The people's voice. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1939-1969, 1940-03-20

of communism and what they believe
it to bean aesthetic movement in
the direction of liberating the people
from economic and political domina-
ton by the capitalist class. They saw
in Russian communism a social state
wherein abundance for all and happier
days for the unfortunate and poverty
stricken people was the aim.
Then came the ruthless demands on
Finland, in which Stain showed his
hand as being that of an ambitious
ruler-ambitiou to increase the power
Of Russia by expansion in the Baltic
sea-and many were confused, look
ing on with CONSERVATION at what they
could not understand but hoping that
lit all would be made clear to them
eventually without having to tear
down the images they had built up.
There is no use in hiding the truth
for it will tout" eventually and al
though it may hurt, the truth is the
truth The Russo-Finnish war has
had it's good results in this country.
make a deeper study of Russian poll
tics and to discover something more
than has appeared on the surface
There are many honest thinkers who
believe in the idealism of a commun-
istic society-within the fold of a
democracy-but we must admit Stain
has far missed the mark of any such
20, !, I,od -,
Max Eastman, former editor of the
Masses" sums up in these words the
failure of the bolshevik movement as
founded by Lenin: Setting out to
create a labor republic in which the
proletariat and Herewith all society
would be free, he bequeathed to his
tory totalitarian state in which all
society, and Herewith the proletariat,
are enslaved to a degree not dreamed
of by him" Just how much of the
failure of attaining this state in which
all society would be free is due to
Stalin's laundering is a question but
the probable truth is: the romantic
and therefor faulty reasoning of the
MARKHAM philosophy upon which the
that an ideal society could be set up
by force and made to flower through
some mystic heritage of man.
1t was a religion in itself and there
for beyond weakness and failure But
if we have not seen this heretofore
our eyes should now be wide open to
the realization that no society can be
interests of the people and set them
free which is not an outgrowth of
and the democratic ex-
preston thereof Any form of society
in which the personality is denied it's
right of expression must be
built upon the enslavement of the in
dividual.
1t is such a common error to make
up ones mind without sufficient in
formation and investigation. Our
public school system is no doubt large
Iy instrumental in developing this
method of reasoning, if it can be
called reasoning. Instead of hypothet-
ical methods-as of data and
for use in formulating
0pl0lOlS--1J Has ldIS0ly UeSH plOC0u-
IRE Of teaching accepted ideas and
patterns of thought, and has precluded
any natural inclination to withhold
Judgment. Careful definition of our
aims, analysis of underlying motives
ind above all avoidance of formulat-
ng opinions based on prejudice rather
han sufficient knowledge of facts
will steer us over many pitfalls.
Finally, it matters little on which
side ones sympathies lie in the Russo
finnish tragedy but it does matter
what attitudes of mind we develop
owards our own affairs in this cOun-
ry. A little confusing is the attitude
# contempt for our own American
government which we occasionally dis
over in otherwise good citizens. To
AVE a contempt for abuses practiced
n our country is legitimate and quite
mother matter But we have the
ools for doing away with these
buses, which is the machinery of
emocracy and that-is more than we
an say of many another country 1t
MY remains for us to make use of
his machinery.
MARIE EATON,
Hinsdale, Montana