Thr Sun FRIDAY, AUGUST 13, 1920. WRANGLE OVER WRANGEL.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume VII, Issue 2027, 13 August 1920, Page 6

Thr Sun FRIDAY, AUGUST 13, 1920. WRANGLE OVER WRANGEL.

At the time of writing, there was no confirmation of the report that France had decided to recognise: General Wrangel as head of the South -Russian Government. If the; report is true, it means that France has deliberately challenged the i British policy in Russia in the interests of the holders of Russian securities. Such a step, if persisted in, could not but detrimentally affect Franco-British relations. These, we imagined, had been so firmly cemented during the War that division was impossible. At the same time it has been made apparent since the Peace that a powerful body of public opinion in France, dissatisfied with what it termed Britain's self-interest and tenderness towards Germany, has been sowing seeds of discontent in high political circles. This influence, which possesses strong financial backing, is more concerned with bleeding a bloodless Germany whiter and smashing Bolshevism than with preservation of the Entente. In the days of the Tsar, French investors bought largely and frequently of Russian bonds. When Tsarism was swept into oblivion by the tidal wave of revolution, Russian securities became so much worthless paper. The Soviet may yet change its mind and recognise the contracts of its predecessor so far as the French bondholders are concerned, but repudiation is the word more often in the Bolshevik mouth. Hence France's unforgiving attitude towards the Soviet. Hence, too, the feasibility of a move, not necessarily on the part of M. Millerand, to*support Wrangel in South Russia. The French Chauvinists would be quite capable of compromising their Government with Britain in order to further the anti-Bolshevik cause. But in Wrangel they will be clutching at a broken reed. He is practically the last of the challengers who have essayed vainly to dethrone Lenin and Trotzky. Denikin and Kolchak had their little day of successes only to be completely discomfited. The present "is not Wrangel's first attempt to defeat the Bolsheviks. The need for Bolshevik concentration on the road to Warsaw has left Wrangel with the best opportunity he could have expected. Whether he is capable or strong enough to take the fullest possible advantage of the opening is another matter. Probably he isn't. If the assumption is correct, France will once more be backing the wrong horse in Russia. The gentleman with the ominous name may talk largely about the free right of the Russian people to choose their own Government, but they have already chosen, and the choice is Sovietism. Chauvinism may deny it and Wrangel will protest against it; but the fact that the Western Allies cannot overcome is that Bolshevism has earned the right to represent theRussian masses. The outside world may scoff at or deplore the methods by which that domination has been ginned. But there it is, and not Wrangel, nor France and Wrangel in combination, can. conceivably alter it. And if France marches into Russia she will march alone. The British policy as outlined by Mr Lloyd George is impregnably sound. If the French Government could only see clearly, its policy would follow similar lines. The huge French investments in Russia cannot be salved at the point of the bayonet. Better far for France to bow to the inevitable and hope that ultimately the Soviet, having extracted official recognition from the nations, will respect the obligations entered into by its predecessor. It is no time for sentiment. Peace must be made with Russia, if Russia is sincerely desirous of peace. Then, when the international tangle is straightened out, France's claims on behalf of her bondholders should stand an excellent chance of being met. To support Wrangel would be to shatter that chance and, in addition, keep Europe convulsed indefinitely.

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