The Daily Worker Newspaper, July 23, 1927, Page 7

ASO RRR SERENA ne OTE ESAS ETRE EN, prerreonsance After Seven Years G08 friends never forget to supply me with inter- esting reading, I have hardly finished with the amusing conversations between Noi Jordania and the British generals when I have hefore'me again some works by the same author. So far the British gen- erals are not yet on the scene, but they are close behind the scenes as the reader will soon find out, This time, however, it is not a stenographic record, but original letters. True, we must use them in translations but whether a translator “falsifies” more than a stenographer, has not yet been decided by history. The documents are unusually frank. One of them, signed by “Oliko,” says: “While we write this let- ter the British police are breaking up the safes in the walls of the Soviet Co-operative (Arcos) in order to find stolen documents and other (Bolshevik) shady affairs. This is only an excuse. The police searches are made with an entirely different aim in view” (1!) How well informed! But it must not be forgotten that we are dealing here with representatives of the “Georgian Government.” No joke! “The Congress of the Social Democratic Labor Party of Georgia,” we read in the resolution of the recent Congress of the Georgian Mensheviks, “considers the N. Jordania Government exiled abroad as the legitimate govern- ment of Georgia; it approves of its activities im gen- eral and particularly of the unification of the sub- jugated peoples in the Soviet Union with a view to destroying Russian imperialism. The government is authorized to find reliable allies among the states (which will help Georgia with money and goods, etc.) both during the period of the liberation move- ment and after the occupation of Georgia ta support Georgia and render all possible assistance in the struggle against any imperialist steps that might be taken by Russia against Georgia.” * * * IME in the Soviet Union is fleeting very rapidly, but it is dragging in exile. In my last article I was afraid that everybody has already forgotten here about 1919, and here, you will agree, just as if it had been yesterday, Gegetchkory is negotiating with the British generals. We see people waiting for seven years for goods to arrive from England. It must be admitted that they are a patient lot. Naturally, the government is well informed as to its “reliable ally,” both as to the time when the raid is made on Arcos and as to the real aim of the raid, ete. That its ally is primarily Great Britain is self- evident. Also in this respect no changes have taken place during these 7 years. Jordania writes to his correspondent in Georgia that “the Anglo-Russian antagonism has now reached a phase when it can no longer be settled through peaceful negotiations. Either Russia or England will rule Asia, that is how the question stands today. At the present time Britain is concentrating all anti-Soviet forces. This constitutes the crux of European politics today. In this possible imperialist clashing of forces Georgia’s position is clear.” But England is no longer the only possible ally. In a letter to the Menshevik C. C.—this letter is somewhat older than the “Oliko” letter, and is there- fore more interesting—another member of the “gov- ernment” and another Noi, this time Ramishvilli, writes: “The anti-Russian bloc is about to realize its aims. Hitherto, England was leading. Now Ja- pan is also in the leadership. A new government has been formed there headed by General Tanaka who wants active interference in China. This signifies the strengthening of Japanese influence in Man- churia and driving the Russians out of there. Thanks to the Chang Tso-lin policy, the whole world found out that Russia cannot fight, and that is why she is pushed up.against the wall from all sides, and that is why she is ridiculed.” = * * ET us stop for a while. It is a well-known fact that there are wise people in this very same “Russia” who seriously think that all the hulla- balloo about war is nothing but the speculation of the “dominating faction.” And here we find secret Georgian documents where it is written in black and white that a war is being prepared against “Russia” and that “Russia” is being provoked; they express great resentment at the fact that we do not succumb to the provocations. Perhaps, after all, this will convince our wiseacres. It is natural for one in RamishvilJi’s place to spee- ulate as to the chances of the different sides in the expected war. : “Russia”—it is characteristic that the state of which Georgia constitutes a component part is per- sistently designated by Jordania and company as “Russia”—has no chances whatever; it cannot fight and the fracas “must end with its dismemberment.” “A highly interesting period is coming which we fol- low very closely and we will not lose sight of a single favorable instant to re-establish our inde- pendence.” This position reminds one of the position of a carcass over a carrion. “Independence” involuntar- ily reminds one of the British generals in 1919. But this is not so important. There is another more complicated question. The “carrion” is still firmly on its feet and even, according to the views ex- pressed by another, not a Georgian but a Turkish letter, threatens “to bite like‘a mad dog.” So that although “Russia” has no chances whatever it is Kalonin, President ef the Union of Socialist Saviet Renublies. Siu teccomdicy iv see what chances England has. And here is a “proletarian and national organiza- tion” as N. Jordania designates the Georgian social- democratic party, laying its greatest hopes on a split of the European proletariat. “The influence of the avowed opponents of Bol- shevism among the workers has been rapidly in- creasing” is what Ramishvilli joyfully. reports to his C. C. “In point of fact half of the labor fraction of the British parliament cherishes an avowed ha- tred to Bolshevism” (is it only half?). “If as a result of the Chinese events there should be war, the British government will recruit in the course of two weeks a voluntary army of half a million.” It would seem that there could be no more optimistic perspective, would it not? But the beginning of the next sentence betrays the “proletarian” author. He says: “It would be much easier to defeat Bol- shevism in France. . .” Aha! In other words a Bolshevik defeat in England is not so easy after all, 2 = 3 * * * pS. after taking the example of France with its “followers of Renaudel” did Ramishvilli find courage to say the following: “It may be boldly stated that ONCE RUSSIA WILL BE TRAPPED and she will have recourse to the sword, neither the workingelass of Europe nor that of America partieularly will give her any support.’