Page:Samuel Gompers - Out of Their Own Mouths (1921).djvu/252

 226 in trade for recognition. It is an offer to bribe the supposedly gold-hungry Americans.

What the Soviets hope would follow such de facto recognition and free resumption of trade would be unlimited opportunity to attempt corruption of the world by propaganda.

The United States has lifted all trade bans. This government interposes no legal, barrier to trade with Soviet Russia. A treasury order signed on December 20 took down the last barrier, permitting exportation of gold to Russia and allowing dealings in exchange.

This is surely enough. If it is too much may be a fair subject for discussion. But we have gone that far. Surely, democratic America will take no further step in compromise with an autocracy the like of which the world has never seen.

Information about Russia continues to accumulate. Only those who are determined not to be informed can remain uninformed. Upon encountering a questioning opponent the exponents of Sovietism say that we do not know what are the conditions in Russia and advise us to "wait until we can get the truth."

This is subterfuge that deceives only the unthinking. We do know the great, main truth about Russia and we do have fairly accurate information as to the material conditions of the people. It is perhaps no fault of the rigid control of visitors' permits exercised by the Soviets that numerous persons have gone into Russia as fervent Soviet advocates only to come out running, hands over their faces, like fugitives from a scourge. That ardent Socialist H. G. Wells found conditions so terrible that for a defense of the Soviets he had to resort to the