"Political Execution"

The Communist Party Congress-- a great hive of angry bees which have been droning monotonously at Moscow--took drastic action, last week, and expelled from the party 98 extremely prominent Communists. In Russia, expulsion from the one and only party permitted to exist is a sentence of political death. No Russian not a Communist in good party standing, can hold public office. The 98 who were thus "politically executed," last week, suffered this penalty because they are supporters of two World-known Russian statesmen who have tried to lead an Opposition in the Communist party but were recently expelled from it for that high crime. These two are LEV DAVIDOVITCH TROTSKY and GRIGORY EVSEEVITCH ZINOVIEV. Their names have been among the best known in Soviet history and there are dark reasons why they may become so again. Of the 98 expelled, last week, three rank as at least second string great men in Russia: 1) Christian Rakovsky, recently recalled as Ambassador to France at the request of that nation, which feared him as a tireless fomenter of "The Revolution of the World Proletariat"; 2) Karl Radek, probably the most brilliant publicist of the third international (bureau for world Communist propaganda); 3) Lev Borisovitch Kemenev, onetime holder of numerous offices approximating "cabinet rank" in the Soviet Government. That these men -- and Zinoviev and Trotsky -- have had their careers blasted by the present Dictator of Soviet Russia, JOSEF VISSARIONOVITCH STALIN, is an astounding circumstance which demands explanation. Trotsky, it must be remembered, organized and successfully commanded the "Red Army." Without him the Soviet Regime would have been swept away at its creation. He deserves well of any Russian Communist for much the same reasons that General George Washington deserves well of any U. S. Citizen who is glad not to have been born a British subject. How then is it possible that the Communist party has come to such a turning of the ways that Trotsky and 100 lesser great men must be left behind? ", Ihe matter is clear when two facts are remembered: Trotsky represents the doctrine that the Soviet state must never cease to promote "The World Revolution of the World Proletariat, because, until that Revolution comes, Russia herself cannot attain a state of "pure" Lenin Communism, due to the machinations of non-Communist powers; 2) Stalin, on the other hand, holds that the Soviet state must temporarily cease to foment "World Revolution," in order to gain strength from friendly commerce with the non-Communist powers, and finally, when strong enough, press on with the "Revolution." Other clashes of policy exist, of course, between Stalin and Trotsky; but the one just sketched goes very deep. Stalin has the practical responsibility of keeping the state on a balanced budget basis, and he has learned that the co-operation of non-Communist powers is necessary to do this. Stalin controls the machinery of the Communist party. That machine has cast out Trotsky. Unfortunately the matter cannot end there. The machine has cast out of the party men whose prestige with the Russian masses is as great or greater than that of those who remain in. Moreover Trotsky, Zinoviev and their followers are zealous trained and successful revolutionaries. The despotism of the Tsar could not curb them. It remains to be seen whether the despotic machine of Stalin can. Kicked out, they yet believe that alone are the chosen vessels in which reposes the spirit of Lenin -- in Russia Lenin is, in sober truth, a God. In his name Trotsky will certainly plot and and perhaps conquer. After all "Lenin & Trotsky" is a couplet revered by millions to whom "Lenin & Stalin" rings unfamiliar, hollow strange. . . .