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consolidate the conquests of the revolution. He continued:

For this reason we ask you, citizens, whether you feel within your hearts the indispensable sacred fire for the attainment of this object, whether you represent, here in Moscow, the national strength which is necessary to assure the prosperity of the country or will give the world and us another picture of decadence?

A little time ago we indignantly replied to a proposal to conclude a separate peace. A few days ago we witnessed another attempt, equally base, directly against our allies. The latter rejected it with equal indignation, and in the name of the great Russian people I say to our allies that it was the only reply we expected of them.

Notwithstanding the none too friendly attitude toward the mother country of certain nationalities of the Russian State, M. Kerensky continued, the Russian democracy would give them all it promised through the Provisional Government and all that the Constituent Assembly might yet decide to grant. But when the limit of tolerance was passed, or where there was a desire to take advantage of the nation's difficulties in order to violate the free will of Russia, they would cry "Hands off!" The Premier said the Government would prevent by force reopening of the dissolved Diet in Finland and that he hoped the country would approve this decision. His statement was cheered.

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"The Government will endeavor," the Premier went on, "to protect the army "against the subversive influences which deprived soldiers of all sense of military duty and will struggle energetical"ly against the Maximalists, against all attempts by them to corrupt discipline."

Difficulties of Finance

M. Avskentieff, Minister of the Interior, and M. Prokopovitch, Minister of Trade and Industry, followed M. Kerensky.

The first year of the war, said M. Prokopovitch, cost Russia 5,300,000,000 rubles, the second year 11,200,000,000 rubles, the third year already 18,000,000,000 rubles, while the total revenue for 1913 was 16,000,000,000.

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Regarding the question of food, he said that the country's position was extremely difficult. There was actual scarcity in several provinces and a mini

mum in Petrograd and Moscow. He was endeavoring to nurse such industries as remained, and he considered it necessary to control the profits of manufactures in order to prevent them from becoming rich at the expense of the populace.

Vice Premier Nekrasoff told the conference how expenses had increased during the war. He said that in 1914 about 219,000,000 rubles of paper currency had been put. in circulation, 223,000,000 in 1915, and 290,000,000 in 1916; that in the first two months of 1917 there had been issued 846,000,000, and from March onward the issue averaged 832,000,000 rubles monthly.

The budget, said M. Nekrasoff, was in a profoundly abnormal condition because it had placed on one side the cost of the war, and thus, in effect, there were two budgets, one giving a false impression of prosperity, and the other concealing the germs of financial catastrophe.

Expending Enormous Sums

The Vice Premier admitted that the new régime was costing the country much more than the old, and that the new administrative bodies were absorbing enormous sums, the Food Committee, for instance. He said the financial difficulties were largely due to the extraordinary increase in the pay of workers, and instanced the Putiloff factory, the workers of which alone had been paid this year 90,000,000 rubles. Another source of difficulty was the small amount of revenue from taxation, excise charges and other sources. Direct taxation could not keep pace with the State's expenses, and indirect taxation was becoming a necessity.

Continuing, M. Nekrasoff enumerated a series of measures which would strengthen the financial position of the country, including various monopolies, especially on sugar, tea, and matches. He emphatically denied reports that the Government was contemplating confiscation of private possessions of landed property. It would never, he said, embark on such a dangerous adventure, believing firmly that the citizens of the country would do their duty.

General Korniloff, the Commander in

Chief of the Army, addressed the second sitting of the conference. This address, in the light of his subsequent revolt, is especially significant.

General Korniloff said the death penalty, restoration of which he had asked, together with other measures, constituted only a small part of what was necessary in an army stricken with the terrible evils of disorganization and insubordination. In the present month soldiers had killed four regimental commanders and other officers, and ceased these outrage's only when they were threatened with being shot. Quite recently one of the regiments of Siberian Rifles, which had fought so splendidly at the beginning of the revolution, abandoned its positions on the Riga front. Nothing except an order to exterminate the entire regiment availed to cause it to return to its positions. The commander continued:

Thus we are implacably fighting anarchy in the army. Undoubtedly it will finally be repressed, but the danger of fresh débâcles is weighing constantly on the country.

