The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1927-09-17


Russia Exceeding America in Uniformity" selects
that age-old prevaricaton to entitled article
whose bald-faced fact-twisting would do credit to
a seventeenth century Dominican.
Herr Rene Fulop-Mller, we learn from Mr. Ybar-
ra's report has made an intensive study of Soviet
Russia, starting out with unbiased mind, and,
upon the conclusion of his investigation, finding
that "Boshevism is great peril to society" Me
thinks 1 have encountered the quotation before
but before indulge in at the German
critics expense, let if he has presented any
new promises to support this cobwebbed deduction.
Mr.. Ybarra, in his report is reviewing Herr Flu
lop-1Iiller's "The Mind and Face of Bolshevism"
and "Lenin IND Gandhi." 1t has not been my good
fortune to be able to procure these books, and
since l have not read them, shall not indulge in
the popular sport of OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES and attack
them without first a reading. But I have followed
Mr. Ybarra's report very closely to his last punctua
ton mark: he it is upon whom my gun is trained.
If Herr Fulop- Miller turns out to be "the man be-
hind the behind the gun" he also will be SUBJ
jected to polemical attack
What is Herr Fulop-Miller's impression Of Rus
STA, after "an exhaustive and unbiased nvestiga-
tom? Everything that happens in Russia today"
Il quote from "The Mind and Face of Boil
shevism") Happens for the sake of the mass
every action is subordinated to it. Art literature,
music and philosophy only to eXtol its i'm
personal spendor, and, gradually, on all sides,
everything is being transformed to the new world
of the mass man who is the sole ruler"
The result? AS Mr.. Ybarra says Herr Fulop-
Miller found it. "they shouted their command to
the Russian poets and 10! mechanical
poetry arose in the land. They regmented the
philosophers and soon the outlines of a new stand
ardized philosophy, ruthessly opposed to everything
idealistic, to the victories already in the
domain of politics and economics. They issued their
orders to the Russian sculptors and soon buildings
and monuments dotted Russia, conceived accord
ing to the dictates of the new machine art"-huge
embodments of the revolts against all that which
in the past had meant art to mankind. They waved
their magic wands in the direction of the Russian
theatre and up cropped a form of drama,
radical than anything hitherto dreamed Of
playhouse without any stage, actors dancing wires
the auditorium, gymnastics instead of dialogue,
"the most extraordinary physical distortions giving
an impression of Complete insanity.
"And the new Russian music that sprang to life
of a piece with all this, with its Conductor
less orchestras' and similarly revolutionary mani
festations AS for religion the Soviet dicators
memorable in trying to uproot everything resemb-
ling religion it in the Russia of the czars.
And all this for the collective man. the divdual"
Mr.. Ybarra, in condensing Herr Fulop-Miller's OBJ
servations, has turned many. pretty phrase. But
pretty phrases have an unfortunate habit of meta
morphosis into boomerangs, under the critical eye
of the honest logician.
INOC OuIy many caplUallSC social
lists, acknowledge this to be the machine age"
Insofar economies is akin to liter
allure and art-and l am sure Herr Fulop- Miller
will admit the relationship, the literature and art of
the period will always be part of the period.
Therefore, what Mr. Ybarra, and Hero Fulop- Miller
are attacking is not the mind Of Bolshevsm but
the age of Bolsheyism The art of a period must
be of the same stuff the period itself Even Mr..
Ybarra cannot change the trend of arts and letters.
But-does this result in Standardization? If the
Russian audiences encourage such innovations as
"conductoress orchestras" "stageless theatres" is
that unhealthy attitude? Conducted orchestras,
and theatres with stages have their opponents every
where else in the world. Experimenting with art,
and the encouragement of such experimentation,
is, to my mind the manifestation of greater in
dvidualism than find in any other nation.
But Herr Fulop- Miller and Mr.. Ybarra would
have us believe that all orchestras are without con-
ductors, all theatres without stages-that the Rus