All doors. Mos
COW predicted. would eventually be
flung open. now that the Reds had
official entree to John Bulls house
and especially to his counting house
with the wrecking of the treaty in
a british general election Soviet
hopes will correspondingIy flag.
Mr.. Hughes had many conferences
with Premier Macdonald at London
in July. The Russian treaty was
perfected about the time the Secre-
tary of State was in England. What
was being said in London at that
time was that the deal" with Rus
sia had virtually been extorted from
Macdonald as blackmail b. the Com
munist wing of the British Labor
party. During the first seven or
eight months of his premiership Mac
Donald was under constant IRE from
extreme Labor quarters because OF his
refusal to promote ultra-radicaI pol
icies. He resisted such pressure for
two reasons. In the first place. he is
not Communist. In the second
place. he knew that the Conserva-
tive-Liberal coalition cou4d, and
would, throw him out of office the
moment he resorted to palpabiy So
cialfstic measures. The withdrawal
of the sedition charges against an
indicted Communist editor was speed
lily followed by the Soviet treaty. 1t
became evident that Macdonald had
been forced to surrender to the ex-
treme left wing of the mutinous
Labor army. The result Is the polit-
ical plight that was generally fore
Seen and now has come to pass.
The United States has still another
interest in the British election. During
the rapid-fire campaign now in progress
the true extent Of Communist propa-
ganda in Great Britain and the British
empire is certain to be brought widely
to public attention. When Secretary
Hughes last Winter produced indisputa-
BILE evidence before the Borah commit
tee that such propaganda is rampant in
America, the State Department was
aware that the Soviet was working"
British territory in the same insidious
and systematic fashion. The similarity
of Red maneuvers in Great Britain,
India and elsewhere with those car
ried on in this country is one Of the
things that convince our Govern
ment that Soviet propaganda is en-
gineered by. paid for and promoted
from central Communist headQuar-
ters in Moscow.
Washington has been carefully
watching Japan's negotiations with
Russia Yusuke Tsurumi. Japanese
publicist, who recently addressed the
Army War College, is telling his
American lecture audiences that Ja-
pans anxiety for a treaty with the
Soviet springs from the necessity to
safeguard herself against another
Russian danger from the north. 1t
was to thwart such a menace that
Japan fought c5arist Russia in 1904
The Japanese now want to secure
themselves against attack by Rcd