. .” Thus, outside of Georgia, in Europe, all hopes are based on the “labor fraction,” to wit? MacDonald and Co., and on the “followers of Renaudél” and other socialist scoundrels, on the one hand, and on the “trap” which is being laid for the USSR by the shrewd British diplomats on the other. These are the hopes from the “proletarian” side. And what about. the hopes on the “national” side, viz., on Georgia? In this respect, of course, the Georgian bour- geoisie is the first ally. The national democrats must enter the “Committee of Independence.” “Ae- cording to our information the national democratie party is too weak,” writes Ramishvilti. “It has no Central Committee. It is necessary to organize such a centre so that the latter would be able to strengthen the amiradjibi and the Gvazava. If it will be impossible to establish such a centre any- where else, then establish it somewhere in your neighborhood.” Cd * * F there is no Miliukov then you must invent one. N. Jordania does not write in vain in his letters that: “OUR AIM TO UTILIZE ALL ANTI-BOL- SHEVIK ELEMENTS.” The circle of such “ele- ments” is not limited to the bourgeois democrats. Miliukov and the patriarch Tikhon (if he were only alive) could also be utilized. In a questionnaire which Ramishvilli sent to his correspondent there is the following point: “6—The position of the church: is the church still persecuted, are the clergy being arrested or exiled (give their names)? How many churches have been destroyed? Are religious services interfered with or not? Is there a special church tax to that end? Are there any cases of ridiculing religious people? Are the Armenian and Moslem temples persecuted?” “Bear in mind that we are connected in England with the Archbishop of Canterbury through our By M. POKROVSKY eouncil and we have a special representative, [vanit- ski (R. Ingilo), at the vatican, There ate rumors here that the heads of your churches consider the recognition of the Roman pope.” “At any rate. -You must sehd us all inferma- tion concerning the church. This is of great im- portance in Europe.” We know to well that “it is of great importance in Europe.” At the time of the Conrady trial one of the main witnesses for the defense was Madame Kalash who sang in the beautiful French language the song that in Moscow “all churches are closed, the clergy is persecuted, there are no religious serv- ices,” and similar chants. The bourgeois, who oc- easionally shut down the factories in order to fence the workers into submission through starvation, but never closes the churches, was overtaken by pious rage. But the list of “anti-Bolshivik elements” is not yet complete and we take the liberty to_call the attention of both Nois to another group which is even more reliable than the clergy and even than Mrs. Kalash. This group consists of the former tsarist agent-provocateurs many of whom are un- doubtedly still in hiding somewhere beyond the Cav- casian borders as also within its borders. They are people who have been tested as to their hatred to the Bolsheviks and they have much experience in eonspirative work too. They would be of great use. Experience in secret work is now more essential than ever before. Perhaps I have emphasized too much in saying that the Georgian Mensheviks have not changed much since 1919, and I can already hear some cbjections that I have forgotten my dia- lectics. A few samples of dialectics we have already seen in the fact that they are now clinging to the tails of two imperialist sharks at the sametime — one in the Atlantic Ocean and the other in the Pa- cific, and not as before. But the main dialectic is hidden, of course, in the present tactics of the Men- sheviks. * te * es the first place, if you think that they are pre- } “ring an insurrection, thea you are wreatly mis- _taken. “Georgia” (read Jordania and Co.) “as all other Russian nationalists (! !) wants the defeat of Moscow. but, IT WILL NOT TAKE DIRECT PART IN THE STRUGGLE but will remain neu- tral until the perspectives will become clear. This ean be made clear by our government in Europe. Iu wii! enter mto the active struggle only when our independence will he guaranteed. OUR TACTICS DURING THE WAR MUST BE THE CZECH TAC- TIC, NAMELY, NOT TO RISE!” On this point Ramishvilli fully supports “the president of the government.” “Should war begin (which appears to be inevitable) we must take every measure that the people do not fall victims of the Bolshevik provocation (?) and do not revolt. Noi speaks of Czech tactics during war, and he is quite right. The Georgian fighters must act the same way.” But Noi No. 2 makes an interesting addition. He says: “The enthusiasm with which the people greeted the war against Germany must not be repeated during the mobilization. . .” That is saying something! Of course what kind of a rising can there be if one must “fear” that the people will go to the defense of their Soviet father- land with “enthusiasm.” In the light of these fears the disclosures scattered in the quotations given above, right at the begirining of this article, from “Oliko’s” letter are an ill-omen for the Menshe- viks. “I KNOW AND I BEWAIL THE IMPO- TENCE AND DISINTEGRATION OF THE PAR- TY. I WEEP OVER THE WEAKNESS OF MY PARTY, but I do not lose hope. . .” “The situa- tion of these who lost their country and are now abroad is unbearable. We are always faced with the perspective of being buried in a foriegn land.” * > * was necessary to give up the idea of an insur- rection, as there are no masses who would follow the lead. Apparently, the Georgian fascists think themselves ‘better off. Much is spoken about them in the letters, and from the tone in which refer- ence is made to them it is clear that they are the most serious oppenents. Georgian fascism subsi- dized by Italy is not our subject. We are not going to deal with it now. We should only observe that the “Czech” tactics of the Mensheviks does not at all signify “peaceful” tactics. “From today on, we must establish highly conspirative connections with the staff of the Georgian army,” says Ramishvillf