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December 21, 1918 THE REVOLUTIONARY AGE The Bureau of Misinformation and MINENT American journalist some time By Gregory Weinstein ago expressed his belief that the American Bureau on Public Information, headed by the rather well known Mr. Creel, was established, and is sian Soviet Republic. The Committee on Public Infunctioning, for the purpose of immortalizing the formation played merely the part of an official body name of President Wilson. This statement has a cerfiring the first shot, and, of course, as far as the methtain amount of foundation, in fact. The Committee ods and means used by it, as well as by the rest of the on Public Information never loses a chance to write in foes of the Russian Republic, are concerned, this body glowing terms of this or that wise step taken by is not over fastidious.
President Wilson and his government. But it gener That this is precisely the case is being confirmed by ally executes this in such a spirit of ignorance and so the activity of the special Russian Department, clumsily that even an American journalist used to recently established as a branch of the Committee on all sorts of vicissitudes in life, while reading the of Public Information. In a circular letter sent out by ficial utterances of the Bureau experiences a surfeited this department to Russian societies in America it feeling, to such an extent does that syrupy sweet states that the purpose of the organization is the odor of the court kitchen emanate therefrom! It is a distribution among the Russian people, through the well established fact that court scribes very often jemonstrate overzealousness. The officals working societies of official governmental information and agency of their own newspapers, organizations and in the Committee on Public Information suffer from news having an especial interest for them. comthis sin.
mendable purpose, indeed, and rather a useful one, at Of course if the bureau merely concerned itself the first glance. Enlightening Russian citizens in with immortalizing President Wilson, if it devoted its America is a worthy task. But the trouble is that energies exclusively in this direction, little harm would this task has been undertaken by a Bureau of a Govesult from it. But the Committee on Public In. ernment which, as a matter of fact, conducts hostile formation puts a wider interpretation or its tasks: it operations against Soviet Russia. And, naturally, the aims to inform the public, not only about the domestic major part of the information which it deems necesand foreign policy of the United States, but it attempts sary to bring to the attention of the Russian citizens o disseminate information concerning world events. in America is calculated to arouse enmity among these definitely strives to influence the public opinion of citizens towards the proletarian revolution and the Soviet Government.
the country, and, having at its service a centralized apparatus created by war, it carefully selects and This would not, in itself, be so bad. The Russian rranges the information, thereby giving it a coloring workmen and peasants in America are capable of most advantageous to the Committee wishes.
carefully scrutinizing the material furnished by this The fame attained quite recently by the Bureau anxious Information Bureau. They know the value on Public Information, through the publication of of this material; they know too well that the mercenforged documents purporting to discredit the Russian ary scribes and officials of a Government that has Soviet Government, is still green in the memory. sent its troops to Russia for the purpose of destroy Creel and Sisson, the directors of this Bureau, ing the Soviets, have absolutely nothing favorable to ply got in Dutch, but, as some kind hearted say of Bolshevik Russia.
pple said at the time, of course they did not know One could have ignored the task of obscuring the at the documents published by them were forged; mind in which the Russian Department of the Injeir guilt, if any, consists in being too light headed, formation Bureau is busily engaged, had not this oftoo trusting, too careless.
ficial institution resorted to obviously criminal means But being too trusting and light headed has in its educational uctivity.
nothing to do with the case. The publication of the To substantiate our charge we give below a trans famous documents came about as an integral part lation of a letter sent by the manager of the Russian of the slanderous campaign which has, up till the pres Department of the Information Bureau. Polonent moment, been waged, in America against the Rus sky. to a certain doctor in Chicago: COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC INFORMATION.
RUSSIAN DEPARTMENT. West 48th Street, New York.
November Dear Doctor; In a few days shall send out a circular letter in which solicit literary participation in our Bureau. Since that circular letter was also intended for you, am taking the oppor tunity of writing you this letter, in order to explain the nature of our general request. My task is to explain events among the Russians in America. It is my duty to distribute articles to the Russian American press, pointing out that it is the expressel desire of the Russians to uphold the policy of the American Government. For the present, would kindly ask you to write an article for our Bureau in which you should express approximately the aspirations of the entire Russian colony, or the major part of it, to the effect that President Wilson policy towards the Bolsheviki has been just, and that the whole Russian colony in America has faith in the President as the true representative of its interests and is capable of defending its rights a proper manner at the Peace Conference. Should such an article prove of any special interest it will be forwarded to the American press with which we have connections.
