Revolution Repeated

Just about the world's crudest propaganda sheet is the monthly Bezbozhnik ("The Godless"), of Russia's League of the Militant Godless. While a pretense of religious freedom is maintained in Russia, the League carries on anti-religious activity probably abetted by the Secret Police and Bezbozhnik serves as a pep sheet for Atheists. Last week it printed an account of what has been happening to priests and their flocks in the Soviet-occupied part of Poland.

"When the priests saw the power of the Polish landowners coming to an end," declared Bezbozknik, "they banded together with the landowners and gendarmes and took weapons into their hands.

"Everything that happened in Russia during the Revolution was repeated. They fought against the power of the toilers. . . . Many Catholic priests with arms in hand tried to protect the capitalists' domination of the workers.

"Now, thanks to the help of the Soviet Union, priests are no longer landowners. Peasants and workers are sharing monastery and church lands. Everybody is entitled to believe or not in God--no compulsion exists.

"Priests gave anti-tank prayers hoping to prevent Russian tanks from crossing the Dnestr River where the Poles blew up the bridge. But the tanks crossed despite the prayers and encircled obstacles which the priests had blessed and behind which the Poles had hidden. When the tanks approached the priests fled into the forests."

In the Polish territory occupied by Russia, elections were announced last week to take place Oct. 22 for deputies to a national convention. This was expected to vote confirmation of the seizing of Polish estates and their division among the peasants. According to Soviet newspapers, Polish peasants in the sphere occupied by Russia have now been supplied with adequate tobacco, matches and salt, previously were so poverty-stricken that they had been smoking dried cherry leaves.

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