The situation on the front is bad. We have lost the whole of Galicia, the whole of Bukowina, and all the fruits of our recent victories. At several points the enemy has crossed our frontier and is threatening our fertile southern provinces. He is endeavoring to destroy the Rumanian Army and is knocking at the gates of Riga. If our army does not hold the shore of the Gulf of Riga the road to Petrograd will be opened wide.

The old régime bequeathed to Russia an army which, despite all the defects in its organization, nevertheless was animated by a fighting spirit and was ready for sacrifices. The whole series of measures taken by those who are completely foreign to the spirit and needs of the army has transformed it into a collection of individual groups which have lost all sense of duty and only tremble for their own personal safety.

If Russia wishes to be saved the army must be regenerated at any cost. We must immediately take measures such as I have referred to, which have been approved in their entirety by the acting Minister of War.

Reform Measures Adopted General Korniloff then outlined the most important of these measures, in addition to restoration of the death penalty, which are: First, restoration of discipline in the army by the strengthening of the

authority of officers and noncommissioned officers; second, improvement of the financial position of officers, who have been in a very difficult position in the recent military operations; third, restriction of the functions of regimental committees, which, although managing economic affairs of the regiments, must not be permitted to have any part in decisions regarding military operations or the appointment of leaders. He continued:

The strength of every army depends upon conditions in the district in its rear. The blood which will inevitably flow during the restoration period may be shed in vain if the army, having been reorganized and prepared for battle, remains without reinforcements and fresh supplies of projectiles and equipment. I therefore think it indispensable that the measures taken at the front should also be applied in the rear.

The commander went on to say that according to information at his disposal the condition of the railways was such that by November the army would not receive any more supplies. In support of his statement he quoted a telegram from the Commander in Chief of the southwestern front, saying that the shortage of bread and biscuit on this front amounted almost to famine. General Korniloff then read figures relating to the production of war materials, which he said had fallen, compared with the period from October, 1916, to January, 1917, by 60 per cent. for guns and shells and 80 per cent. for airplanes.

“If this state of affairs continues," he added, "the Russian armies will find "themselves in the same state as in the "Spring of 1915, at the time of the re"treat in Poland, Galicia, and the Car"pathians."

He expressed his firm belief that the measures which he proposed would immediately be put into execution.

"I believe," he said, "that the genius and the reason of the Russian people will save the country. I believe in a brilliant future for our army. I believe its ancient glory will be restored."

When General Korniloff concluded his speech there were prolonged cheers from every side except the Extreme Left, where several members of the soldiers' and workmen's organization remained silent.

General Korniloff immediately left the hall and proceeded to a train, which took him to headquarters.

Firm Stand of Cossacks

General Kaledines, leader of the Don Cossacks, representing the Council of Cossacks, mounted the tribune and read a resolution passed by the Cossacks demanding above everything, for the salvation of the country, the continuation of the war until complete victory was attained, in close union with the Allies. General Kaledines proposed, with the same end in view, the following meas

ures:

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First, placing the army outside of politics; second, the suppression of regimental committees and councils and the restriction of the functions of those which may be maintained with a purely economic mission; third, revision of the declaration of soldiers' rights; fourth, reinforcing discipline by strong measures and by the application of those measures to the districts in the rear; fifth, restoration of the rights of commanders to inflict punishment,

`In presenting his views General Kaledines defied the extreme radicals. "Who "saved you from the Bolsheviki on the "14th of July?" he asked contemptuously. "We Cossacks have been free men. We are not made drunk by new"found liberties and are unblinded by "party or program. We tell you plainly "and categorically, remove yourselves "from the place which you have neither "the ability nor the courage to fill and "let better men than yourselves step in, or take the consequences of your folly." The reading of the resolution was punctuated by cheers from the Right and by some protests from the Left.

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Vladimir Naboukoff, a prominent Social-Democrat, speaking in the name of the first Duma, declared the country aimed at the establishment of a strong and independent power, uninfluenced by political parties, a power which, based on democratic principles, would establish obedience to the law, civil liberty, and personal security. The speaker emphasized the absolute necessity of the independence of the high command of the army from every private influence.