In accordance with the established rule of our Bureau, as well as of any other bureau, an article is mailed without the author signature, having only the signature of the official name of our Bureau affixed.
Dr. Rosset has spoken very highly about you, as a person who would be always willing to assist in educational work, and, therefore, hope you will lend your assistance.
Very truly yours, Committee on Public Information, Russian Department. signed) Joseph Polonsky, Manager.
This document tells its own tale. The Committee on Public Information authorizes a certain doctor to state in the name of the Russian colony in America that the latter approves the President policy towards Soviet Russia, and that the colony intrusts to him the defense of her interests at the Peace Conference.
In other words, the Committee on Public Information most impudently spurs an individual to fraudulent action.
Fine educational activity is it not?
Simons. Liebknecht Autocracy HE folowing is from the editorial page of the New making is concerned. Both have the autocratic spirit, present actions actions the logical outcome of his York Globe for December 17: and it is difficult to see how an American can approve former position. Editor Globe. It is with profound interest that of either.
Surely the Globe speaks truly, more truly than, read your editorial on the repentance of Germany in. day issue of The Globe and therefore would like The contemptible chauvinism of this reply merely perhaps, it knows, when it says: He wants no peace o ask the following questions: If the present rulers of furnishes another instance of the methods to which Capitalism and its apologists are driven by the march The Liebknechts want no peaceful world wherein Germany namely, the fake Socialists Ebert, Scheide mann Co. are mere substitutes for the Hohenzoll of events. When the war was on, Liebknecht was the men toil for others gain, where hunger nips the viern, why don you undertake an energetic propaganda one heroic figure in Germany, Schiedemann tals of the little children that others may waste the was earth substance, where women sell their bodies for in your highly intellectial editorials favor of the anathenia. In America the men who, like Debs, took their masters gold, where misery stalks that luxury partacus group, headed by Liebknecht and Rosa the Liebknecht stand were denounced as Scheidmanns, uxemburg, who always opposed the Hohenzollern?
and those who assumed the craven attitude of Scheide flourish, where fetid slums stink to the skies that the fake Socialists helped to furnish weapons for mann, such as Spargo, Walling, Benson, Ruspalaces may house the few, where grinding labor nurderers by spreading the lie that Germany was atsell, et al. were hailed as the spiritual kin of Liebkcrushes the masses that the classes may live in idleicked, why don you welcome the true exponents necht. Now that the people of the Central Empires the dumb millions want it not either.
ness, Surely they want no such peaceful world, and democracy who spent years in jail because they tried have awakened to the enormity of the crime of inter national capital, and are endeavoring, in their efforts cried with the same voice to the stumbling masses: o expose that shameful lic. SEIDEN. to abolish Capitalism, to atone for their error in being Flevoli kevokti and they rose, timidly, half fear. Liebknecht is deserving of honor for courageously a party to that crime, the Scheidemanns fusing to bow the knee to the lie that Germany was are attempting to hold them in check and perpetuate ful of themselves, only to be beaten back. But still Capitalism, dressed in the gaudy finery of bourgeois off your shackles! Raise, you are all powerful if sounded: Revolt! Revolt! Rise, throw tacked. He is to be acquitted of complicity in the. me of the murderous militarists. But although not democracy, amid the plaudits of the bourgeoisie evparticipant in the crime committed, he advertises crywhere.
know your strength! Rise, you are the masters of the world. And finally the masses, stumbling no longer, purpose to commit one in the future. He proposes Only the voices of the Liebknechts cry: Revolt! in their might, sweeping away the last vestiges wage war on the democratic Peoples if they do not Revolt! You have swept away the old Feudal autoc of the old order, and ushering in the new era on the racy, sweep away also bourgeoisie democracy, and on thu thunder of their voices. The echo of that thunder is as much a militarist, although with a different the ruins of the old system raise the new structure of to day shaking Germany. Mingling with the echo ctive, as the crown prince. Submit to me, or industrial democracy.
are new voices, faint and indistinct, as yet, but grow.
conquer you, said the kaiser to the old Russia.
ing louder and clearer with each passing phase, until omit to me and Lenine or we will attack you says And against the Liebknechts the bourgeoisie now they too will sweep away the age of misery and in knecht. The doctrines of the kaiser Socialists hurl their calumnies. The pretense of admiration for turn hear the echo of their triumphant cries wafted Liebknecht come to the same thing so far as war. his old stand is discarded in the denunciation of his back from farther fields.
rose