Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1956-10-29
Despotism on the Run

It is too early as yet for anybody to
be sure Of the final outcome of the awe
Somely heroic uprising in Hungary. But
there are clear signs that the pro-freedom
rebels have not been fighting and dying
in vain. If this were not so, the
Communist-controlled Budapest radio
would not have been heard to say to them
that "a huge democratic movement has
developed which includes the whole Hun
garian nation. Please, please stop. You
have won. Your demands will be fulfilled.
Just stop the killing"
These words, it is true, may be little
more than propaganda ruse designed to
entice the rebels into trap of some sort.
Yet they also suggest that the Com
muniStS feel certain measure of deS-
peration, if not panic. And another indi-
cation of that can be found in "Titoist"
Premier Nagy'S announcement that the
hated secret police will be diSbanded and
that Russia has agreed to speedy with
drawal of its troops from Budapest. Fur
ther, he has promised to negotiate i'm
mediately in an effort to have all Soviet
forces pulled out of every part Of Hun
gary.
Meanwhile, apart from the conces-
SionS they have been winning as a result
of their immense valor and sacrifice, the
rebels have the encouragement of know
ing that the free world at large stands
Solidly behind them in mind and heart.
Here in America, for example, Secretary
Dulles has made clear that their country
as soon as its present travail is brought
to an end with some acceptable political
Settlement-Will be able to count on our
economic aid. And in the United Nations,
before the Security Council, the Western
Big Three have taken action to bring the
Kremlin to account for what its troops
have done to Hungary, which in the
Pope'S words has been "bloodied by a
most horrible slaughter"
Typically enough, speaking through
its chief delegate to the U. N, Moscow
has sought to abSolve itself of blame for
this slaughter by accusing the United
States of having melted the rebellion
But the lie here is so palpable, so brazen,
so openly contradicted by the Hungarian
Communists themselves, that no knowing
of the world-can be led to believe it, The
fact is too obvious, the brutality of Soviet
imperialism is too clear, to be hidden.
The carnage in Hungary, the thousands
moved down by Russian guns bear terri
BILE and irrefutable witness on that score.
So the Hungarian uprising, besides
promising to bring about slow but sure
rebirth of freedom in hitherto ruth
leSsly oppressed land, has had the effect
at the same time of placing the Soviet
Union in an indefensible position before
the eyes of the entire world More than
that, as Mr.. Dulles has said, it has had
the effect-together with events in Po-
land-of showing that Communist i'm
perialism, despite its formidable exterior
of economic and military power, is es-
Sentially weak, "like unto whited sepul-
chres, which indeed appear beautiful
outward, but within are full of dead
mems bones and of all uncleanness."
This weakness is the weakness of all
tyrannieS that sin against the nature of
man, against his innate human rights,
against his ineradicable desire for free
dom, against his inherent dignity as
child of God not born to be creature or
slave of any dictator This is what the
brave Hungarians have been demon
strating to the whole world once again,
just as it has been demonstrated often
before in history. DeSpotism, no matter
how strong it may look on the outside,
must sooner or later be vanquished by
such force.