The Washington times., 1931-10-15

tend, Cne pres 1850
ent pla n n d &s
economy would = -
be impossible. !.
The people Raymond r. "F"""'
would demand comforts and lux.
uries Immediately and let the
coming generations scratch for
themselves.
The Communists. however, do
not claim there is liberty in
Russia. They frankly admit the
despotism, which they call the
dictatorship Of the proletariat.
They would be nearer the truth
if they called it dictatorship
for the proletariat. The mil
lions of workers and peasants
have little to say in the govern
ment. Stain admitted in 1928
that no political or organizational
problem was ever decided by Sow
lets and other mass organizations
without directions from the party.
The hopeful point is that the
Communists are educating the
mass Of the people to take part
in the government eventually,
something the old government
fought against
To this end the Communists
have established the most elab-
crate system of thought con-
troll in modern history. The
only system comparable was that
of the church during the Middle
Ages.
Propaganda on Big Scale
The positive agency for this
control is propaganda, the publ
cations, the radio, the drama.
the cinema, the clubs, the schools
and the lecture clubs.
The negative agency is the
terrifying secret police, known
throughout Russia as the Gay
Pay-Oo, the initials of the Off
cial title.
There is not a free newspaper
published in the Soviet Union.
1t is impossible for a person
reading only Russian or one of
the Russian tongues to get i'm
partial information about Russia
or the outside world.
Moscow is a city of almost
100000 and it has many news
papers, but each is the represen-
tative of a Communist group.
Izvestia is the central organ of
the Soviet government; Pravda is
the central organ of the Com
muniSt party: Economic Life is
the organ of the Council of Labor
and Defense; the Workers Paper
is published by the Communist
party. as Is the Peasants News
paper; the Moscow Worker is
published by the Moscow COM
mittee of the Communist party;
Trud CWork) is published by the
Central Council of the Trade
Unions; the Commercial and In
duStrial Newspaper is the organ
OF the Supreme Council of Eco
nomic Economy.
Outside News Scanty
The various trade unions have
their own publications and the
Young Communists have theirs.
Newspapers in other cities are
published by similar groups.
News Of the outside world is ex-
tremely scanty and greatly edi-
torialized, so much so that it often
defeats its own purposes.
The writer's interpreter was a
Russian newspaper man who had
lived in the United States Is years
and had a better than average
grasp of world affairs, yet the sig
nificance of much of the foreign
news in the Russian newspapers
had to be explained to him.
All the evils of capitalism are
featured in the Soviet press and
none of the benefits are men,
toned.
The results of this distorted in
formation and lack of background
take the American visitor by sur
prise when he talks with the Rus.
SLAMS, particularly the young Rus
slams.
There has grown up a genera
Clon which knows little or moth
ing about conditions in Russia
before the revolution and which
has had nothing to feed the
mind except communistic propa-
Ganda.
This younger generation knows
its Communist catechism by
heart and can counter questions
about Russia with embarrassing
questions about the capitalistic
world.
New Generation Now Active
If an American argues that
there is no liberty in Russia the
contention falls on barren ground
the Russian youth has been
taught obedience to government
tai authority.
He also knows that if he does
try to assert what Americans
could call rights" the Gay.Pay.
90 would soon Swoop down.
But If an American points out
that the Russian wages are bare
1y sufficient for existence. the
youth will tell how much better