New-York tribune. [volume], May 14, 1922, Page 5, Image 27

About New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924

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NEW YORK T
The Fate of the American
Merchant Marine
Is in the Balance
;43ventures of iWar-Time Ship.
ping Gone; Cold Economic
Facts Now Control
By David S. Kennedy
sMpp.?g Editor of The Tribnno
THE steamship man is now pinch
ing himself -to make sure that
he ia awake. He has had a
wild party. but it is over.
AUdduVs W. w**h eonjawd up
i,t fortunee during tbe war and 1m
Sdistf'y after the armistice. has dis
gppeared.
Shif?t08 ??" <ntered upon * new
te _n<i the outlook is none too pleas
Th? situation is now entirely dif
ULt from the time when the publie
r?j *?< filled with reports of wealth
'ad, oTftr.igst. Ships no longer pay
f? themselvti in one voyage. Of
- -j-jg ,n0 fartierly made salanes of
tinOOO ? ??r ?nd received $26,000 at
Vhr-tm?? frr ? bonus in mBny in"*
.'"?",, are without employment. Some
'oJrVo are working for *40 a week.
Tie frct that e?nditiens have
fkifl|?l B 8hown by the ?'limination
9/ anb drivers and theatrical cos
tumrn from the business. During the
winnronc who could lay hands upon
in ?id tub thiat would remain afloat
iBtil it waa out of sic/ht of land could
feap fabulous profits. This attracted
to the industry a c!a?s of men who
knew nothing of the sea. who were not
and never would be shipping men. The
nploits of this class were published
broadcast. In considering ocean trans?
portation to-day it is necessary to re
nember that they have vanished, and
that those who remain are for the
mojt part the established companies.
The old companies also made great
MOilts, pnrt of which was disbursed in
the form of salaries and bonuses.
Many companies paid off debts aceumu
lated in the years of depression before
tfcj war. For instance, the Interna
"enal Mercantile Marine Company, the
?tnt fleet which was the creation of
;, P. Morgan. paid off a large propor
riea of the accrued dividends on pre
ftrred stockv. Others put by a surplus
for lean years?and found that it was
sceded to carry them through the
ciehteen months just passed. The re
ivaindor bought additional vessels at
r-ig'n prices. saw visions of still greater*
fleets. launched upon new trade routes
and then found themsclves in the trash
thal followed loaded with high-priced
tonnage upon which they could not
eam a reasonable income.
Many Won Big Rtakes
iinly to I.ose Them .Again
ln rmphasizing the fact that the
liipping industry to-day is not what it
*-.' two years ago it is necessary to
,::':l nttcntion ta those who took a
gambler's chance, won big stakes. and
i il when thc dice went against them.
Take the case of the family of May-'
m. During; thc war they ran a line
steamers between Canada and
france. carrying horses, mules and
npplies. They were popularly credited
with araassing a fortunc of $30,000,
WO, though this figure never was sub
Itantiated. They formed the United
States Mail Steam?hip Company and
chartered from the Shipping Board the
best of the cx-German vessels seized
'iuring hostilities. For a time they
operated what promised to develop in?
to a permanent fleet of fast mail and
passenger ships between New York
and Kurope. Thc deflation caught
them. When the Shipping Board
seiied the ships and the books of the
company were examined after bank
ruptcy proceedings there wa3 evidence
that the company was a house of cards.
A large number of similar companies,
formed by the family of Mayer, have
gone the same route.
Another case was that ?f Chrtatoffer
Hanncvig. According to the best avail?
able information he Came to the
Urtited. Statea from Norway early ln
the -war with litle except a promot
er'a danng. a conviction that shipping
was an El Dorado. and the determina
tion to win a fortune. He got options
on ships that. were building and also
on shipyards. Aa pric,s Boared> fnl.
lowing the ruthless submarine war. hc
pyramided his profits. bought more
ships. obtained control of more ship?
yards, and organized new shipbuilding
companies. lt was estimated that at
tho height o'f his success he was worth
between $25,000,000 and $30,000,000.
But he did not allow for the inevi?
table reaction. and when depression set
in his fortuncs took the course of the
Mayer *mily.
Victor S. Fox, a theatrical costumer
began business on a *hoa string. and
for a time had hopes of making him?
self a flgure in the steamship world
He bought ships at 10 per cent cash
and' expected to pay off the remaindrr
from current earnings. Unfortunatelv
he went in on the ebb tide, which soon
left him atranded on the sand.
