Now Editorial Notes

THE CURRENT issue of The New Outlook contains an article on “Men of Russia” by James E. Abbe,an American newspaperman,formerly employed by the “Soviet photographic trust”Mr.Abbe states that most of the men who control Russia today are not Ussians, not even Slaves.He write”s: “Stalin is a Georgian, a different race.Kaganovitch is a Jew.Litvinoy is a Jew.Karakhan,Armenian.Smirdovitch (Smidovitch) is a Jew Ordjonikidze is Georgian Kurtz is Austrian Karl Radek, a Jew.”

The biographical sketches of sixteen men in the Russian Government are given.”Men in business for Russia in strategic positions: buyers, traders,are rarely ever Russian”,writes Mr. Abbe. “Members of the Jewish race from all over the world predominate. Every member of the foreign office press censor bureau is a Jew.Little men of Russia who help in responsible positions,heads of offices, trusts, are mostly Jews. It is significant that the three warriors on our list are Russinas.But Slavic Russia has been launched as a business firm by other than Slave. The infusion of alien blood has quicikened the pulse,the respiration,of t he’Russian bear'”

Though the article is intended to be an accurate picure of the men who rule Russia today, and thhough it was apparntly the purpose of the author to be sympathetic to the role played by Jews in Soviet Russia today,it is mislcading because of the inaccuracies it contains. Of the six Jews among the sixteen men in control of the Soviet Government,only two, Kaganovitch and Litvinov, should have been in cluded ,The other four,Radek, Borodin,Padolsky and Smidovitch,do not blong in that list.Radek is a brilliant publicist and editor.Padolsky is head of the Foreign Office press censorship.Borodin helds a minor position.Lifschitz is ” second in command of the Moscow Amtorg”. Smidovitch, whom the article describes as the “Red Pope” and atheist, official restrainer and regulator of religion in Russia,is also wrongly included among the Jews .While Austrian non Jews are described as Austrians,Karl Radek,who is an Austrian,of Jewish origin, is classed as a Jew And he occupies no official position in the Government.The same is true of some of the other “Jews” mentioned All these Jews do not coriskler themselves Jews,just as the non-Jews in the Soviet Government ment do not consider themselves Christains.

The percentage of Jews in high offices in Soviet is not at all large.Nor do they hold their positions because they happen to be of Jewish origin.In Soviet Russia there are no such political or geographical considerations as in some other countries.There is no discrimination on “religious”grounds there. A number of men and women of Jewish origin,because of their particular familiarity with certain subjects,and because of their knowledge of foreign languages,are occupying positions which necessarily bring them into contact with visiting tourists and foreign newspagermen.This makes the Jewish office holder in Soviet Russia rather cnspicuous.The article in the New Outlook, intended to define the cause of the quickened pulse of Russia as a result of the infusion of foreign bloods,is unfortunately employing some of the facts and figures that the Russian reactionaries and the German Nazis are magnifying in their efforts to brand communism as a distinctly Jewish movement.