wish to be defeated." M. Venizelos, in reply, put before the King the strategical arguments and other considerations which weighed in favor of an immediate attack on the Bulgarians, whose morale was shattered, who were in possession of only 400 rounds of ammunition per gun, and who would need a considerable time

to replenish their supplies. "If we prevented the crushing of Serbia," he had said to the King, "within thirty days we should get to Sofia; in any case, we should get to a point beyond which the Austro-German advance for technical reasons would be impossible."

To all these arguments the King's only reply continued to be: "I do not wish to intervene; we shall be beaten by Germany." The Prime Minister then told the King that he had not the right to enter into divergence for the second time from the leader of the majority of the nation; it would be a better course for the King, he declared, to decree the abolition of the Government. The King replied: "For national affairs I am responsible before God." M. Venizelos then offered his resignation, but the King obliged him to remain in power in order to deal with the mobilization. King Constantine then gave his consent to a request being made to the Allies for the 150,000 men whom Greece was to have furnished to Serbia in accordance with the treaty. M. Venizelos had no sooner relinquished office than the King changed his mind, but the step had already been taken, and in due course the Franco-British troops landed at Saloniki. The Zaimis Cabinet did not protest against the landing. "If at this point I did not become a revolutionary," declared M. Venizelos, "it was because a civil war would have been provoked, and Bulgaria would have profited by the occasion to invade Greece."

Returning to the subject of the treaty with Serbia, M. Venizelos declared that M. Zaimis would be known to history as the man who had broken the word of Greece, and recalled how the resignation of M. Zaimis had been brought about by the insulting attitude adopted toward the Chamber by the Minister for War, this event being followed by the formation of the Skouloudis-Gounaris Cabinet, which

was responsible for the shameful treachery of the surrender of Fort Rupel.

The latest dispatches from Athens confirm the fact that a new army of 300,000 will now be mobilized by Greece as soon as the equipment can be supplied by the Allies. The plan of the Allies in the Balkans is said to be to advance upon Sofia, capital of Bulgaria, and thus to cut off communications between Germany and Turkey. Germany is said to be drawing great quantities of supplies, especially oil and wheat, from Turkey, and this traffic cannot be interrupted until the line is cut by the international army now operating in Macedonia. The 300,000 men Greece will add to the AngloFrench troops will give the Allies a preponderance of strength which is expected to overcome the enemy in that theatre of the war.

It is stated that the mobilization by the former King Constantine emptied the warehouses and used up all military stores and equipment, leaving available for military employment only the 80,000 troops raised by the Provisional Government of Venizelos at Saloniki, who are now fighting side by side with the AngloFrench army in Macedonia.

Greek Minister at Washington

Georges Roussos, the new Greek Minister to the United States, presented his credentials on Sept. 21, and in the course of his address to President Wilson, said:

Greece, my country, is just emerging from an exceptionally grave crisis. It overcame it because of the Hellenic people's devotion to the democratic principles which have always been theirs, and because of the assistance which the protecting powers graciously extended to them.

As soon as the Hellenic people were free masters of their own destinies they unconditionally performed the duty they had incessantly proclaimed as theirs; they took sides with the noble and generous nations that are striving to secure for the world an era of justice and true freedom. Among those nations the United States is one of the most spirited in the pursuit of that end. Through you, as its authorized spokesman, Mr. President, it has uttered words which startled mankind and proclaimed principles that have for once and all established the sanctity of the purposes it aims to achieve. The weak, the

oppressed, all now live in the certainty that their liberties will be restored.

In his reply President Wilson said: You state that the main object of your mission is to draw closer the ties of traditional friendship which bind Greece to the United States. I receive this statement with the same pleasure that I accept your credentials, and, in turn, beg to assure you that I shall be always willing and ready heartily to co-operate with you in striving to give substantial reality to those Divine ideals of right, liberty, and justice by which both Greece and the

United States of America seem to be guided.