The story of Morse is now before the
publie. According to allegations re?
cently made in the Federal courts, C. W.
Morse, his family and associates,
formed numerous steamship companies,
multiplied them with holding com?
panies and at each turn of the. wheel
sold atock to the publie. The cash that
camejfinto his companies, according to
the cfiarges, consistcd in large measure
of the money forwarded by obliging
purchasers of shares. It is estimated
hy the government that at least $15,.
000,000 was obtained from that vast
crowd whose ranks are recruited every
minute.
Against those who wereS W'alling
fords, the "fly-by-nights," there were
a few who went into ocean transporta?
tion as a career. who invested their
own money. built conservatively and
expect to remain in the game if the
economic situation permits them. In
this number is W. A. Harriman, eon
nt the late railroad magnate. who
formed the United American Lines.
This company has now become an or
ganization to be reckoned with on the
Atlantic, Gulf and Pacific. The most
recent exploit showing a confidence
in the future and a determination to
i succeed was the purchase of the liners
j Resolute and Reliance and their en
| trance., into the N'ew York-Hamburg
service. The company has also come
j.^nto possession of the two cargo motor
j ships Californian and Missourian, uti
Hzing the most modern form of marine
; propulsion, which will be placed in the
: Pacific Coast-European route.
There is still another class of steam?
ship men, those who operated with
varying fortunes under the American
flag before the war. During hostilities
; they saved their money and when de
j pression came they trimmed their sails
accordingly. At present they are buy
, ing ships again, cautiously, rclying
' upon recovery in the industry and also
hopeful of government aid. In this
number are such concerns as Moore &
McCormick. the Luckenbach Line and
othera.
In considering the need for a mer
', chant marine at present and in at
I
| tempting to solve its problems the de
velopments of the last seven years may
1 be coropletely disregarded, except that
! the war demonstrated thc lack of ves?
sels suitable for use as naval auxil
Some of the 1,000 Government Slups Noulldl
iaries. Opponents of thc ship subsidy
bill now pending in Congress a:o mak?
ing capital out. of the enormous prolits
earned during the war. Such argu
ments are entirely beside tho point,
Handicaps under which tiie American
ships operate are miittcrs to be niot
in tho future.
Merchant ships carrying the foreign
commcrce of the country may he com?
pared with the delivery wagons of a
large department store, Assume, as an
illustration, that. the A department
fitore was compelled to use wagons
owned a.nd run by the B department
store and that the drivers for thr lat?
ter were financially interested in de
vcloping business fnr their employers.
There is no question that on certain
occasions B's goods would receive bct
ter treatment than A's. The drivers
would surely report to B any trade
secrets which they might learn in their
work.
The same situation on a much larger
and more complicated scale applirs to
the merchant marine. One of the prin?
cipal reasons why Great Britain to-day
leads thc world in ocean transportation
is due Jo the fact that there is a close
alliance between exporters, importers,
marine insurance companies, banks.
commercial enterpriscs and steamship
companies. All work for the common
good. Aside from the actual differ
ences in operating costs between
American and British ships. com?
panies under the United States fla;r
face a tremendous tnsk in equaling
the world-wide British organizations.
There is plenty of evidence to show
that foreign steamship lines iii lhe
past have conibined by unfair mcans
to suppress American shipping, One of
the most effective methods is that of
granting deferred rebates, Under this
CS. CU- 0HO7~O
This fleet nf lb4 Shipping Board steamers, in thr Hudson River, near
Peckskill, is a parl of the American merrhant marine note tied up
because of Ion- freight rales and lack of cargoes
Brloic is a photograph of Albert I). Lasker, chairman of the Shipping
Board
plan a group of companies. controlling,
mosl of the ships on a certain trade
route, wil! offer to shippcrs a rebate of
10 per cent on all freight money at the
end of tiie year for an agreement lo
route nll sh ipnients over their line^. A
fiinr/le violation of this rule means loss
of the rebate. There aro cases on rec?
ord where stl'Uggling American lines
have been unable to break into this
solid combination. The shipping act of
1 01 il effectually prcvents the granting
of dcferred rebates in .American trade,
but it is extrcmely difficult to protect
American steamship lines throughout
t h e w orl d.
