The Star. THURSDAY, JULY 22, 1926. “ THE BLACK POPE OF BOLSHEVISM.”

Star (Christchurch), Issue 17905, 22 July 1926, Page 8

The Star. THURSDAY, JULY 22, 1926. “ THE BLACK POPE OF BOLSHEVISM.”

The death of the “ Russian Butcher,” -who is said to have been responsible for the torture and execution of 1,250,000 persons, removes a figure more sinister even than Rasputin, the “ Black Monk.” Dzerzhinsky was a Pole, not a Russian, and most of his chief officers appear to have been of other nationalities also. One of Lenin’s right-hand men, Dzerzhinsky was the head of the Bolshevik police, the Chekka, which originated with the secret police of the Tsar’s time, then known ns the Ochrana. When Bolshevism came inlo control, the secret police, under the new name, still carried out the same purposes of terrorism as before, though under the Bolsheviks the methods used became more brutal. In the London “ Times ” during June, 1924, there appeared an article by a writer who was present at a parade of the Chekka. “ The troops marched, banners flying, with fixed bayonets, 1 ' he wrote. “ A group came out of the general headquarters, having at its head Dzerzhinsky, wrapped in furs, gaunt and austere. With him were Urschlicht, Latsis, Peters, Aschmarine, Felix, Kol, Enukidze, Eiduk—not one Russian. It would be difficult to say to what race they belonged. Behind them spies, detectives, shadowers, secret agents. From No. 11 of the great Lubyanka, seat of the Chekka, from the cellar where the executions take place, appeared iMegrim and Agrim, the two Lett executioners.” In an article published on November 1, 1918, and entitled “ The Red Terror,” Latsis, who was one of Dzerzhinsky’s chief men, wrote: “We arc not warring against individual bourgeoise. We are out to destroy the bourgeoisie of the past; whenever a bourgeoise is under examination, the first step should be, not to endeavour to discover material or proof that the accused has opposed the Soviet Government, whether verbally or actually, hut to put to the witness the three questions: (1) To what class does the accused belong? (2) What is his origin? (3) Describe his upbringing, education and profession? Solely in accordance with the answers to these three questions should his fate be decided, for this is what Red Terror means, and what it implies.” The removal of Dzerzhinsky, of course, may have little or no effect on the history of Bolshevism, which remains purely a class revolution, dependent on terrorism for its existence, hut there are evidences that the beginning of the end may be in sight, and it is possible that Dzerzhinsky met a violent death.

The most significant point about the agreement reached on the subject of a nurses’, home site in Hagley Park is.the proviso that the Hospital Board shall never again seek to acquire any further part of the park for any hospital purpose whatsoever. The Domains Board, with a lively recollection of the war of attrition waged by the Hospital Board in the past, has at last got to the poing of saying: “If wc give in this time, it will be the last.” It is not a very courageous line of action, and it is worth noting that, if Parliament lends itself to the transfer, which is unlikely, the effect will be to place on an already overcrowded hospital site a building that ought to be surrounded by pleasant grounds such as could be planned on the 88-acrc site that is under offer to the Hospital Board on Cashmere Hills. There is not a medical man in Christchurch who does not admit that the hospital site is overcrowded, and the board itself is building upwards only because it cannot build outwards. The nurses’ home is planned on a scale far too big for the limits of the present hospital site, and apart from its unsuitability as far as the health of the nurses is concerned, it would he bad business for the board to spend the huge sum proposed in creating a top-heavy structure for all time. For these reasons alone, local members of Parliament should oppose the clause, especially as it is to be inserted, most improperly, in the annual Washing-up Bill.

The visit of the Duke and Duchess of York in the winter of next year will be an event of historical interest comparable to the visit of King George and Queen Mary twentyfive years ago. The opening of the Federal Parliament is to be followed, at an interval of quarter of a century, by the opening of the new Federal capital of Canberra. This new city is generally regarded as a piece of political folly that was forced on the people of Australia because of intercity jealousy between Melbourne and Sydney, and the Duke of York will have to be very diplomatic in his utterances regarding it. However, the visit will have a wider value in bringing a very popular Royal couple into touch with important outposts of Empire, and the only thing to be regretted about the visit is that, like every other Royal visit, it has been planned for midwinter, instead of midsummer, when the people would have a far better opportunity of doing honour to their visitors.