N. C. Tcheidse, President of the Council of Workmen's and Soldiers' Delegates,

who was received with frenzied applause by the Left and with cries of "Long live the leader of the Russian revolution!" read a statement pointing out that only the active support of the revolutionary democracy would make possible the regeneration of the army and the country and the salvation of Russia.

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"The democracy," he said, "cannot be "detached from the revolutionary coun"try, and nothing but power based on support of the countless masses of the "people can save the country from its "critical position and give the victory 66 over our enemies without and within."

M. Tcheidse declared the unified revolutionary democracy recognized that the vital interests of the country and the revolution demanded the application of the following measures:

First, in the domain of food supplies, the Government, pursuing a firm policy, should maintain a monopoly of cereals and a policy of fixed prices for agricultural products.

Second, in the domain of commerce and industry, the defense of the country and the supplies of munitions demanded more radical measures for the regulation of transport and the increase of the productivity of industry.

Third, the finances required the rigorous application of laws dealing with the income tax and war profits, besides other reforms, such as the introduction of succession duties and of taxes on articles of luxury corresponding to their increase in value, with other fiscal measures. As regards loans, the Government should take strong measures to make all bear their full share.

Fourth, agrarian reforms should be introduced to prevent all usurpation of land, whether by individuals or groups of individuals or societies.

Fifth, regarding the organization of the army, the respective rights and duties of the army commanders, commission and army organizations should be defined.

Regarding the question of nationality, the Government should pass an act granting to all nationalities the right of deciding their lot, upon agreement, in the Constituent Assembly.

M. Tcheidse concluded with an appeal for support for the Provisional Government, which he said should be invested with full and complete powers.

Alexeieff on Army's Disintegration

During the third day's session the most important address was made by General

Alexeieff, former Commander of Chief. He drew contrasts between the army of the old régime, poorly equipped with mechanical resources but strong in warlike spirit, and the present army, well supplied with food and arms but completely poisoned and enfeebled by illinterpreted and ill-applied doctrines which have been put forward, notably in the famous Order of the Day No. 1. These doctrines, he declared, had split the army into two opposite camps, officers and soldiers, which have become almost irreconcilable.

Speaking of the committees elected by the soldiers of the various units, General Alexeieff said they were useful to the army from an economic standpoint, but were fatal to discipline of the troops. None the less subversive was the influence of Government commissaries, whose appointment, he asserted, created an extremely dangerous quality of power.

The General maintained that after publication by the Government of the declaration of the rights of soldiers all respect toward leaders disappeared, the officers becoming veritable martyrs and having to pay very dearly for the offensive of Aug. 1 and the subsequent retreat. The General cited some remarkable illustrations of this. On one occasion, he said, when an attack was being launched the force which advanced was made up of twenty-eight officers, twenty non-commissioned officers, and two soldiers. All the others looked on coldly while these heroes perished.

The General declared it would be impossible to carry on the war to a victorious conclusion unless the strongest possible efforts were made by the Provisional Government and by the troops themselves to reanimate and regenerate the army.

Warning by Kerensky

In closing the conference Premier Kerensky spoke as though he had a premonition of an impending revolt. said:

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The Provisional Government will stand on guard over the revolution. It will suffer no counter-revolutionary attempts, whatever be their source, for the Provisional Government is the incarnated will of the whole Russian people. It does

not regret having convoked the conference at Moscow, which, although it has not yielded practical results, has allowed all Russian citizens to say frankly what they think necessary for the State.

Premier Kerensky then spoke of the services rendered to the country by the revolutionary democracy, which, he observed, took power at a terrible moment in the life of the State.

"Whoever endeavors to wrest their conquests from the people," he concluded, "will never succeed, for they have now become public property."

Message From President Wilson

At the first session of the conference the following cablegram was received from President Wilson and read amid great applause:

President of the National Council Assembly, Moscow:

I take the liberty to send to the members of the great council now meeting in Moscow the cordial greetings

of their friends, the people of the United States, to express their confidence in the ultimate triumph of ideals of democracy and self-government against all enemies within and without, and to give their renewed assurance of every material and moral assistance they can extend to the Government of Russia in the promotion of the common cause in which the two nations are unselfishly united.

