GERMAN POLICY AND THE BOLSHEVIKS.

Evening Post, Volume XCVI, Issue 12, 13 July 1918, Page 6

GERMAN POLICY AND THE BOLSHEVIKS.

Recent news of the German-Finnish advance towards the Murman railway has been followed by a somewhat belated report of Allied counter-measures in April, when marines were landed to assist the Red Guards to defend Russia's last ice-free European outlet. No light is thrown on the military development of the situation, but it is interesting to note that, though the landing was made in defence of specific Russian property, Trotsky protested. It happens that, after the Revolution, Trotsky travelled to Russia—by British permission—in the same steamer as the Belgian Missioner, the Socialist Emilo Vandervelde. In M. Vandervelde's book—written before the development of the Lenin-Trotsky administration—the irreconcilable character of Trotsky is thus exposed:

He waa coming from Canada, with a group of supporters, full of rancour and rage against the British, who had interned him at Halifax _ during several days; against such Socialists as ourselves, who believed in the necessity of carrying on the war; against Korensky, against the Minimalists, against all those whom ho accused of' oompromisq with the bourgeoisie and of concessions to militarism and imperialism.

From such material, exalted to power, intolerance of British aid, combined with tolerance of German exactions, is a thing quite to be expected. The important question is how long such an attitude is to be tolerated by the Russian people. Largely through their own inertia, they are placed in the position of appearing to back a policy which in practice prefers . German • to Entente intervention j and this fact in turn creates the moral difficulties of President Wilson. Apparently the shortest route to a radical change is an internal convulsion; the result of which, however, none can with safety predict.

Side by side with Russian forces such as Trotsky operates the German propaganda, which, ignoring facts about Germany, tells the Russians that they are the victims of British and French imperialism, ifor which they mistakenly allowed themselves to be killed.. M. Vandervelde writes:

In this regard there is a curious coincidence between tho German propaganda proper and tho views that we heard oxpressed at Petrograd by certain pacifists— Bolsheviks, Menshiviks, and Internationalists : one of tho latter, an influential member of tho Soviet of Potrqgrad, who was wearing, moreover, tho .uniform of a Russian officer, and who could not apparently forget that ho had had difficulties in obtaining a passport from the English military authorities, after having for several years enjoyed tho British hospitality that is granted to all political refugees, went so far as to affirm gravely that the real danger which threatens Europo to-day is not German militarism, but British imperialism.

As a Socialist M. Vandervelde is opposed to imperialism, and for imperialism he attempts no defence andlno apology. But he points out that the supremely important thing in the world to-day is the difference of one imperialism from, another. He and his fellow Socialists agree "that_all imperialistic. Powers have their share of responsibility in tho present conflict. Imperialistic international capitalism has brought about the antagonism that made war possible, bvit—

It is tho semi-feudal imperialism of the Central Powers which let loose the catastrophe. They alone havo not found among their democracy the resistance which v;ould havo made such aggression impossible."

On iconoclasts like Trotsky, but not on. Socialists like Vandervelde, such distinctions are lost. Yet they are the essence of the moral issue to-day confronting Russia and the world.