The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1927-01-11

A MEXICAN workers and farmers
"A cannot help but instinctively re-
sent the malicious lies being circu-
lated about Leonid Krassin, the So
Wet ambassador who died recently
in London. The propaganda is so
palpably false that it refutes itself.
The most popular story, from the
capitalist viewpoint, that was
spread over the world by the kept
news agencies and given big space
in the subsidized press, declared
that Krassin left an estate of from
two to three million pounds ster-
ling, which would total from S10,-
100000 to $15,OOO,OOO in American
money.
Soviet officials at London met this
malicious propaganda by showing
that when Krassin died his total
assets amounted to five one pound
sterling bank notes, or about $25.
That sets forth the difference be-
tween the truth and the lie.
No effort was made anywhere by
the Misunderstanding press to show
what Krassin, the Communist,
would have done with the wealth he
was alleged to possess.
The reactionary Los Angeles, Cal,
Times, that suddenly becomes con-
sentative also in figures, states that
Krassin accumulated a private for
tune Of more than $1,0O0,00O." The
Times declares:
1.-THE things he (Krassin) con-
demned publicly he practiced pri-
vately He helped to drive the CAPT
talists from Russia and became him
self capitalist, one of the million
aires he so vehemently denounced.
"He helped plumber his own peo-
pie and enriched himself by the
plumber"
The Los Angeles Times, so close
to the mimic world of Hollywood,
infers that capitalism, like drink
ing in private" is something that
can be confined to back room. 1t
charges that Krassin accumulated
a private fortune" during seven
years in the service of the Soviet
government, and invested 1t In for
eign securities. 1t evidently thinks
that this is a plausible story.
In order to accumulate "a private
fortune" one must possess the
means of exploitation. Since prl-
vate property has been abolished in
the Soviet Union, Krassin could not
come into possession of proflt-pro-
ducing resources. All the great nat
ural resources, the means of COM
munication, the financial system,
foreign trade, are all in the control
of the Soviet government, owned
by the workers and peasants of the
Soviet Union.
Possessing more than the usual
sagacity of a capitalist editor, the
Times writer declares that the mil
lions imputed to constitute the es-
tate of Krassin were taken from
the banks that were looted and
from private individuals, who were
murdered that they might not COM
plain
The writer, of course, conve-
niently forgets that the Kerensky
and other makeshipt capitalist gov
ernments were in power from the
time of the cars overthrow in
March, 1917, until the Bolshevik
triumph eight months later ON Nov.
z, 1917. If there was any looting
done, it was accomplished during
those months by the Russian capt.
talist friends of the Times. Boris
Bakhmetieff, the Kerensky repre-
sentative at Washington, with the
aid of the United States govern
ment, openly maintained at great
expense an embassy" in this coun-
try years after the Kerensky gov
eminent was swept into the dis
card. He squandered funds that be-
longed to the workers and peasants
government. Every effort of Soviet
rule to recover these funds met
with determined resistance al
Washington.
Thus the United States govern
mani 1ovac tho Oraftarc of ;tc nmn