Another instancc was the immigra
tion conference in effect before the
KtfCY'fTONE fHOTO,
war. Through this system foreign ship-,
ping companies allotted the immigrant
traffic among themselvcs; There was
no chance for an American line to par-'
ticipate. Only th*' rigid restriction of
incoming aliens by I'niteil States law
has prevented the revival of the con-i
Ccrence since the war.
One of tiie best illustrations of the!
handicaps which American companies
have to overcome was afforded several
months ago in the Egyptian cotton
case. When American companies er.
dcavored to participate in the move
ment of Egyptian cotton to the United
States they found that British lines
had ironbound contracts with Alex
andria shippers. No matter what rates
or services were ofTered, American con
cerns could not get a pound of the
shipments. At this point the Shipping
Board stenped in. A rate war was
started and there were threats of re
taliatien under American laws. The
pressure was too great and the British
lines yielded. An agreement was
reached. dividihg the traffic equally
between the ship lines of the two coun
t ries.
A. D. Lasker, chairman of the Ship
ping Board, admits that he enjoys an
occasional game of poker, For this
reason he likes to describe the ship?
ping situation in poker terms. He pic
tures the maritime nations of thc
world as seated around a table, their
chips consisting of vessels, laws,
finances and other resources. Before
the war American companies had very
few chips. They were unable to raise
the ante, and their bluffs were easily
called. ln Mr. Lasker's opinion Con?
gress should come to the aid of the
merchant marine and enable the Amer?
ican industry to stay m the game.
A glance into history throws some
Aid of Congress Needed, Lasker
Insists, if Ue S. Industry Is
to Stay in the Game
light on the present situation. In the
early days of the Republie Congress
grant?d shipping full protection by dis
criminating duties and other legisia
tive aids. Under this encouragement
American clipprr ships ruled the
waves. They carried 90 per cent of
our foreign commercr. The vessels
weie the equal of any in the world as
auxiliary cruisets for use in time of
war. In the generation preceding the
Civil War government protection wns
withdrawn. American shipping de
clined. Then the devclopment of our
vast natural resources in the West
drained our supplies of men and
money, and the merchant marine dwin
dled until it carried only 9 per cent of
our foreign commercc as recently as
1914.
American Linea Have Neither
Experience Nor Resources
Great Britain pursued an opposite
policy. In the days of Cromwell dis
criminatory legislation gave a trc
mendous impetus to shipping, which
had been strengthened through naval
wars with France and Spain. When
American shipping dominated the sras
the Pritish government started a com
prchensive system of suhsidies, which
was just becoming effective when tho
American government withdrcw its as
sistance to its own fleet. In the course
of fifty years British vessels bound
the world in a network of steamship
lines, established ngencics and made
valuable connections with all forms of
industrial cntcrprises. This is the
situation to-day, American lines do
not have the experience or resources
to establish themselves. They ask
government aid, which has been ex?
tended to virtually all domestic in?
dustries.
It is not generally known that Amer?
ican private shipping has fallen to the
point where it is carrying a smaller
proportion of the foreign commerce of
the country than before the war.
Chairman Lasker recently testified .be?
fore Congress that private vessels in
trans-oceanic trade were. transporting
only 5 per cent, against 9 per cent in
1914. Nineteen per cent is handled ir
government steamers. Two years agc
ships under the United States flag car
ried one-half of our trade. At present,
loaving out bulk oil shipmonts froir
Mexico to the United States, Americar
vessels take less than one-third.
The war gave us one of the world'i
greatest fleets, second only to that o
Great Britain. This was obtained at
a cost of $3,500,000,000. Under present
conditions it is disnppparing rapidly
Of the 1,400 modern steel vessels ownec
by the Shipping Board only 400 are
in service. The remaining 1,000 are
idle, rotting away, gradually becoming
useless for all practical purposes
Imagine a fleet of a thousand vessels
the greatest merchant armada in exist
ence, steadily pa6sing into oblivion!
One of the relic3 of the war is the
j fleet of 300 wooden ships. constructed
to bridge the Atlantic, which will nevcr
be put in operation. The Shipping
Board cannot sell these vessels. Recent
experience shows that it cannot de
stroy them unless some novel methoc
! is discovered. An attempt was made tc
do this by tire. Several ships were
burned to the water's edge. but the
huiks remained as menaces to naviga
tion. If they are filled with cement and
| sunk ?a costly plan?there is the evei
present possibility that they may over
tlirn and rise to lhe surface.