I was more than gratified when the supremacy of democracy was proclaimed throughout Greece by the action of your Government in casting in its destiny with the United States and the allied powers of Europe in the great conflict in which they are engaged for the preservation of civilization and the realization of the rights of the weak and oppressed. I thank you for your feeling of unity with the United States in this noble and righteous cause.

This striking statement of why the United States is at war with Germany appeared as an editorial article in The Oakland (Cal.) Enquirer when Oakland's first contribution to the army that fights for freedom of the seas marched away into history. After a reference to the civil war veterans who fought on land and ocean, the article continues:

The lads that go now, high hearted as were they, go to bleed and do and die in a war that is fought under water, on the surface, and in the air above. They go to face the clouds of poisonous gas and the barrage of fire. They go in the face of all these, to give blow for blow, to pit American wits, initiative, and courage against these qualities in the servants of imperial ambition.

They go to do more. They go to prove that they are the soldiers of a great Republic whose people are civilized. They go to write it into history that humanity, mercy, and justice have their place in war as in peace. They go to victory, in which the despoilers of the homes of noncombatants shall be punished, the monsters who deflower women shall die wretchedly, the inhuman wretches who condemn noncombatants to slavery shall pass under the rod. They go to compel the Huns who have violated all law, di

vine and human, to drain to the dregs the bitter cup of sorrow they have pressed to the lips of the weak and the innocent.

They go, God's own avengers of the unspeakable suffering of the people of Belgium, Northern France, Poland, Serbia, Rumania, and Armenia. As they march, unseen in the clear air above them are the spirits of the American mothers and babies that perished in the roaring sea, murdered in the Lusitania. They go to cleanse the earth of the men who began by violating treaties and have progressed by violating the common promptings of humanity which have been held sacred even by the red Indians of America and the black tribes of Africa.

They are the armed guards of American honor, of the covenants of Almighty God. On this great mission we send them with every blessing, with every ascription of honor. They go to prove that this great Republic is great not only in material things, in its proud cities, its farflung fields, and its laden orchards and purpling vineyards, but great in the ineffable things of the spirit, in the courage of its people and its purpose to fling high and far the banners of the best civilization created by man.

Good-bye, boys, acquit yourselves like

men!

R

USSIA'S internal politics during the month ended Oct. 16, 1917, assumed a form which could be called stable if compared to the welter from which they emerged after the so-called Korniloff revolt. Of the many assemblies and conferences convoked since that period, the nearest approach to a representative body was the Democratic Congress, which met at Moscow Sept. 27. It contained 1,200 delegates coming from all over Russia. The presiding officers were five representatives of the Workmen's and Soldiers' Delegates, five each from town Zemstvos, and two each from other groups. N. C. Tscheidse, President of the Council of Soldiers and Workmen, opened the conference, and was followed by M. Avskentieff, President of the Peasants' Delegates.

The congress was summoned by the Workmen's and Soldiers' Central Council. It was assumed to be under the control of the ultra-Socialists; the extreme radicals, or Bolsheviki, thought they would be able to sway the convention to their program of extreme measures, and to seize the reins of power. But the congress, while radical in its demands, did not go to extremes. Premier Kerensky consented to address the body. He was sympathetically heard by the more moderate groups, and exercised a profound influence over the attitude and acts of the convention.

After several days' sessions it became apparent that more moderate counsels were in the ascendency. A Coalition Cabinet, in which the Constitutional Democrats should participate, was favorably discussed. The Congress adopted a resolution providing for a preliminary Parliament, which is to have a consultative and not a legislative function, and which is to consist of 231 members, of whom 110 represent the Zemstvos and towns. The Congress, by a vote of 839

to 106, passed a resolution declaring for this Parliament, but at the same time demanded that no step be taken toward naming a Coalition Cabinet without its sanction.

Coalition Cabinet Named

Premier Kerensky on the same day again exhibited his iron resolution by practically defying the Congress and naming a real Coalition Cabinet, as follows:

Premier, A. F. KERENSKY.

Minister of Foreign Affairs, M. I. TERESTCHENKO.

Minister of Interior, M. NIKITIN. Minister of Agriculture, M. AVSKENTIEFF.

