Evening star., 1924-12-23
TR0TSKy, BROKEN,
FACES MERC|LESS
. FIRE OF COMRADES
Accused of Heresy by Own
Communists as He Fights
for Health.
RESIGNED MANY TIMES,
BUT WAS FORCED TO GO ON
His Party Leaders Take Up Task of
Convincing Bolsheviki He
Betrayed Cause.
b L.e Asseeiated Press.

p: Tie Associated Press.
MOSCOW, December 23.--Although
trrotsky now is out of the political
erena and far removed from the Bit
ter party strife OF Moscow, attacks
upon him, both from within and
without the Communist party, con-
Linue increasingly.
30 man in American public hse,
even during the heat OF the bitterest
election campaigns, has had to face
such rnerciless fire of censure and
condemnation as has been directed
against the Soviet war chief for the
last six weeks. All the sins and
shortcomings and failures of the boil
Shevik regime have been visited upon
his head.
Throughout the fusilIade Trotsl5y
remains silent, alone and broken in
the resort in the Caucasus where he
has gone to restore his health. AL
though he is in admittedly poor ply
aiCal shape, no note Of sympathy is
heard fer the man who hitherto has
ranked as next only in fame and
power to L.enin.
Neither Exiled Nor Banished.
It is inaccurate to say that Trot-
sky has either been expelled from
the Communist party or banished
from Office, as foreign dispatches
have announced. The present cam
paign against him is confined wholly
to literary politics, which probably
will continue until the Communist
party Congress in March, which will
pronounce final judgment on his al
legged heresy in departing from the
orthodox Communist principles and
violating the party discipline. What
ever the issue may be, some time
probably will elapse before he re-
turns TO his duties.
An Interesting aspect OF the pres
ent sta ge of the campaign Is the fact
that the attacks are directed toward
Trotsky's personal characteristics and
his numerous dissensionS with the
Communist party during the last
seven years, which arc now revealed.
Resigned Many Times.
Narions Bolshevik leaders have made
known for the first time that Trotsky
rendered his resignation many times
whenever the central committee OF
the party attempted to interfere in
any branch of his activities, espe
cially in his administration of mill
tary measures during the civil war.
In no case was his resignation ac-
cepted. but he was forced to submit
20 party Instructions.
Coincidental with the discussions
of his theories and practices of the
revolutions, efforts are being made to
destroy his personal popularity among
the masses and the Red army by max
ing it appear that his part in the Boil
shevik upheaval was relatively
minor one as compared with the col
lective effort OF the Communist party
as whole.
So thorough Is the campaign against
him that no phase of his political life
is spared In order to convince the
peasants, workers and soldiers of his
alleged lack of supremacy during the
revolution.
Leaders Assaii His Position.
Stain, Kameneff, Bukharin. zino-
vieff, Kalinin and other CoTnfnunist
writers have allotted among them
selves the task of showing all ranks
of Communists not only Trotsky's po-
litical misconceptions and fallacies as
they sec them, but also the fact, as
they allege, that in all hts acts the
war minister has been guided by mere
personal ambition.
While one group of these writers
concentrates It's attacks upon ques-
'i'fio ItitIAhS W Tic ptdSdIllSp lne
second group directs It's arrows
against Trotsky's personal popularity
and the third focuses the public lime
light upon the differences which arose
between the war minister and the
communist party in matters of mill
tary policy. kll these groups in
chorus attempt to shcw that in all
his acts Trotsky really coveted
Lenin's glory.
Formal Censure Likely Verdict.
Whatever the outcome of the con-
troversy, 1t may be said with the
fullest conviction that the, present
light against Trotsky will not result
IN an open split of the Communist
party. nor Is 1T likely to go beyond a
formal vote censuring Trotsky at the
forthcoming party congress-
Trotsky's friends believe he will
not attempt to form q faction OF his
own, even in the face Of more ex-
treme measures against him. They
believe he will either submit to fur
ther party discipline or endeavor to
defend himself by the written and
spoken word when his health is re-
stored
For the present, while It Is not
true that he has resigned, or has been
deposed or eXiled, he may be consid
cred as out of the arena of political
activity.