The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1927-02-04


meet the editors. He was still MAX
ing his pitiful attempt to under
stand both sides-even here in Cen
trail Europe, where the Socialists
and the Communists had many
times been at open war.
In this obscure office in work
ing class part of the city Bunny
came upon a CHASTITY experience.
There was exhibited to him crea-
ture that had once been young
man, but now was little more than
a skeleton covered with a skin Of
greenish-yellow. It had only one
eye and one ear, and it could not
speak because it's tongue had been
pulled out or cut off, and most of
its front teeth had been extracted,
and its cheeks were pitted with
holes made by cigarettes burned
into it. Likewise all the creatures
finger-nails had been torn out, and
its hands burned with holes; the
men in the office barred its shirt,
and showed Bunny how the flesh
had been ripped and torn by lashes
this way and that, like .cross-hatch-
ings in pen and ink drawing.
This was a prisoner escaped from
Roumanian dungeon, and these
scars represented the penalty of re-
fusal to betray his comrades to the
White Terror. Here in this office
were photographs and letters and
affidavits-for this kind of thing
was being done to thousands of men
and women in Roumania. The gov
eminent was in the hands of band
of ruling class thugs, who were
stealing everything in sight, selling
the natural resources Of the coun-
try; one of the biggest of Rou-
manian oil fields had just Deea
leased to an American syndicate,
possibly Comrade Ross had heard
of that? And Comrade Ross said
that he had. He didn't add that his
father was in on the dealt
This victim of the White Terror
was from Bessarabia, province
taken from Russia under the bless
ed principle of determination.
1t was inhabited by Russian peas
ants, and the natural struggles of
these people for freedom were met
by slaughtering or torturing to
death not merely everyone who re-
VOTED, but everyone who expressed
sympathy with the revolt. Nor was
this sporadic thing, it was the
condition prevailing all along the
Russian border, a thousand miles
from the Baltic to the Black Sea.
All these provinces and countries,
inhabited by Russian peasants, had
been taken from the reds and given
to the whites. And so you had this
situation-on the eastern side of
the line the peasants had the land
and the government, they were free
men and women, making a civiliza-
ton of workers; while on the other
side they were serfs at the mercy
of landlords, robbed of the fruits of
their toll, and beaten or shot if
they ventured a murmur. 1t was
impossible to prevent peasants from
one side crossing to the other; and
the contrast between the two civil
izations was so plain that no child
could fail to understand it. So the
class struggle went on all the time,
a hideous civil war, of which no
word was allowed to leak to the
outside world.
Left to themselves, this landlord
aristocracy could not survive a
year. But they had world capital
behind them; they got the NUM-
tions with which to do the slaugh-
tering, or the money to make the
munitions, from American big bust
ness. Yes, it was America which
kept alive this White Terror, in or
der to collect interest on the debts,
and to come in and buy up the
countryside railroads, the mines,
the oil fields, even the great castles
and landed estates. Would not
Comrade Ross tell the American
people what bloody work their
money was doing?
Bunny went away with the ques-
ton on his conscience. Would he
tell, or wouldn't he? Would he be-
gin by telling his darling of the
world? Would he mention that the
young Prince Marescu, whom she
SO greatly admired, was the son OF
one Of the bloodiest of these ruling
class thugs?
All the time Bunny was driving
his darling through winding passes
amid the glorious snow-covered
mountains of Switzerland, he was
not happy as it was his duty to be.
He would have long periods Of
brooding, and she would ask, what
was the matter, and he would
evade. But then she would pin him
down-being shrewd, like most
women where love is concerned.
ais it Those reds you've been visit
ing?" He said, eyes, dear, but let's
not talk about tit isn't going to
make any difference to u.s." She
answered, ominously, at is going
to make all the difference in the
world to us!"