Red Paradoxes

Berliners were startled, last week, by a sly remark reported to have been let fall by Soviet Ambassador to Germany, Comrade Nicholas Krestinsky.

Remark: Whereas 3,500,000 Germans voted the Communist ticket at the recent German Election (TIME, May 28), the total membership of the Communist Party in Russia is slightly more than 1,000,000.

From this would seemingly follow the logical absurdity that Germany is more Red than Russia, nay most Red among the nations.

Paradox explained: In Germany anyone & everyone who professes Communist doctrines or votes for candidates sponsored by that party is accounted a Communist.

In Russia, however, one may profess pure Communism without being able to gain admittance to the Communist Party, a rigidly exclusive Oligarchy whose members alone have the right to hold public office.

So far as voting is concerned, not even one citizen of the Soviet Union can vote otherwise than for candidates who are members of the Communist Party; because no other candidates are permitted to stand for election.

Therefore it is a clear if paradoxical fact that, although there are fewer members of the Communist Party of Russia than there are Communists in Germany, yet the whole number of Russians who vote* must and do vote Communist, whether or not they profess Communism. Of course the number of Russians who do profess Communism, and in that sense only are "Communists," is many times greater than the number of Germans who vote the Communist ticket.

* Thirty five million in 1927, although 68,000,000 enjoy the franchise and the population totals 143,000,000. Only "productive workers" over 18 and soldiers & sailors have the right to vote. Disenfranchised are employers, clericals of all religions, and affiliates of the fallen Tsarist Regime.