Evening star., 1946-03-21
Communist, Czorist
Aims Declared Alike
Brothers Under Skin in Ideas
On Imperialism, Says Writer
By David Laurence

~ A)"SfN A<HUS
Russian imperialism emerges as be-
ing just as bad if not worse than any
other form of imperialism. The self
ish desire to grab territory and re-
sources apparently is as much a part
OF communism today as it was of the
Czarist regime which it overthrew.
Offlcials here who did not like to
talk publicly about such things during
the war period used to say privately
that all Russia's ambitions and aims.
as expressed in the secret conferences
we attended, were identical with those
that animated Russian foreign policy
under the totalitarians and despots Of
past history.
But the world doesn't fully realize
as yet that communism and czarism
are brothers under the skin 1t knoYs
only that left-wing admirers of Puseia
IN this country have managed to paint
the Russian regime in Moscow as
clothed in an idealism all its own.
Back in 1889, when it suited the to-
talitarians in Moscow, they made an
alliance with Hitler and for a time at
least assured him that he could have
free hand against France and Brit
ain. This was the signal for World
War II to start. During the time of
that alliance with Hitler, the Com
munists in this country paraded and
picketed and denounced British i'm
perialism for allegedly starting a war
against Hitler. At San Francisco, six
years later, there was more denuncia-
tlon by the Russian propagandists-all
aimed at British colonial policy and
her attitude toward India and small
nations. Just why the CIO allowed
plckets to use its name in the demon
stratlon against Winston Churchill last
week as symbol of British imperial
lsm-and by inference defending Rus
sla's aggression just to get some oil
concessions in Iran-is difficult to ex-
plain except as a sporadic outburst not
representative of the entire CIO.
Maneuvers Revealed.
Now Soviet Russia's manuevers are
revealed. She is interested in weak
nations like Iran only to get what ma
ONAAot 4NSObi NSo ol4C IdUf GNeu II IL
frlghtens the whole world by an open
violation of treaty pledge.
Russian policy is certainly steeped in
lneptitude if it assumes that these tao
tics will win financial and economic
aid from America. If the Russians
really had known how to use the
powers of debate and reason as well
restraint
good case before the bar of public opin-
ion on the subject of security of from
tiers and needed economic resources
| The British Empire would have had to
yield in certain important particulars
IN order to bring about more equitable
distribution of the economic controls
that are exercised in the regions of the
world populated by weaker nations.
But the Russians completely mis-
understand democracy and resort in
stead to expletives and denunciation
and to open professions of peaceful
, purposes while they use physical force
to get their way.
Certainly the communistic influence
in the United States can get little COM
fort now out of Russia S renewal O,
imperialism.
Right to Cry Out.
If any people has a right to cry out
that human lives shall not be sacrificed
or blood spilled over the ambitions OF
an imperialist nation which demands
oil concessions as the price of forbear-
ance in dominating small country, it
is the American Nation which can now
point to an oil smear in the Near East
as the real origin of the recent war
scare that swept this country.
If Russia is interested in economic
gains, she can get them far more readily
by adopting a different attitude toward
world peace and toward the UNO than
is indicated by her activities thus far
For decades Americans have heard
about British imperialism. This has
been variously defined as exploitation
of weaker peoples or protection for the
British peoples legitimate economic in
terests. But now that Russian i'm
perialism has entered the fray with
actual use of troops to terrorize a small
nation with which Soviet Russia is
supposed to be at peace, the debate will
have to take a different turn.
If threats to use force were eliminated
Americans would want to see the worlds
prize areas internationalized and made
accessible on equal terms to all powers
The moment Russia, however, is re-
Vealed as having looted Manchuria and
to be threatening Iran, that moment
Russian communism becomes to Amer
ican eyes just another materialism
which bodies no good for the future of
mankind