THE REVOLUTIONARY AGE Saturday, January 4, 1919 The Bad Russian Bolsheviki But.
NDEED, nothing is more frightful in this world finally he could bear it no longer and. himself known better! She had better lay quietly under the than these Bolsheviki a bad omen in the night! became a Bolshevik! And he throw in his wife into earth! But no. Now she gets up and troubles For instance, to mention only their chief Lenin. the bargain; she has turned Bolshevik. At the her own old bones; why has she elected to resurrect He is the very image of a beast, an assassin, if we present moment they work together with Lenin. Poor Tierself! However, the worst of it is that the deuce are to believe the local newspapers and magazines Gorki! He must be now such a frightful sight! takes her over to America! Really, the old woman (and it is said they may, nay, must be believed. His has lost her senses!
Or, there is Breshkovskaya. The Bolsheviki exterior may be described thus: collosal in stature, several times sent her to the world beyond! Kind Well, why should we trouble so much about her squinting Chinese eyes, a large belt under which are hearted folks scribbling in one of the local Russian. The grandmother, as everybody knows, is an always thrust at least a dozen revolvers, in a large papers (A Menshevist paper; hence, also, a quite re old woman! But the young ones have been slaughbrimmed hat indeed, a very picture of Villa, perhaps liable source) shed even a few tears over her death: tered by the Bolsheviki. They killed Tereschenko; a trifle more dreadful! So much for his exterior, and The poor dear old soul was murdered; gone is our Spirodonava was tortured to death, and many, many as to his deeds, things look still worse. As morning grandmother. murder, a murder! such were the others. Oh, murderers!
comes he thrusts a half dozen, and sometimes a full mourning wails over the dead body. The Czars dozen, bombs into his pockets and goes out in the tortured her the incomparable one and yet they The other day a correspondent of one of the big street where he starts to throw them at every passerby could not kill her; the Czar servants tortured American bourgeois newspapers warned his readers and to shoot from the revolvers! Killing thus about her, but could not make an end of her.
thus: Lenin, he wrote, is a man of great talents, half a hundred men he returns home and rests till deep thoughts and a statesman, and we make a big came the Bolsheviki and killed her. mistake not reckoning with him.
lunch time; during the lunch hour he enegages in the Yes, they killed her nay, she was several times same sort of business and night finds him doing the There you are! As for myself do not believe all same thing all over again. So it comes to pass that killed. Are not the Bolsheviki monsters after that?
Not satisfied with killing her once, killing her sevthis thing. Why the deuce do they talk about the each day he murders at least a few hundred individuBolsheviki being capable people and all this rot? Why eral times. als. Is it not dreadful? This sort of things forms the they the Bolsheviki cannot even kill in a proper subject of the newspapers, and we cannot but to And suddenly. suddenly news is flashed to the manner: today they kill a person, and tomorrow the believe for they know everything. Such is Lenin, effect that the grandmother is still alive, is, in fact, murdered one is resurrected and walks abroad the but the rest of the Bolsheviki are really not much on her way to America to her grandchildren, sinful earth as if nothing had happened. If the capibetter. Their only occupation consists in torturing and, sitting in their editorial offices, these un talist hand will press a little harder and crush our and killing bankers, factory owners, engineers, artists dertakers grumble: The idea! An old woman brother workmen! Then, of course, do not expect and writers. Here is Gorki, for an example. He like her! We have gone to the trouble to hold any resurrection business! Our capitalists, once they is indeed a genius, a universally known writer, but a mass over her, furnished the funeral and even de kill, make a clean job of it. But with the Bolsheviki that could not spare him from the Bolsheviki. They livered the funeral orations and written obituary ar it is different. All their victims of today are resurhave tortured and beaten him up so much that ticles in honor of her. Well! She might have rected tomorrow!
The Brotherhood of Sham By Samuel Smalhausen HE season of Uriah Heapy hypocrisy and uni mocracy, Laborism, Socialism, Feminism, InTHEO ocratic ambitions of an unchastened Italy. behold versal fakerie is, alas, once more here. The ternationalism, Sovietism, in sober truth, all the lib the unaccustomed spectacle of east European earth resounds with the glad tidings of the re birth of erating radicalisms of our emerging social democracies pogroms; behold, oh my Christian brethren, these the Cliristian spirit. And what, pray, are these good. what of them in this, the most appalling crisis in blood red symbols of peace on earth and say not we tidings that fill the tremulous air at this high tide of the evolution of the modern State? We are piously nwe aught but homage and unconditional soul surthe year? There be first, good brethren, the exhilarat exhorted to thank the Christian God for having render to the beneficent, all wise, all mericful God of ing Christian narrative of the most bloody war ever brought us peace on earth and good will to man and the truth loving Christians.
