r, the Provincial and District Extraordinary Commissions
'are independent in their activities, and when called upon by
the local Executive Council present a report of their work.' In
so far as house searches and arrests are concerned, a report
made _afterwards_ may result in putting right irregularities
committed owing to lack of restraint. The same cannot be said of
executions.... It can also be seen from the 'instruction' that
personal safety is to a certain extent guaranteed only to
members of the Government, of the Central Council and of the
local Executive Committees. With the exception of these few
persons, all members of the local Committees of the [Bolshevist]
Party, of the Control Committees, and of the Executive Committee
of the Party may be shot at any time by the decision of any
Extraordinary Commission of a small district town if they happen
to be on its territory, and a report of that made _afterwards_."

"Vorwaerts," quoting from "Pravda," says that the Bolshevist organ
reports that 13,764 persons have been executed within the last three
months.

As regards the internal economic situation in Russia under Bolshevist
rule, a Russian workman, whose experience has not been confined to
Petrograd and Moscow, makes the following statement in the
"Social-Demokraten" of Stockholm:--

"The output of the factories has decreased by 80 per cent.,
notwithstanding that the Revolutionary Committees stimulate
production with the revolver. The condition of the railways is
worse than ever. All the industrial workmen are against the
Bolsheviks, and the same is the case with the peasants. The
so-called 'Committees of the Poor' are drawn from the small
number of peasants who sought employment in the factories during
the war and have now returned to the country. The only
supporters of the Bolsheviks, apart from the Letts and the
Chinese, are those belonging to their own official caste. The
European Press has rather understated than exaggerated the Red
Terror."

As regards food conditions,[1] the Bolshevist Administration seems to
be thorough and precise in the issue of food-cards of all
descriptions, according to the four categories into which the
population is divided. More food-cards, in fact, appear to have been
issued to the population of Moscow than the population itself, which
was 1,694,971 last April. Restaurants