4 SEPTEMBER 1920, Page 2

That of course, though it may be true, is mere

guesswork. Even if it be true, the Russians had no right whatever to try to depose the Polish Government. That is for the Polish people to do if they do not like their Government. If Moscow tries to impose governments according to the Russian pattern upon other countries, it is plainly depriving those countries of the right of self-determination. The examination of the distribution of British wealth at the end of Tchitcherin's dis- patch, though interesting, is a strange irrelevance. Let us com- pare the statement of British inequalities—a statement based on figures borrowed from Sir Leo Chiozza Money—with the facts in Russia. Here we have the industrial ball at our feet. Wages are high, and if they acquired a redoubled purchasing power, as they easily could if we re-stocked our empty store- houses, the majority of the British people would be in a state of well-being hitherto unapproached. In Russia, on the other hand, there is semi-starvation, transport has broken down, money has no definite meaning, trade has almost ceased, and the Soviet Government are trying to retrieve the situation by industrial conscription.