waged by mortal man in which (for the greater glory just before Xmas, too. This bloody Peace, stained Come, little brother, be not downcast. The swellof God, no doubt) ten million Christian souls were mur with the counter revolutionary invasion of Russia. ing chorus of the Brotherhoom of Sham fills the dered and twenty million Christian souls were mu this guilty Peace, stained with the anti human creed discerning heart with a richer music than heathen tilated (for the greater glory of God, no doubt. of the competing imperialisms; this unclean Peace, inan is attuned to. Let thy wicked heart be straightThere be second, good brethren, the exhilarating botched by vainglory, sacred egoism, secret manoeuv way purged and thy conscience be made whole and Christian narrative of the occupancy of Governmental ering, capitalist collusion we humbly thank Thee, thy fface be clean uplifted, for the merry yule tide seats of (irresponsible) authority by the most reac oh Christian God, for thy abundant mercies in this is here. The Lord be praised. Truth (as witness tionary clique of pompous politicians that ever con the unforgettable year of our common undoing. We the American newspaper reports on Russia. Justice spired against the destinies and hopes of the common thank Thee for having entrusted the Christian Capi. as witness the punishments meted out by gentle Chrispeople.
talist Bourgeoisie with the high pacific task of un tian Judges to American Revolutionary Socialists. Never before in the history of Parliamentary insti doing (by the employ of the historically legitimate Charity (as witness the reign of profiteering in our tutions was misrepresented government so powerful Christian methods of blood and iron and steel) the God fearing land. these three, Truth, Justice, ly entrenched as in the year of our Christian Lord, revolutionary aspirations of the common folk of Fin Charity, dwell side by side in our land, the healing 1918. There be third, oh fellow Christians, the hair land, the Ukraine, Germany, Russia, Italy. No virtues of a civilization founded on force and fraud raising knowledge that as a consequence of a world one who surveys with coldly impartial eye the hab and rescued from a bloody oblivion by the sensitive war motivated (as all good Christians believe, no itable globe can longer doubt that the dreanı of Christ reverence for their betters, by the superstitious acdoubt) by the thrilling ideal of a whole world made (that enigmatically bellicose pacifist) is illuminating quiscence in the tyrannical rule of the mighty Fewutterly safe for real democracy, we discover strange the Christmas horizon! Behold the Allied occupa dalism on the part of the overawed masses. The war ly that the only forces not represented at the culmi tion of Siberia; behold the Japanese throttle grip on of the nations is well night over. The war of the nating Peace Conference are the forces of De meek unchristian China. behold the tantalizingly deni classes has well nigh begun.
The Lettish Socialists in America From the Noty Mir THE Lettish Fedeation of the American Solives in perfect harmony with an actual opportunism.
cialist Party is a good example of revolutionary tish Mensheviki, Darba Bals (The voice of La They did not wish to lend their ear to revolutionary organization, unity and Socialist consistency. In bor. ceased to be published and the small group of Socialism in the slightest degree. Instead of an unthis respect it can serve as an example, not only for Mensheviki fornierly with the Lettish Federation has compromising struggle with opportunism they adnational federations grouping around the Socialist begun to dwindle.
vanced the idea of a co operation of Bolshevism with Party, but also for the party itself. It can be stated Now almost all Lettish Socialists are partisans of the Venshevism, intimating, in fact, that there was without exaggeration that the cause of revolutionary Third International and the principles of the Commun not any great difference between the two moveSocialism would have considerably profited in America ist Party (Bolsheviki. These principles they try to in ments. The arrival in America of the old Lethad all organizations comprising the acted as troduce into the American Socialist Party. In this tish revolutionary and theoretician, Rosin, with the the Lithuanian organizations.
case they do not merely limit themselves to words, active help of his partisans put Bolshevism on a firm The round number of the membership of the Let but are doing active work.
footing in the Lettish organization. Already before tish Federation is about 2, 000 and almost It is of interest to learn how the Lettish Bolsheviki the war our Lettish comrades had the opportunity of of them are consistent Bolsheviki adherents of the struggled for mastery in the Lettish Socialist move getting acquainted with the principal differences exRussian Soviet government and fully conscious. ment. This struggle was a desperate one. Almost up pressed in the Socialist movement. Strahdnoelas, the the American Socialist Party they comprise the core to 1914 the leaders of the Lettish Socialist organiza organ of the Lettish Federation has become the fightof the left wing. The Lettish Menshevism is a quan tions in America stood on the platform of the Ameri ing organ of revolutionary Marxism and expresses tity not to be reckoned with. The organ of the Let can Socialist Party, in which revolutionary phrase current affairs from that particular point of view.