WOODROW WILSON.

Results of the Conference

The conference, while it took no definite action, being invested with no authority, served to bring out clearly a distinct line of cleavage between the radical or socialistic element, represented by Kerensky and the controlling factors of the Provisional Government, on the one hand, and the conservatives or bourgeoisie, represented by the Generals in the field-in the persons of Generals Korniloff, Alexeieff, Denikene -with the Constitutional Democrats and industrial and financial conservatives, on the other. In fact, it was this division that was apparent shortly after the revolution was proclaimed, and that had its first manifestation in the resignation of Professor Milukoff from the Cabinet, the resignation of General Brusiloff in the field, and the breakup of the first and second Cabinets. It was

the fundamental difference between socialism and conservatism, though both factions were resolutely opposed to a separate peace and enthusiastic and implacable enemies of the old order.

So acute had become the division between the two elements that when the Moscow conference was convened serious trouble from the extreme radicals was apprehended, as they looked askance at the conference as a conservative movement.

In view of alarmist rumors of impending riotous demonstrations the Military Governor of Moscow took precautions against disorders of all descriptions, and the council threatened to show a rigor in this respect unknown even in anterevolutionary days. The building in which the council met was surrounded by a close chain of soldiers, with officers every few yards, the soldiers being picked men from regiments of the Signal Corps or cadets training for offi

cers.

sistance. Only slight advances were made in the Rumanian region, but great German progress was made in Livonia, on the northern part of the front, where the main pressure was brought to bear.

On Aug. 31 it was evident that the Germans were preparing an advance on Riga, the most important Russian Baltic port. The first evidence of this was a series of raids by forty German bomb carriers and battle planes on various islands in the Gulf of Riga and at the entrance to the Gulf of Finland. German troops crossed the Dvina southeast of Riga on Sept. 2, and a German offensive was opened in the region of Mitau, southwest of Riga. On Sept. 3 it was officially announced that Riga had surrendered. Its fall was announced by Berlin as follows:

After careful preparation German divisions on Sunday morning crossed the Dvina on both sides of Uxkull. The infantry crossing was preceded by a heavy bombardment by artillery and mine

throwers. The chambers under the building were occupied by soldiers with fixed bayonets.

The interior of the Opera House was decorated elaborately, the foot bridge connecting the auditorium with the stage being hung with festoons of revolutionary red. Interspersed among the members of the council were to be seen characteristic Russian types, including Tartars in peaked caps, white-robed Mullahs from the Volga, Georgians robed in cloth of gold cassocks, and dignitaries of the Greek Orthodox Church, who had arrived for an Ecumenical Church Congress.

There was a general strike in Moscow the day the conference met, as a protest by the radicals, but there was little or no disorder, and business resumed its normal functions the next day. The Fall of Riga

Immediately on the heels of the Moscow conference it was clear that the Germans had determined to take advantage of Russia's political chaos and of the consequent demoralization of Russia's armies. Pressure was resumed on all fronts, and the Russians steadily retired, many regiments making no show of re

A footing was gained on the northern bank of the river after a short fight. Where the Russians offered resistance they were driven back by vigorous attacks. The movements of our troops are in progress and are proceeding according to our plans.

The enemy gave up his positions west of the Dvina owing to our advance. Our divisions are moving forward there also, while fighting with the Russian rear guard. Dense columns of every kind are making their way hastily in a northeasterly direction along the roads leading out of Riga. Burning villages and farms mark the routes taken by the retreating west wing of the Twelfth Russian Army. The following was the announcement from Petrograd:

On account of the threatening situation an order has been given for the abandonment of Riga. Some Russian detachments voluntarily left their positions and are retiring toward the north.

The German offensive on this front began Saturday by an attack on the Russian Uxkull position, following artillery preparation which lasted several hours. The Russian troops defending the Dvina River withdrew and the Germans succeeded in throwing two bridges across the Dvina and passing to the eastern bank.

The Russian infantry, in spite of the brilliant action of the artillery, which destroyed one of the enemy bridges, could not stop the German thrust, and the enemy, taking advantage of this, rapidly

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