BOLSHEVISM SPREADING.

Otago Witness, Issue 3384, 22 January 1919, Page 44

BOLSHEVISM SPREADING.

(By Cable.)

The Russian delegation has been sympathetically received in political »nd Government circles in France. For the first time all the leading Russians of every shade of opinion in Britain, France, and Russia, excepting the extreme right and left wings, have sunk their differences . in a patriotic determination to exterminate Bolshevism and enable Russia to express its free will. The demands are : An Allied pronouncement that will place Bolshevism outside the pale of society; material assistance from the Russian armies, a quarter of a million strong, under General Kolchak, and a similar number under General Denikin j the sending of a small Allied detachment from the Black Sea to Ukrainia to maintain order while crops are sown. It is anticipated that when the armies of Generals Kolchak and Denikin junction the collapse of Bolshevism must speedily follow. An instance. of Bolshevist terrorism is'supplied at Riga. When the British gunfire wrecked an Imperial bridge the Bolshevists seized 60 nearby residents, cut off their noses and ears, and left them dying in the snoWj where they were found by the British landing party. The Haagsche Post says that Bolshevist propagandists are very active in Holland, where they are spending millions of florins. M. Borisovitz, ex-manager of the Siemens' factories at Moscow, is now one of the principal Bolshevists, whilst an exdirector of a German banking firm is .acting as a Bolshevist foreign financial agent. The Bolshevist programme was first carried abroad by German Foreign Office couriers. President Wilson, in urging Congress to appropriate £20,000,000 . for European food relief, stated that Bolshevism is steadily advancing westward, and it cannot be stopped by force but it can with food. The United States House of Representatives has passed 100,000,000 dollars (£20,000,000) appropriation for the relief of the European food shortage. Twenty Russian and German Bolshevists have been arrested in Lausanne, and others have been arrested in Geneva. Neutral Governments, especially Switzerland and Sweden, are taking vigorous action against the Bolshevists. The municipal authorities in several towns in Switzerland, including Geneva, are insisting on all Prussians and Germans registering. The Swedish Government ha-s informed the Bolshevist representatives and 40 agents that they must leave the country immediately. The Government is dealing drastically with German and Russian _ Bolshevist agents. Many are under surveillance, and a number of arrests have been made. A special train to-day conveyed undesirables to the frontier. The Federal Government is carefully ■ watching events savouring of Bolshevism. Action is contemplated to prevent the dis- ! semination of propaganda, and influences in any manner endangering the Commonwealth.