Show PROBLEMS anro r FACING STRICKEN WORLD shall chaos or reconstruction in europe follow the great world war RUSSIANS RUSSIAN MISLED BY LENINE LEMINE I 1 claim that bolshevik government establishes tab lishes equality palpably false despotic power put in officeholders officeholder hands article by FRANK COMERFORD the first great hypocrisy of th thebold ebol government was its pretense se at establishing equality caste and class reminded the russians qs ot of suffering buffering tho the soviet government through tile peoples commissars commissary commis sars issued the following decree all designations such as merchant nobleman buri burgher lier peasant titles ouch buch na ai prince count etc and distinctions of civil ranks privy state and other councilors councillors counci lors are abolished and one designation Is established tor for alt all the tha population of russia citizen of the russian republic article 4 of the constitution makes bare the insincerity of the decree it does more it gives evidence ot of tho the great felony committed against tile the freedom ot of the russian people by lenine these three classes shall have tho the right to hold office and to vote they are made citizens of russia by tho the constitution first all russians Rus slana that are ro eighteen years of 0 age and who have acquired the means of living through labor that Is productive and useful to society and also persons engaged in housekeeping for we former second soldiers of the army armi and navy third members of the former two classes when incapacitated but tile the constitution goes goca further it tells who shall not hold bold office and shall not vote first Persons who employ hired labor in order to obtain profit second persons who have nn an income such as interest in capital rents property etc third private merchants trade and commercial comm erdal brokers fourth monks and clergy of all denominations fifth employees and agents of the former police the and the secret jerylea se rylea also members of the former reigning dynasty sixth the demented or mentally deficient fici fic ent tent seventh persona who have been deprived by a soviet of their rights of df citizenship because of selfishness or dishonorable offen offenses seso for tile the period fixed fl xe if by the sentence makes officeholders Onice holders despona De section 7 affords great opportunity for construction the 04 soviets ore are given power to disfranchise citizens because of selfishness or dishonorable offenses 11 who Is to say what shall constitute these offenses the courts no the people no the political officeholders yes when we remember ber that the first thing that tho the bolsheviks did when they came into power mas to drive from the soviets every one ona who disagreed with the bolshevik plan of communism at once and by torce it Is easy to understand the terrible power given in this phrase and the tyrannical uso that may be made every difference of opinion with their meth oils or plans would be a selfish aind dishonorable offense in the eyes of the bolshevik rulers and the foolhardy dissenter could be stripped of his citizenship ind no doubt would be this section writes the death warrant of freedom of opinion it gives to tile the s soviets 0 a bludgeon with which to beat a man out of citizenship who ventures tin nn opinion at variance with the imposed order it makes the citizen the servant the officeholder tile the master it Is upside down in a note to section cl of cf article 4 of the lie constitution we learn the local soviets may with the consent of the peoples commis commissary commissars sars lower the ngo qualification for voters I 1 what a splendid opportunity this joker in the constitution offers for political jockeying if the central power discovers it la Is about io to lose control of a village or rural soviet it has the power howerto to nip the uprising in the bud the peoples commissars commissary commis sars dmn cnn arrange with the minority in the soviet in question i to reduce tile he age limit and give the ali vo tc to young boys and girls when it Is remembered that the constitution ution directs the peoples commis sar of education to introduce in III all schools and educational institutions of russia tile the study and explanation and justification of the bolshevik constitution it Is not hard to understand that young peo people lille into whose 1 minds bouff been driven and drilled a reverence for bolshevism and I 1 its to nie thodi could be expected to vote for and support the bolshevik program best citizens disfranchise three groups of people class by their occupations are permitted catl they are the members of the tinny army and navy the working men and women and tile the peasants who do not hire labor labor eatery ine ne elso Is ninde an gutc outcast as t the man who hn link anaed a tittle little money parried in the of hl his and invested it t Is not per to tn t cowine time a citizen f the man who has a little shop it may impre sent cent the sacrifices and savings of h till ai whole life conlea comas under tivy th ban li la is unfit for five citizenship in bonade itus russia sla am the farmer who lie hires liel licup anil almost every farmer Is compelled to employ help in the e harvest time Is a criminal explore exploiter r and he la Is denied the right to vote or hold nn an office tho the man who devotes tits hla life to religion who comforts tile the poor flits the sick tile tho servant of god Is driven from the political house lie he Is denied the right to vote ote it is dangerous to give the lie thrifty tile tho industrious tile tho vote the fact that they were born in n russia that their parents and grandparents parents were natives to the boll for w pent centuries urles menus means nothing these dis franchised ones speak the russian language it to Is their heir only tongue their blood has had find a part in russian suffering tho the bolshevik constitution exiles them they are natives without a country ond ind why because by honesty and industry they have saved a little because they have tried to get on lanine says such people are tilled with dan dangerous gerbus ambition they are climbing the ladder of they are dangerous to tho the the soldier Is not nn an employer of labor lie he cannot be lie ho Is given a vote the sailor Is not tin nn employer ci 0 labor he cannot be lie he Is given a vote tho the constitutional provision defining ning altize citizenship puts a premium on indolence a penalty on industry it encourages waste it punishes economy it makes the successful nn an outcast jj makes of the neer dowell do d owe well a citizen frugality thrift and industry tire criff crimes ies those who possess tiles these e atles arc branded us as undesirables they are denied citizenship no possible justification tries to justify all of this by braying raying that in the transition from capitalism to socialism it Is necessary to rule with tin on iron hand capitalism must bo destroyed tiro tire system must he be uprooted even eail so what right has lenine without the consent of the majority to take citizenship from na live Itus what Is tits his excuse for it II where liere Is the force of his mant lienti riven admitting for the sake of argument that communism bolshevism Is a panacea tor for nil all the ills of tile the human race what right lias has lenine and its his minority to force it on the people ot russia conceding lite his creed Is for the common good Is it not ills first duty to make the people see and understand its ita virtues and then b by F and with the majority consent put the creed to the test to assert that his program la Is economic does not change tho the fact that his methods are not democratic ocra tic the lenine system of dis franchising the people Is hound bound to demoralize them hoy can a people bo be tree free without learning self reliance without trying self government proclaiming people tree free does not mako make them froe fre freedom doilis Is action it Is thinking it Is tile ability to govern ones self it comes from experience and exercise in governing ones self the definition of fret freedom doin Is self determination and the word self Is nn an important part of tho the definition admitting for the m moment that lenine Is trying to govern tho the people for their benefit although ho he Is not giving them a thinking part in the die government does it not tallow that his bis methods incapacitate tho the people for or self government ilow how can call it a child learn to walk except by trying and even though the child stumbles and falls Is bruised and hurt these exper experiences lences are part of the education in fil walking real heal test of freedom the right tf vote Is the test of freedom rob a free man of his As voting right ant and you make of him something less than a free man it does not matter whether you treat him well or not if it you rule him without giving him it a say in hta own government govern menti you destroy tits his independence suppose the constitution of aa w debating society a lodge a farmers grange a labor union declared declai ed that eliat some members could hold office and vote while others were not eligible for office and could not vote what would be the position in tile the body of those who were denied all right of participation in its affairs they would world be compelled to obey tho the rules do tile the bidding and bow to the wish of those who had bad the right to vote what would be the effect upon the teless co esThey on ones they would be demoralized moralizer moralized zed edt they would become non entities those thos posses possessing sigg the voting would grow arrogant arbitrary and autocratic the war odthe of the ages tile lie struggle of all history has been the fight of men for equality in cov eminent the right to vote Is the test 1320 union |