Evening star., 1928-03-23
BY THEODORE DRESSER.

One of the most amazing and to me
most diSagreeable phases of Russia at
this time is the endless outpour and
downpour of propaganda. not only in re-
ga to the principles and practice of
Communism as organized and interpret
Cd BY Marx, EngelS. Liebknecht, Lenin,
TrotSSy and others. but al ono and the
same time and in the same breath the
mo6erniZation and induStriali2ation as
well as defense from foreign attack of
all the RusSiaS from Poland to the Fa-
cific the Arctic to Afghanistan.
For Russia is SO vast. 1t sounds
little silly 10 keep repeating that, but
when you get there and proceed to sense
it by travelling it is staggering. Fur
thermore. the land, even now. and
after the most heroic efforts on the part
of The greatest and most intense and
most self-Sacrificing group of political,
social, economic and industrial upiift-
ers that ever trod the earth. is still
after a fashion a barren waste.
Those pathetic little hamiets are
buried for the most part. and for some
seven months out Of every year, in snow!
The amazing distances between them!
The little company of poorly equipped
peasants who live in each of them! The
vast. fenceleSs areas of land that they
are suffered to bring under cultivation
in the short Spring and Summer sea-
Scnl And then the railroad and tele-
graph and telephone lines that are so
necessary and as vet so SparSely laid!
And the automobiles and automobile
Mostly Illiterate.
You ride and ride. You see hamlet
after hamlet. until at last and as widely
scattered as they are. you can still be-
lieve that there are somewhere one hum
0red and twenty or thirty or forty mil
lions of peasants concealed in them.
And mostly illiterate.
For until 1917 there was no real edu-
cational or economic program in con-
nection with them They were suffered
TO remain ignorant. The fathead Gar
ist government that had charge of them
and what pack of numbskullS must
have functioned as such-waS determin-
ed 10 herd them into the royalist faith.
There were no roads and no bridges.
And none intended. And no books, Ii
brayieS and few schools, because the
magnificent leaders in charge were de-
termined to keep all this vast company
of individuals IN ignorance. They did
not wish them to meet. hence no roads,
nor to have anything intellectual to dis
cuss if they did. Hence no books. mag
aZineS or newspapers. And yet the ro-
mantle Tnlstoy wanted to unload not
an education but a new kind OF reli-
gion on them.
Program Of Education.
None the less. all that was changed. as
we have seen. And now has come this
vast program of education and at the
same time induStrialization and militar-
ization. and all overnight. as 1t were.
The leaders at Moscow and all their en-
thusiastic disciples and followers would
like to educate, train. house and mod
ernly equip all of these poor Russians
by tomorrow If they could. And so
schools. schools, schools. And factories
wherever they can get the money and
the machinery wherewith TO equip them.
And barracks. barracks, barracks and
soldiers, soldiers, soldiers, always march,
ing and singing or being trained some
where, and on top OF all this books
books and pamphlets by the millions.
and all relating propaganda in some
form or other Really. ! never saw its
equal anywhere, nothing like it-so many
books, posters. pamphlets, appeals. 1t
is really nightmare of propaganda.
And / wish 10 record here and now
mat the largest printing plant ever
saw anywhere is in Moscow. the state
printing plant OF the u. S. S. r., and
with hundreds, had almost said thou
sands. OF printing presses and Mergen-
thaler linotype machines all whirring
Niagara-wise and pouring down such a
stream Of posters. pamphlets. diagrams
charts and books on every conceivable
subject rs never poured from any set Of
presses In any one place before.
Pamphlets Everywhere.
And all over Russia. In addition to
this, In every street and on every other
corner in all of the cities and small
towns. and even in the hamlets, the
stations, poStoffices and general stores.
or co-operatives, as they are called,
hundreds and hundreds Of those same
pamphlets. books. magazines papers and
posters of what and how 10 do.
The posters I first came upon were
on the Russian-P Polish frontier, In the
border station at Negoralta For like
every other person who enters Russia
from the west. you have to change