A brief summary will show t.he hnndi
' caps faced by American companies
The Shipping Board has demonstrated
after a thorongh invr^t.ijjation. that art*
der normnl conditions American var.sAl*
must pay 30 per cent more in WagfiV,
2."> per cent more for su'osistcnce of
crews and about 20 p* r cent more for
construction in local shipyards. Tha
latter mcans an annual diffcrential for
interest, insurance and depreciation
over similar charges on British vessola.
Crews Must Be Kecrniled
In Inifed States Ports
The higher wages are due to lh?
fact that American ships must rernjit
j their crews in United States ports,
i where they compete with the standard*
of pay on shore. The higher sub i ?
cnce costs ?re caused partly hy such
legislation a** the La I-'ollette seamon'a
act and partly hy th-> insistenco of
'American seamen for better food and
j accommodations. The higher cost of
construction in domestic shipyard ia]
1 caused nlreost, entirely by the cre?!"?
j wages paid to shipbuildlng cmployea,
' American companies could buy shipg
1 built abroad. but that would not help
in the maintenance of domestic 5iaip-?
Lyards.
The ship subsidy bill introduced :n
: Congress with the support of Presi
; cent Harding, the Shipping Board and
| American shipping interests is de?
signed to offset the differentials and
ilo place vessels under the United
'States flat: on an cquality with their
ilosest rival, the British lucrchan!)
fieet.
Stated briefly, tbe subsidy bill is fo.
provide a fund or about S.jO.OOO.non .^
year, which is to replace the $50,000,000
i*ow spent on government operation of
ships by the board. This is to bc de
rived from 10 per cent of the taritT
revenues. A number of indirect aids
nre provided. The navigation law- arc,
tc be reviscd in some rcspects, Tho
1 board is authorized to set aside a total
cf 512>,000,OCO from Cunda dcr:\ed
| from the ra!" of ships, which may ho
; loanod at interest as low as - per cent
for the building of new and faster
steamers. Shippers may t'educt 5 per
cent of; their freight money, spent on
American hoats. from income taxes.
j The army transport service is to ho
: abolishcd and commercial vessels used.
The coastwise laws nre to be extended
to the Philippines. Rai] and water
transportation are to be co-ordinated.
j Shipments on American vessels arc to
. have the sole benefit of prefcrcntial
; railroad rates.
In order that steamship companies
j may nol, through thes^ various aid-,
! make unusual profits, thc bill speeifies
; that one-half ef any net earnings
nbove 10 per cent musl be returned to
thc government until thc full amount
? of the subsidy ha" been paid back.
Furthcrmore, the Shipping Board is al
lowed widc discretionary powers in de
lormining the best edministration of
government aid.
The adventures of war-tim" f.hlp
ping, with the prospect of sudden for
tuncs, have jnnr, Cold economic facts
: now control. But th" rbmance of the
| sea is not yet dead. It wil! remain ro
?ong as there are storms, icebcrgs, 1 1
ir.cn shoals, dorel\cts, fire,; and other
ocean perils. There i-. plenly of op?
portunity also for inventive genius,
; Tho last, century sa-.v ihe transition
from sail to steam, from wood to iron.
, Al present shipping is undergoing thrj
change from steam to Die.-el or inter?
nal combustion engines. The op"n
question is whether American steam*
ship companies will lake their proper
place in lhe future shipping of tho
i
Rulers of the Soviets
Come to Grips with the Church in Russia
T
By Leo Pasvolsky
HK trial of the All-Russian
Patriarch Tikhon, which opened
several day, ago before the
Supreme Revolutionary Tri
becomc a factor of far
in the Russian de
tunal, m??
"aching importance in
'elopmenta of the near future. In a
*Meit .s a teat of atrength between
WO oiametricallv onn^.,1 r.,._
Soviet go
? 't is a teat of strength bKween
diametrically 0ppo<ed forces, the
government and the hierarchy of
^Orthodox Church. The govern
Si *been lookin* f-* f?
?7e ?PP?tunity to force tbe issue
" between itaelf and the Church, but
w?s not until the beginning of thia'
^J'-f.'-'oPPor.uaitypresent.,
?tehand ? now bcing uti?
On tr v" by Ule government.
