The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1926-06-26

the peasants, and realize workers cOnLrOl III III
dustry.
A Revolutionary Statesman.
THE MARKHAM teacher, the director of the early
fights, the creator of the army and the leader
of the rebellion was now in power at the head
Of his victorious troops The first MARKHAM as
head of a government. The first task was to
strengthen the power of the working masses. Diff
fcultes arose, for some comrades hesitated, re-
signed as peoples commissars. They did not APP
prove of the suppression of the bourgeois papers.
New comrades were appointed. Then there were
difficulties with the left Observation-Disclosures,
the allies of the government they quit after the
Brest-Litovsk treaty. And after that the govern
ment was stable-the most stable government in
Europe during the past eight years.
new state apparatus had to be created from
the very beginning. 1t was an enormous task.
The workers were not used to administrative
work The specialists sabotaged. 1t was neces-
sary to learn through experience, and pay dearly
for the experience. Lenin was very attentive to
every detail He had continual conferences with
comrades in responsible positions. The comrades
tell how he helped them Not that he gave them
readymade orders-although he could do even
that when it was necessary during the critical
days of the civil war But usually he helped
everybody to find the solution himself The
comrades tell how some question complicated
and unclear to them when they went to Lenin
with it, but when Lenn started to ask questions,
the matter cleared itself up. And then it happen
ed that when some cOmrade went to Lenin with
a complicated question, it became clear to him
before he began to talk He had learned .Lenins
method of putting questions.
One Institution was necessary from the very
beginning-The Extraordinary Commission for
Fighting Counter Revolution and Sabotage (the
everywhere. Many officials in the army and the
soviet offices were sabotaging, either thru unfit
ness or unwillingness A close watch was needed
and swift punishment of the offenders. 1t was
necessary to have an institution which could de
eide without the delay of formalities. This fam
GUS Tcheka has become the subject of innumer-
able legends. The bourgeois and the social demo
cratic papers spread fantastic stories about this
government within government" There is
nothing mysterious about the Tcheka, and it has
never intended to usurp power and place itself
above the party. The most reliable comrades
were placed there, because the work is exacting.
And the Tcheka has always worked under the i'm
mediate direction of the party. There have oc-
CURED defects and evil practices in it-for even
the strongest nerves collapse under the strain
of such heavy burden-but the party has swift
ly corrected them The discipline has been extra
ordinarily strict there. And Lenin often praised
the work of the Tcheka.
But country cannot be governed with merely
good apparatus. correct policy is needed.
The government must show that it can meet the
urgent questions of the people. The first task
of the Lenin government was to send to all gov
ernments message calling on them to make
peace. OF course the imperialists ignored it, but
the people saw that someone had made an earnest
effort to end the butchery. Soviet Russia has
from the very beginning been the strongest advo-
cate of peace among the peoples, and the bour-
geois governments have been compelled by its ex-
ample to come forward with schemes for peace
although these schemes have been fake And
every day that passes shows the toiling masses
that peace cannot come through the imperialists,
but only by their overthrow.
The land question had been the main problem