"The Bolshevik is not insane, but he is perverted", is the opinion of Richard Eaton '12, international correspondent and author, who recently returned to Boston after being imprisoned in, then sentenced to death in, then banished from Russia. "To live with them one must be a Bolshevik also.
"The reasoning of a Bolshevik is beyond the understanding of healthy people and nations. Even before the war the Russians were eccentric. At one moment the Russian was the polished European, strongely under the influence of French civilization; and a moment later he was the suave, but savage Oriental from Central Asia. It was this constant struggle between the East and West whose outward manifestations made the Russian so difficult to understand."
The CRIMSON reporter asked Mr. Eaton if the Russian people were fundamentally at fault. "No, before the revolution, the Russian were perfectly normal, his work was as good as that of any other European. As soon as Europe understands these people, the political and social conditions in Russia will cause little surprise."
"But," asked the reporter, "do you not resent the cruel treatment they gave you?"
Odd Bolshevik Psychology
"Since I have learned to appreciate the psychology of the Bolsheviks, I bear them no more resentment for the harsh treatment which I myself received at their hands then I should if I had suffered bodily injury from a man under the influence of cocaine. They are subject to the most absurd fantasies whose source may be the simplest of facts. The Bolsheviks have a lively imagination, they can start with nothing and arrive at the most exciting conclusion."
Mr. Eaton has had many intimate talks with the political leaders in Russia and in the Baltic states and has in this way reached very sane conclusions as to the character of the Bolsheviks. One of the most dramatic incidents was his appearance before "Simanova, the Merciless", the most dreaded woman in all Russia and chief of the foreign division of the Cheka, the secret society whose acts of terrorism have horrified the world. "You must always lie in the Cheka", said Mr. Eaton, "for if you tell the truth they will take you as a spy."
Meets Kemal Pasha
A distinction held by this correspondent is that of being the first one to obtain a personal interview with Kemal Pasha. As a result of this he was commissioned by the latter to carry unofficially the Turkish peace to King Constantine of Greece.
Mr. Eaton then told the reporter of the difficulties under which primary and secondary school education is conducted. "There is a tacit understanding that nothing shall be done to hinder the absolute liberty of young peoples' morals. The same arguments are advanced for the laxity of the discipline in the schools as those propounded recently by the Turks, advocating the restoration of polygamy.
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