^v^ruary26,-1922)theCentralExJ
Cr ****** ?f S?viels ">"*? *
no "tn r11^0"^15"^
-, *? "i the Dosseasion ,.r .u_
SP'"l. tHe P?sse"'^ of the
de ed c ;hr?^hout **?* -ere or
C fnrtr:ftoprovHe,"ea-f"
'?vi ot the fam.no a? _,? ui ,_
^*vZ ;:t Asmi^have
Sr?i ,! V * dc'cree aro"sed a
?Mica;^; i:"c rent in th?pcciesi'
^ u, atl. q SU- ThCrP 18n?
P?cted tn 'let *ove?ment ex
i, Ve, rM;nt01ent ?* most prob
??> "ficomed ?? tu ? .
?*d bv th- situation cre
??" ^Portunitytodetermine .with
NiC tnT aCtUai and ac?v? oP
"?of hlrume- UpUced thp le^"
Niti,? f0 h:',rch J" a *?** diBcult
* the car-vin sllzhlest opposition
?Moaah neOUtof,h- ^cree would
f?Paeif" f '"terPr?te<l with all the
th< Pov,-t ! *emaK<>8y poaseswd by
*? 55; ortha%refupai to aid in
Atthe?am. famine "'tuation.
that the rest,mf Jt wa,< P^feetly clear
' iB *? decre!" '0r, C0nfi8C?H<?' Siven
re.] 0n? ?CreP ^uld scarcely be the
^naXra:;idt-rrpP---top
*? ?o?th, of 'r. !" lMUed durin*
3 ?f D?tmber and January
the purpose of which was to regulate
and curtail ecclesiastical activities.
The confiscated church valuables can?
not possibly be turned to account for
the relief of the famine districts;
every Russian port is already clogged
with grairt imported from abroad,
which cannot be moved into the starv
ing areas because of the railroad situ?
ation. The addition of thc confiscated
gold, silver and precious stones to the
stock of valuables held by the Soviet
treasury might be of assistanee to the
Soviet government at some future time.
but this has really very little to do
with the famine situation. It seems
likely, therefore, that the Soviet gov
'ernment simply decided that the pres?
ent circumstances were too good an
opportunity to miss in testing the
temper and the power of the Church.
It is most interesting that up to
now the Soviet government paid com
paratively little attention to the
Church. The Soviet constitution pro?
vided for a complete freedom of "re?
ligious and anti-religious propaganda"
and left the'whole question there. The
government has been too busy w;th
other things to pay much attention to
'the matter. And the Russian Church,
iseparated from the state by the revo
lution of March. 1917, and reorgan
iized with Patriarch Tikhon as its head,
continued to exist with varying de
grees of success and prosperity in va?
rious parts of the country.
', The .Communist agitators occasional
ly attacked religion, which they call a
"poison for the people." From time to
time aome of the more extreme leaders
?raised their voices to attack the ac?
tivities of the Church and to demand
I its persecution. But except during the
j first flush of Bolshevism there has been
very little persecution of either the
| Church'as such or of the priests.
There seems little doubt that in
i these conditions the Church developed
a coniWerable and powerful organiza
tion. Wist how this organ ization oper
iates and wh'at are its aims and pur
poses it is difficult to determinc with
any degree of accuracy and precision.
lt is also difficult to tell what is the
actual relation between thc paris of tiie
hierarchy remaining in Russia and
those ecclesiastics who have tied from
the country and are now banded into
powerful organizations in various parts
of Europe, notabiy in Belgrade and
Berlin. But the manner in which thr
opposition to the carrying out of thc
confiscation decree developed immedi?
ately after the actual work of confis?
cation was begun seems to indicate
that in Russia herself the Patriarch
and his associates wield a power which
is, perhaps, greater than the Soviet
leaders had anticipated when they cm
barkcd upon lhe policy repiesented by
the decree.
Patriarch Crges Partial
Enforcement of Decree
In response to the confiscation de?
cree the Patriarch issued an appeal in
which he authorized and directed the
churches to contribute to the relief
funds such articles 0f value as rings.
smaller ornaments and gold and silver
parts of old vessels. etc. But he an?
nounced definitely that the giving up
of the holy vesseli' and of the orna
Iments used in the course of the roKn
iar services would be an act of blas
phemy. The decree. on the other hand,
demands the giving up of all the arti?
cles made of preoious meta!?.