Minister of Labor, M. GVOZDEFF. Minister of Supplies, M. PROKOPOVITCH.

Minister of Finance, M. BERNATZKY. Minister of Religion, M. KARTASHEFF.

Minister of Public Welfare, M. KISHKIN.

Minister of Trade and Industry, A. I. KONOVALOFF.

State Controller, M. SMYRNOFF. Minister of Justice, M. MALYANTOVITCH.

Minister of Education, M. SALASKIN. President of the Ecumenical Council, M. TRETYAKOFF.

Minister of War, General VERKHOVSKY.

Minister of Marine, ADMIRAL VERDERVSKJ.

Minister of Ways and Communications, M. LIVEREVSKY.

The Constitutional Democratic Party, against which the Democratic Congress was in opposition, is represented by Kishkin, Konovaloff, and Smyrnoff. The portfolios of Foreign Affairs, War, Marine, and Interior remain unchanged.

In addition to carrying out an active foreign policy, the new Government declared that the serious internal difficulty of Russia was due chiefly to the Korniloff rebellion. The New Government pledged that its business acts would be on the basis of agreements between representatives of the bourgeoisie, the

tax-paying element, and the revolutionary democracy. It pointed out that the success of such a program is possible only if the nation is united. The Government's statement in conclusion said that it had three principal aims:

To raise the fighting power of the army and navy.

To bring order to the country by fighting anarchy.

To call the Constituent Assembly as soon as possible.

The Cabinet is determined to ignore as far as possible the activities of the Workmen's and Soldiers' Delegates and centre its efforts in gaining the support of the armies.

Functions of the New Parliament

The new Parliament, which is called the "Temporary Council of the Russian Republic," was accepted by the new Coalition Government as an advisory body, and will be organized by the Government. It will consist of 120 delegates, from all groups and all parts of the country, and will have the right to interpellate the Government, which must reply. The Government, however, will not be responsible to the Parliament. This body will remain until the Constituent Assembly acts. The Constituent Assembly has been called to assemble in December; it will consist of 730 delegates, to be elected by popular vote. The military in all parts of Russia will take part in the election of delegates under the same conditions as civilians.

The new Government seems to have met popular approval except among the extreme Radicals, or Bolsheviki; but the impression has gained ground that this group is losing its influence. The situation was complicated in the early days of October by a strike on all railway lines for higher wages; there was a complete tieup, but after a few days the matter was settled. The political situation in the country at this writing (Oct. 16) is more promising than a month ago, but the Government is still seriously beset by the pernicious activities of the Bolsheviki, who are outspoken in their hostility. The month has been marked by general unrest, accompanied by some loss of faith in the revolution by the masses on ac

count of the jarring political factions and by a serious increase in disorders. A revolt broke out in Turkestan early in October, and a state of war was declared in that province. General Korovnitchenko, the commander at Kazan, (Eastern European Russia,) was given troops, with orders to suppress the revolt.

Island Surrendered to Germans

A much more serious occurrence was the taking of Oesel Island, in the Gulf of Riga, by the Germans. This is believed to foreshadow an attack on Reval, endangering Kronstadt and Petrograd. The German forces, which landed on Oesel Island, under the cover of ninety war vessels, had occupied up to Oct. 16 practically the whole of the island. German torpedo boats penetrated the inner waters between the islands of Oesel and Dagö, and in repeated engagements pressed back the Russian naval forces into the Moonsund. The Germans were thus about to gain full control of the Gulf of Riga, threating the Russian capital itself. A further exodus of civilians from Petrograd was reported to be in progress on Oct. 16.

Premier Kerensky, in an urgent appeal to the Baltic fleet to defend the fatherland "in this hour of trial," divulged the fact that the garrison of Kronstadt, the chief fortress and military port of Russia and the station of the Baltic fleet, twenty miles west of Petrograd, by its attitude already had weakened the defensive resources of the fortress. Eight dreadnoughts, a dozen light cruisers, forty torpedo boats, and thirty mine sweepers participated in the German landing on Oesel Island.

