The Soviet Republic in Action sureness.
By Goode.
structs, and sends down officials to teach was a quality of tension in the atA bourgeois impression From the Manthose in provincial town or local soviets.
mosphere which may have been due, felt, chester Guardian (England. One of the greatest difficulties experito the presence of a strong government enced by the Bolsheviki has been in finding joined to an ignorance of the relation in was made one of the crimes answerable to competent officials for Sovicts in the countwhich at any moment one might stand towards it.
a revolutionary tribunal the extraordinary ry. They found themselves up against the commission besetting sin of old bureaucracy, and they For that it is a strong government is The head and front of the whole organithemselves trace many of their errors to the beyond dispute. The idea that it is comzation is supplied by pure Socialists. Comcharacter of the men they employed at posed of men who forced themselves into offices for which they were entirely unfit munists who have a party organization of first. But they have set out to supply themseems to me, after months of experience their own to which the leaders belong. Its selves with more reliable elements.
In the palatial club of Moscow merchants among them, quite outside the truth. The discipline, self imposed, is complete and eighteen commissaires, or ministers, are men unique and is rigidly observed. When called they have established a school of soviet of unusual intelligence in some cases of upon for some duty, however distasteful, workers, with 700 students drawn from all high technical qualifications. And however the professed Communist must obey with parts of Russia by the local soviets, whose they have been chosen they were well out hesitation. At times even the leaders expenses are paid, and a course of four are ordered off into the country to some months provided in matters relating to local chosen.
Lenine himself, whatever opinion may be part where propaganda, explanation or justi government. test has to be passed at the close of the held on his ideas, is by way of being a poli fication is needed, and they go.
course, and when it is remembered that these tical genius. Krassin, commissaire for Punishment to Fit Responsibility.
700 can be turned out three times a year, the transports, is a highly qualified technician In cases where some lapse occurs influence of such a move can be understood.
and was formerly manager for all the Rus bribery or lawbreaking if the offender be In addition, in the same schoof the Comsias of the Siemens Schuckert Company. a non ocmmunist, he is punished with munist Party maintains a special course for His organizing powers are undoubted.
prison; if a Communist, he is shot as a 600 students, drawn from the provinces, Lunacharsky, commissaire of education, traitor to his principles. It will be seen, mostly peasants, in the methods of propais a man in love with his work and one who then, that the Communists form the spear ganda applied to the middle class peasants.
has that rare quality in an educational re head of Bolshevism and are a formidable stayed long in the great hall where former vision and he labors to materialize weapon.
lectures and discussions went on, and can his vision.
But for supervision of the whole organi testify to the deadly earnestness of the Milutin, commissaire of industries, is pro zation of government there has been set up crowd of students. They were mostly young fessor of economies at Moscow university.
a department of state control, which de and of both sexes, and the lecturer to whom Kurski, commissaire of justice, is a local serves a brief description. It is subdivided listened held them easily and initiated and lawyer. In Tomski and Melnichansky and covers the whole administration, con conducted the discussion with admirable of the professional unions; Dr. Semas. cerning itself only with officials, not with sko, state hygiene; Mrs. Lebedev, doctor of private persons, and its powers extend to all The idea of this school is an extension of medicine of the maternity branch of the departments, to the chief executive comcommissairiat on social maintainence, and mittee, even to the commissaires of the the idea of propaganda, which is one of the Siderski of food control, not to mention people. It controls the finances and budget. embracing and constant.
great weapons of the Bolsheviki. It is allI have spoken others, the government has people of solid It is capable of compelling departments to ability, great experience and considerable improve their work, and has authority to of monuments, but that is only an infinitesimal portion of the program. constant powers for work.
stop overlapping of departments and dustream of pamphlets pours out, the people Marvelous Power for Work.
plication of work. It has suppressed deare spoken to in their own language, often The commissaires of the people form real partments as unnecessary, If an official with great skill.
executives and they are men of grip. They does work that is unsatisfactory, it can rePosters are found everywhere, and there recoil from no act which they consider justi commend his removal, and it can and does are special shops for their display. Many fiable in the interests of the government. prosecute incompetent or sinning officials.
are crude in conception and execution, but And here is, think, one of the secrets of Instructs While It Governs. others are striking and effective, and all aptheir power. Another is their capacity for And not only does it control; it also in peal strongly to the eye.
work. The stories of orgies and of selfseeking are quite false. London clerk lives better than they do. Their lives are simple, their habits and dress equally so (I saw only one of them who was at all well dressed. and the reality is a life of (Continued from page it the result of feebleness and half heartedwork to which a convict task is child play.
forward surging militant energy of the ness?
They bear marks of the strain under masses encountered an insufficient maturity Both. The double character of this crisis, which they live. do not know what is the of historic pre requisites or was it the re the contradiction between the powerful, deaverage number of hours worked daily by sult of the revolutionary action being para termined militant aggressiveness of the the commissaires, but one of them worked lyzed by halfheartedness, indecision and in Berlin mass and the hesitation, tardiness and regularly from lunch time to or o clock ternal weakness?
halfheartedness of the Berlin leaders, reprea. and has never been known to go out Classic examples of both cases are, on sents a distinct characteristic feature of the last episode.
to breathe the fresh air; another takes only the one hand, the French February revolufive hours sleep; still another less.
tion, and, on the other, the German March The leaders failed to rise to the occasion. mention this only to show the charac revolution (1848. The heroic deeds of the But leaders can and must be created by the ter of the men who are in the forefront of Paris proletariat in 1848 became a living masses themselves and from the ranks of Bolshevism, and to put down coldly my fountain of class energy for the entire world the masses. For the masses are the deterown experience with them. But even these proletariat. The lifelessness of the German mining element, they are the rock upon men could not hold their own without a March revolution is in accord with the which will rest the final victory of the revogood organization to back them. This they whole direction of modern German develop lution. The masses were at their best, they have. And the western world should realize ment. Its stagnant influence was apparent have transformed their defeat into a link that politically and adminstratively the during the entire history of the official Ger of those historic defeats which form the organization is strong and complete. man Social Democracy till the last events of pride and strength of world Socialism. And The commissariats or ministries are well the German revolution, the most recent tratherefore from the defeat will blossom forth housed, elaborately organized and highly gic crisis.
the future victory. All is quiet in Berlin.
staffed.
What does the defeat of the so called You stupid lackeys! Your tranquility is Numbers of the bourgeois and former Spartacan week signify from the standbased on quicksand. To morrow again the functionaries are employed, and at first one point of the above mentioned historic law? Revo ition will rise to the heigths, and, in of the greatest dangers and difficulties was Was it a defeat born from the violent rc trumpet tones horrifying you, it will dethe amount of sabotage experienced. But volutionary energy encountering an insuffi clare: this was dealt with ruthlessly and sabotage cient maturity of existing conditions, or was was. am. shall be. All is Quiet in Berlin!