As the work of actual confiscation
began it was aceompanied by pro
tests and opposition that in some in
stances becamc rather violent. ln Mo = -
!COw for example.. fourtcCn .protests
iwere received in one .day from various
ichurches. One of these protesta read
las follows:
j "We the undersigned. members o,
jthe Ru'ssian Orthodox Church. consirier
'it our moral duty to protcst agamst
the decision adopted by the Central
Executive. Committee of Soviets on I-cb
Iruary 26 to c.onfiscate all church valua
'bte?, not excluding such articles as
jara used in the performance of ho;y
services. According to the teachings of :
the Church, such removal is punisha
ble by anathema, which extends not
only over those who take such arti?
cles dedicated to the Lord. but also
ever those who give them up.
"We boy the central executive com?
mittee to revise this decision which of
fends deeply the icligious feelings of
millions of bclievers and also goes
counter to the principle of religious
freedom by the Soviet Constitution.
"Eager to relieve te sufTerings of
our brethern who are dying of starva
tion, we are ready fo any material
sacrifices; but we consider that we
should be perniitted to render such
aid directly hy opening feeding sta
tions, hospitals, etc, under the general
supervision of the committee of the
ITnited Parishes of the Russian Ortho?
dox Church, nccountable for its ac
tions to the controlling organs of the
government."
Th other letters were similar. and
in some instances virtually in thought
and terminology. The Soviet press, in
discussing the fact of these protests,
attributes the siniilaity of the text to
the work of the central administration
of the church, i. e., to thc activities of
thc Patriarch.
Nevertheless the work of removing
the valuables proceeded. lt was found.
hawever, that. there was not a scrap of
Cold, nor a Mngle precious stone in
any of the churches in the city, Only
silver was found and removed. What
happened to the articles made of gold
and those ,-dornrd with precious
stones no one knows. It is as3umed,
however, that these articles were hid
den by persons in authority in the
affairs of the church.
In the city of Smolensk the very
first day f>n which the local authori?
ties attempted to carry out the con?
fiscation decree, an organir.ed attempt
was made to oppose this. ln th- morn?
ing an alarm was sounded in two of
the larer churches of the city. ns a
result of which large crowds of pco
pie gathered in the marketplace. Sev?
eral attempts at disorder bad to be put
down by armed force. The general at?
titude of those who are respens ible for
the agitation against tiie confiscation
decree is that rhe valuables removed
from the churches would not be used
far famine relief at all. but for the
payments due to Poland. for the equip?
ment of the Red army and for the
"enrichment of the commissars and
the .lews."
These are some of the typical in
stances of the opposition aroused by
the confiscation decree. There- are
other instances, however, in which the
parishes and even the ecclesistical
authorities comply quite readily with ?
the requirements of the confiscation.
For example, a group of rlergymen in
the Cyril Monastery issued an appeal,
in which they states that " it is against'
the teachings of Christ, to s*>" churches(
ornamented with man valuables, while :
millions of people are starving to
death." ;
Thus, whatevcr else may or may not
he the result of the confiscation decree, ?
it has alrcady accomplished one very -
important object from the point of view
of the communist leaders. lt has
brought an important split in the
ranks of the Church. Cbnsidering the
fact that the basis of this split is dis
agrecment on so fundamental a ques?
tion as to what con3titutes an act of
blasphomy in connection with thc prea
ervation of-articlcs dedicated to church
services, the split is likely to assume J
grievous proportions as far as the unity ;
of the Church and the authority of;
its head. Patriarch Tikhon. nre con
ccrncd. The net result would be ai
discrcditing of the Church, which is
one of the aima for which thc Soviet j
leaders are striving.
And it is. no doubt, for the rame pur- J
pose of discrcditing the Church that
the Soviet government ha.s at last
brought to trial the All-Russianl
Patriarch for counter-revolutionary ac-!
tivities. The decree concerning the j
confiscation of the church valuables I
and the attitude toward it of the Ortho?
dox clergy bav given thc Soviet press
and agitators an excellent opportunity
tor attack. And they are not wasting
their chances.
Newspapers Pieture
Big Revolutionarv Plot
The situation, as thc official Soviet,
oigans present it for their readcrs, is '
somewhat as follows: The clergy, both
high nnd low, is to a large extent op- j
posed to the complete carrying out of |
the confiscation decreOr. At the same '?
time the high church authorities, with i
whom, it is asserted, nre allied all the
reactionary clements of the country,
set- iu this situation an excellent op?
portunity for counter-revolutio'nary
activities. Thc Soviet authorities have i
even announced that they have riis
covered a wide-spread plot, the pur
pose of which is the overthrow of thc ',
Soviet regime. An cditorial in the
"Moscow Pravda," of An:i! 1, states ?
tho goyernment's case as, follows:
"The clique of the Princes of tiie;
Church continues its criminal work.
