European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - August 30, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Friday August 30, 1991. The stars and stripes a Page 15 commentary Michael Dobb Cradle of communism faces tougher Road Moscow a the anti communist revolution that swept through Eastern Europe in 1989 has hit the soviet Union with the Force of a Hurricane. Now comes the hard part creating a stable and prosperous society on the ruins of the old totalitarian order. It is a task that is Likely to prove incomparably More difficult in the original Homeland of world socialism than in its former East european satellites. The political and economic trials now afflicting the Post communist nations of Eastern Europe Pale by comparison with the challenges awaiting the soviet Union As it makes the transition from a one party state to a multiparty democracy. The communist system was imposed on Eastern Europe from outside and lasted four decades before it collapsed because the Kremlin lost both the will and the Means to keep it alive. In the soviet Union by contrast the system lasted More than seven decades meaning that there Are few people still alive who remember life under any other system. What is More the origins of the communist system were to be found in russians own autocratic past. Covering one sixth of the Earth a surface the soviet Union is several times larger than the whole of Eastern Europe combined. It is the last multinational Empire in the world a highly centralized state made up of 100 different nationalities Many of whom Are clamouring for full Independence. As they celebrate their Victory Over communism some thoughtful politicians in the democratic Camp have begun to Ponder the problems that lie ahead. They Range from the disintegration of the soviet Union As a geopolitical entity to the practical problem of How to feed 280 million people this coming Winter. The question now is whether the newly powerful leaders of the russian Republic a in Alliance with soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev a can keep one step ahead of the  j. Kilpatrick had Gorbachev not decided to recommend the dissolution of the soviet communist party leadership there is a Good Chance that the soviet people would have taken the matter into their own hands. Russian history is Replete with instances of highly centralized Power disintegrating into anarchy at times of crisis. Successive russian leaders both communist and non communist have had an ingrained fear of an inchoate mob rising up to take revenge. That is one reason Why up until Gorbachev came along in 1985, most russian rulers have preserved their Power through repression. One of the most striking impressions has been the collapse of discipline in the soviet capital. Once restricted to making a turns in certain places Drivers now make them wherever they want sometimes right next to a policeman. Traffic has become a Nightmare As crowds gather spontaneously to demonstrate outside some official building or other. A Semi criminal elements Are coming to the capital which is very dangerous a said Sergei Stankevich a leading democratic politician and adviser to the russian republics president Boris Yeltsin. A the Victory of the democratic forces should not be soiled by the escalation of Barbaric violent actions. It is necessary to restore a Normal constitutional  the dissolution of the communist party will remove some of the major obstacles to political and economic Reform but it will also deprive the country of much of its administrative Structure. The soviet communist party has always been much More than a political party in the Western sense. It has been an elaborate system of Power with tentacles reaching Down into every town factory and military unit in the country. Although there was some Chipping away at this Monolith Over the past six years under Gorbachev and his perestroika program the essence remained intact right up until the coup. Yeltsin is attempting to replace the party a administrative functions with a professional state bureaucracy. This new administrative machine will inevitably include Many former communists. Yeltsin has begun the process of naming his own prefects or local representatives to ensure that his decrees Are implemented at the local level. Regional councils that came out in support of the coup Are to be dissolved pending fresh elections. Establishing new structures of Power could prove an easy task compared to putting the soviet Economy Back on its feet after seven decades of communist mismanagement. In the Short term the situation can Only get worse. The country a new democratic rulers will be forced to impose severe sacrifices on the populace to make the transition to a Market Economy. Factories will close prices will Rise and production will drop even further. A the scale of economic disruption is Likely to be much greater than in Eastern Europe where some private Enterprise and private agriculture was allowed to survive under communism. In the past Yeltsin has been accused of economic populism during the russian presidential election Campaign last june he promised everyone salary increases without spelling out where the Money was going to come from. But his advisers now insist that he is ready to make some Tough decisions. Quot having Defeated the coup the russian leadership has great moral authority a said Igor Klamkin a political scientist and adviser to the democratic Camp. Quot this gives some breathing room for stabilizing the Economy and persuading people of the need for sacrifice. If we do not lose Tinie we can do a  c the Washington pos lawyers remiss in ignoring need for Reform first off it was not a  that is How the National Law journal described vice president Quayle a recent speech to the american bar association. On the contrary Quayle a address was a temperate commentary on some Long festering wrongs in our judicial system. Good Job or. Quayle manifestly most of the lawyers who were present in Atlanta did not think it a Good Job at All. Lawyers Are the most thin skinned of All professionals except for newspapermen who Are the most thin skinned of All. The lawyers sat impassively As the vice president asked a does America really need 70 percent of the worlds lawyers a Quayle wondered if it is healthy for our Economy to have 18 million new lawsuits every year. He commented upon the a staggering expense and delay that characterize the system. To these sensible reproaches the Abas president John j. Curtin made a stupid reply. Accompanied by quavering violins he asked his own rhetorical question. If the Supply of lawyers should be drastically reduced a who will protect the poor the injured the victims of racial discrimination and the victims of violence a there was scarcely a dry Eye in the House. Curtin a dumb response merits no response. Nearly 800,000 persons now Are accredited As a a lawyers in the United states. The Breed is not about to become extinct. Some Law firms cheerfully accept their pro Bono obligations. Others Are not such Happy campers. The spat regrettably obscured Quayle a main purpose. He was seeking the bars support for certain vitally needed reforms in the system. He addressed himself specifically to the abuses America s lawyers Are preventing us from Wing pc Rwy of Quot discovery a to the merits of the a men Glish Rule should be adopted in american Glish Rule a and to the perils of unbridled jurisprudence. Punitive damages. The process of unlimited a a discovery is a process by which the big Guy can drive the Little Guy into bankruptcy before a word of evidence has been taken in court. Pre trial interrogatories and depositions As every litigant knows can Send Legal expenses skyrocketing. In one study 77 percent of the responding lawyers confessed to abusing the system. Under reasonable limitations the in it is a Model of simplicity the loser must pay the winners costs. No procedure could be better drafted to Cut Down on the frivolous suits that make a travesty of litigation in America. Federal judges now have authority to impose sanctions upon lawyers who abuse the Law a an authority that judges themselves sometimes abuse a but the principle is sound. Assume that a sues b on some trivial matter and thereby puts b to hundreds or thousands of dollars in Legal costs. The Case at last goes to trial and b wins hands Down. Of course a ought to pay a and pay through the nose. Quayle was relaying recommendations of a study group headed by solicitor general Kenneth Starr. If the organized bar does not understand the need for these reforms something is sadly wrong with the organized har. C Universal press