WHEN THE RED IS BLUE

Two days ago, while Stalin was announcing from Moscow that the famous "Five Year Plan" would be realized in four years, the Grand Duke Cyril in Paris was proclaiming himself Czar of all the Russias. There may be little truth in the political announcement; there may be no significance behind the dramatic gesture, but the simultaneous occurrences are as good an answer to the future of Russia as anyone can give at the moment.

Of late the papers have been glutted with news, essays and articles on the Soviet regime. There are rumours that Stalin is fighting for a lost cause; there are defiant denunciations which proclaim Russia a strong child that will soon grow up. No one knows what to believe. The world is waiting, a bit impatiently.

There can be little doubt that Russia has made great industrial progress since the revolution of 1917. The Soviets have launched an expansive program that has done much to modernize both manufacturing and agriculture. They have adopted Western methods far more intensively and constructively than did Peter the Great some centuries ago. The stability of the government depends upon the stability of this industrial revolution. The Soviets have cloaked their actions behind such a maze of rumour and propaganda that it is impossible to tell the exact state of affairs. Until an accurate and authentic report of business and social conditions can be obtained no real predictions can be made. At present Stalin is the only man who knows how sound the government is, and he confesses to a profound ignorance of the future.