Tho black feelers of their plot cxtend
all over Russia nnd their agents are
doing evcrything in their power to !
rouse the masscs of their adherents'
against the Soviet, government. ln
Smolensk they even made an attempt ?
to rouse the workmen again::t thc gov- '
ernment. In a number of piovinees
the clergy, headed by the bishops, con-I
ducts a 'paasivc .-jtrugglc' against the I
remova) of the church valuables. Some,
of them. when asked whether or not j
they would give up the valuables, reply
that they will do so as soon as they ;
receive an authorization from their
superiors, i e., from the Patriarch. i
And in the meantime active agitation
tS conducted among the parishioners in I
an attempt to prepare them for open i
resistance to the act of confiscation.";
Thc government aceuscs. the leaders
of the church of an attempt to piungs
the country into a new civil war, but
assurcs ua, through its official organs,I
that there is not the slightest chance
for the success of the plot. The rea?
son for this. we are told, lies in the
eontention that the great masses of
the Russian people will not follow ihe
clergy. ln order to strengthen its case
the Soviet government asserts that the
leadership of the Russian Church is
closely affiliated with the Russian mon
archist groups abroad and is really a
tool in the hands of the latter. The
"Pravda" editorial ends as follows:
"Our country has suffered too much
to permit any longer such dastardly
attempts to cause new upheavals. lt is
utterly impermissible that the worst
part of the remnants of the former
{.utocratic regime, having found refuge
in Germany, should now be able to
cause new bloodshed, acting through
the church leaders. An end should be
put with a firm and swift hand to this
plot concocted by tho clergy and the
Black Hundred clements."
Whether or not. the Soviet govern
ment's case rosts on actual facts there
seems no doubt that by tytng up the
confiscation decree incident with the
spectre of a counter-revolution the
Soviet laaders have once more put into
use a weapon which they had found
most cfTective in the handiing of their
internal situation in connection with
every phase of the civil war. There
are, however. aspects in the prc?ent
situation which were not present in the
others.
It ia a historic fact that religious
movements thrive on persecution. So
much of history the Soviet leadership
apparently remembcred when it per
sistcntly forebore from embarking
upon an offlcial policy of persecution
of the Church. And it is most im?
portant to note also that at the present
time the policy of persecution and the
brunt of the propaganda is not. directed
against religion generally or even
against the church hierarchy.
There seem to be two plausible ex
planations for this policy. It may be
' that under the able guidanee of Patri
arch Tikhon the Russian hierarchy has
really grown into an important politi
cal factor, which would quite naturally
be counter-revolutionary from ihn
Soviet point of view and which very
possibly has connections with the Rus?
sian reactionary groupa abroad. If"
that is so and if the Soviet government
really considcrs that the hierarchy be
gins to present a definite political meni
ace, then the methid of discrediting it
'which has been seized upon must be
considered excellent strategy. The
Patriarch and his associates were
' placed facc to face with most difficult
dilemma, Opposing the confiscation
j decree, they laid themselves open to
most violent and plausible attacks anrl
propaganda; but acquiesCing to the,
decree they would find themselves dis
j credited in thc eyes of their own
chureh-gocrs on quite different grounds.
They chose the former courFe and gav?;
the Soviet regime its opportunity for
playing up the real or imaginary poHti
cal danger likely to arisc out of-tha
activities of the church hierarchy.
Or it may be that the threads dircct
ing some of the recent activities of the
Soviet government with regard to'the
higher Russian clergy are running
j back to the power represented by the
Vatican. The Vatican's ambitions fnr
penelration into Russia havo become
fairiy well defined in the course of the
pa^t few months. And it is a most in
Iteresting coincidence?if ic leal'.y is
merely a coincidence -that during
these last few months there has been
| an unpreccdentrd abundance of rumors
regarding a possible recognition of the
Soviet government by the Holy See. It
lis a perfectly obvious fact. of course,
: that the two greatest obstaclcs in the
way of the aVtican's penctration into
Russia are the deeply ingrained, cen
j tury-old veneration of the masses of
th ? Russian people for traditional
forms of church services and the jiav
? ural oppoaition of thc church hiera,ch%
iThe recent activities of the Soviet g?v.
-ernment strikes. at both of these cir
| cumstancea.