Evening star., 1924-12-02
DY l.. A. MACKENZIE.

COVtpeiteu 10 teure the tnTu or th6
S.ovtetS in order to gtre TO the pubic.
ny T.. A. MACKENZIE.
By Cable to The Star and Chicago Daily News.
RIGA, December 2-The Russian
government is seriously perturbed
over It's present internal situation.
and the uneasiness reveals itself IN
various proceedings against Leon
TTrotsky, minister of war; In whole
sale searching of houses: In q coun-
trywide wave of arrests and in a
series OF warning speeches by the
leaders
The present trouble is mainly due
to the reactionary policy begun by
the Communist leader Zionviev and
Stain over year ago, and carried
to great excesses In the absence Of
Lenin's TnoderatiDg control. That IL
was accepted by Kamenev WAS made
possible by the terrible efficiency Of
Minister OF Home Affairs Dzerzinsky,
who In also head Of the supreme coun-
Gil.
Zinovier, obese. cunning mad cruel
is regarded even by many OF the
Communists az the least attractive fg-
ure among the Communist leaders.
Afraid OF Assassins.
He lives apart. taking almost Iudi-
crous precautions against assassina-
ton. Ills intrigues and dictatorial
manner have this year split the Com
munist party in several European
countries
Dzerzinsky. who combines the lofty
idealism OF Savoharola with the
relentlessness of Torquemsda and
the organizing genius of a Napoleon.
has this year succeeded in quietly
taking branch after branch OF the
real power into his own hands. He
has sent his lieutenant. Cmslitch. from
the gaypayoo to the army board,
where he controls the direction Of
the military forces.
Dzerzinsky himself spends two days
week directing the activities of the
gaypayoo, which are more In evidence
and more merciless than ever. lie
spends most OF his time As preside mt
OF the supreme council, working for
national economy, and controlling in
ternal trade in which he seeks, by
savage punishments, to create ef-
f1ciency. One section Of tho prisons
ts full OF officials who had been in
charge of state enterprises and who
have failed to make good. Incidental.
ly, he has not taken control OF the
state metal Industry which, despite
every effort to the contrary, remains
the most inefficient and wasteful sec
tion OF the state enterprise.
Most Powerful Russian.
None but Dzerzinsky could have ac-
complished as much as has been done
along many lines, and even he finds
the task he has undertaken over
wheln,ing He Is, nevertheless, the
most powerful man in Russia today
and could make or break any group.
The governments dificuity Is two
fold and lies in the lack OF funds and
the growing hostility OF national
opinion. The campaign against pri-
vats trade succeeded In destroying
most of the open enterprises. Many
business men were sent to prison or
into exile and even more were ruined
Yet the government Is only now dis
covering what independent observers
had constantly warned-that in de-
stroying ell private urban enterprise
It has destroyed its second great
source OF revenue. Present indications
are that despite employment OF the
most severe methods against default
Ing taxpayers, the national revenue
FOR the coming year will be orle-third
below the necessary minimum.
Indirect Loss Greater.
The indirect loss 10 even greater.
Many traders, at the first sign of last
winters repressive policy, hastily
realized on their goods by selling at
any sacrifice They buried their money
or sent it out of the Counefy.
The manufacturing industry OF the
Nation, despite every effort, remains
unsatisfactory. with the notable excep-
ton of the textile industry.
The opinion Of all the experts the
writer has consulted Is that these re-
suits are due not only to a lack OF
capital and of machinery, but just rs
much to the excessive interference of
the mems unions in the management,
the lack of discipline and the tre-
mendously excessive. overhead. The
discharge Of workers, the c.osing or
private stores and the continuous SELL
ing up Of peasants for the non-pay-
ment of taxes has caused a great rise
In the number of the unemployed and
beggarS.
Peasant Unrest Serious.
More serious than the failure of the
industry and the urban distress is the
discomfort among the peasants owing to
the excessive interference of the state.
This discomfort reveals itself in many
WAYS. among them in numerous rnur.
ders Of Communist officials. In one dis
trict the Communist representative WAS
placed between two boards, which were
sawed asunder while he was held in
place.
Stains recent solemn warning that
what happened in Georgia because Of
the peasant discomfort may repeat IT.
self all over Russia il an indication that
Moscow is at last awakening to the
seriousness of rural conditions. "
The government is endeavoring to
meet the situation by general reduc-
ton of it's expenditures. by cutting down
Its Industrial programs and disoharging
its staff Of education, which are only
at two-thirds the size Of the staffs in
the czarist days.
The government does not fear any re-
yival Of the czarfst or middle GLASS. The
rebellion of this class has been SO re-
lentlessly dragooned that their will to
resist has been broken. What the gov.
ernment really fears fs a successful re.
volt within the Communist party. Trot-
sky might head such a revolt Hence
has come the effort to secure his politi-
cal destruction.
Copyright, 1924. by Chicago Daily News co.,
The Springfield Leader believes that
those who appreciate the beauty of
the Autumn leaves are not the ones