Evening star., 1925-02-07
BACKGROUND. OF EVENTS
BY PAUL Y. COLLINS

'Ye shall know them by their
fruits. Do men gather grapes from
thorns, or figs from thistles?" For
seven years bolshevisn has, ruled
Russia. Under the Mosaic law every
seventh year was the year of release,
the year of reck and a re-start.
Bolsheviki want civilization to start
over, by the Russian plan. What are
it's fruits?
BY the bolshevistic theory capi-
talism is abolished. the accumula-
tions Of years Of faithful effort and
industry wiped out in communism.
Women and children no longer be-
long to the family, but to the state.
Destruction of religion is to bring
liberty and joy, with license. All
lands, live, stock. farm implements,
mines and other natural resources.
factories, mills. banks, publications
and control of commerce belong to
the state. The right of inheritance
is abolished-all children start upon
the same level, in penury as state
wards; debts to landlords and ma
tional debts to foreign lenders are
repudiated. Free speech Is super
seeded by the state inquisition and
the guillotine. Hundreds of thou
sands of victims have been executed
to teach this last lesson of tyranny.
Now the leaders are obliged by the
tragic ruin about them to suspend
full enforcement of these radical
theories. though they profess that the
suspension is but temporary.
The peasants are all 1lliterate-
10 years ago they were slaves. They
have had no Freedman's Aid Society
for their uplift, as had our own slaves
60 years ago. They were supersti-
tfous even under the guidance of
their priests, who were moderately
educated. Now that most of the
priests have disappeared the church
services are continued by the peas
ants. folklore taking the place of
the Orthodox priestcraft.
The peasants know nothing of
modern farming-they burned what
farm machinery they could in their
revolution. They have no incentive
to produce a surplus above what will
faed their own families and stock,
for IL is overtaxed or confscated, so
less land Is cultivated since all land
was conffscated than before the new
fire edom.
This condition betokens the fruit"
by which boishevism shall be judged.
~ ~ l
Counting the census for only such
regions as remain Russian. after
eliminating territory which has
passed to Finland, Poland. Esthonia,
Latvia, Lithuania and Rumania, in
the postwar adjustments. it is found
that permanent Russian territory had
a population in 1915 of 14S,910,000,
and in 1923 of 133,947,43s-a loss Of
Is, 600, 900 in eight years. Another
estimate indicates the loss as of
is, ,00o, 900. Prior to the World War
the population of Russia had been
increasing at the rate of 2,000.oo0 net
a year: since the revolution. the net
decrease has been 100000 a year,
making a total slump of 100000 a
year, as the fruit" of the new
freedom. These are Russian official
data.
Before the war; there were $4,000
elementary schools. with 100000
children in attendance. In October
1923, there were only $4,000 schools
with 100000 children. There are
now only two-thirds as many second :
ary schools as there were three
years ago. Only two-thirds as large
an appropriation for education is now
allowed in the budget as was given
Asfore tho war. Conditions are grow.