New Light on Korniloff Affair

Later revelations at the end of September and early in October strengthened the belief that the so-called revolt of General Korniloff was attributable to a blunder of Lvoff and others who served as emissaries between the General and the Premier. A copy of the Order of the Day issued by General Korniloff on Sept. 10 explains in detail how the error arose. It appears that the Provisional Government was apprehensive of a serious Bolsheviki uprising, and asked Kor

niloff, as Generalissimo, to place at its disposal several divisions of troops. He gave the orders, feeling that the revolt should be summarily suppressed, and that a strong Government of a few should be formed at once to save the country. His statement continues as follows:

Later there came to me Vladimir Lvoff, speaking on behalf of Kerensky, and asked me to state my views as to the best method of organizing the new Government. I replied that I considered the only solution lay in the establishment of a dictatorship and the proclamation of martial law. By dictatorship I did not mean a one-man dictatorship, inasmuch as I had pointed out the necessity of my participation in the Government. I let it be known in making this decision that I considered and still consider any return to the old régime an utter impossibility. The task of the new Government should be devoted exclusively to saving the country.

Later I exchanged telegrams with Kerensky, who asked if I would confirm what I had said. As I could not entertain the idea that an emissary sent me by the Provisional Government could distort the sense of my conversation, I replied that I did confirm my words fully and again invited Kerensky and Savinkoff to come to Stavka, as I could not answer for their safety if they remained in Petrograd. It is evident from the foregoing that my proceedings were in full accord with the Provisional Government, and I had every reason to believe that the Ministry was not playing a double game.

I learned to the contrary when I received a telegram saying that I immediately must hand over my supreme command. I conferred by telegraph with the Ministry of War and learned that Savinkoff not only had repudiated the proposals made by me, but even disavowed the fact of their having been made. Considering that further hesitation presented fatal dangers, and moreover as the orders issued could not be countermanded, I decided, with a full appreciation of the weight of my responsibility, not to hand over the supreme command, hoping that I might save my country and the Russian people from the imminent danger of enslavement by the Germans.

General Chablovsky, President of the commission of inquiry into the Korniloff affair, returned to Petrograd Oct. 15, and in an interview declared that he did not see in the actions of General Korniloff and the other accused officers any character of high treason. It was proved, he said, that General Korniloff

throughout the movement committed no act of a nature to weaken the fighting front. General Chablovsky expressed the opinion that General Korniloff could be sentenced only under Article 100, dealing with attempts against the established régime and involving the penalty of life imprisonment.

Conviction of Soukhomlinoff

The trial of General Soukhomlinoff, former Minister of War, accused of high treason, ended with his conviction on Sept. 26, 1917. He was sentenced to hard labor for life on the charges of high treason, abuse of confidence, and fraud. Mme. Soukhomlinoff was acquitted.

The jury deliberated seven hours and announced that they had arrived at a verdict of guilty on twelve of the thirteen counts preferred against Soukhomlinoff. A verdict of not guilty on the first charge, accusing him of inaction and inertia during the war with the object of assisting the enemy by weakening the Russian armed forces, was rendered.

General Soukhomlinoff received the verdict calmly, but his wife burst into tears. The jury found no extenuating circumstances, and the Prosecutor demanded the highest penalty, imprisonment for life at hard labor.

General Soukhomlinoff delivered the concluding speech with signs of great emotion. He affirmed that he had always been an ardent reformer and did more for the army than his predecessors had done in thirty years. Instead of the expected 3,000,000 soldiers, he pointed out, there had been mobilized before the beginning of active operations from 5,000,000 to 6,000,000, and now there were from 10,000,000 to 15,000,000. The Germans, he declared, had lavished praise on his successful mobilization. With a flourish of his arms, Soukhomlinoff exclaimed:

“If I had lacked the self-sacrifice to abandon a splendid post at Kiev to go to that penitentiary, the War Office, I should never be here."

Soukhomlinoff lamented that of all the statesmen who could bear witness to his reforms, the chief of them, Stolypin, was now in his grave.