New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-05-15
Will the President Delay? w. D SOCIALISTS ana No'''o
Statements Which Confuse Purpose
of the Root Mission
To the Editor of The Tribune.

To the Editor Of The Tribune.
Sir: In an article published IN The IT'D
une Of May your Washington correspondent
saws that Mr.. Lansing feared that certain
Messages in statement issued by Charles Ed
ward Russell and myself and other Socialists
from Washington might create an unfavor-
able impression Of America there, IL not
rroiudice the cause of continued warfare by
Russia against Germany" You then proceed
to quote the passages in question, emitting
clause which completely reverses the mean
ing. We did not say, nor imply, that inc
Council OF Workmen's Deputies had declared:
eff the Entente governments cannot be IN
duced to accept the new programme, let the
Entente peoples overthrow the Entente gov
ernments."
On the contrary, VIC said that certain lead
ers of the council now urge" the above posi-
tion-as our statement, now before me. shows
Mr.. Lansing must have disagreed with some
other feature of the statement. But Mr.. Lam
sing is not Socialist and was not asked 10
approve of our declaration. It could not pos
s;bly involve him or our government. Doubt
less he had sufficient reasons for not specify
lnE MS ODJtCllOlcf anu AoA A'"'ih5 - ~ w.
Washington correspondents to interpret his
brief remark in several widely different ways.
Mr.. Lansng's opposition to any Socialist
statement is easily comprehensive, but 1t
puts us in peculiarly helpless position when
he doesn't say what his objection is.
II Mr. Lansing is taking cognizance OF nom
offica. statements, | hope he will pay atten-
zion to that issued from Washington and
widely published on May Z, statement which
attributed an opinion to the State Depart
ment- something which we Socialists would
not think of doing. The gravest danger at
present is that the Russian people and the
Council of Workmen's Deputies might get the
idea that the Root commission is sent to
interfere in Russian internal affairs and to
help the Provisional Government in its
trouble with the council
The Washington statement to which l re-
fer, which / read both in "The Washington
Post" and "The Washington Herald" is as
follows: 1.-THE immediate presence of Elihu
Root and the American commission is desired
in Russia, and the State Department is max
ing all efforts to speed up the commissions
departure, il became known last night. 1t IS
regarded as certain that if the Russian Pro-
visional Government fails the task of the
United States in the war will be augmented
The State Department is certain that Nh.
Roots presence in Petrograd will do much to
strengthen the hands of the Duma."
Without waiting for Mr.. Lansing's reply I
am in position TO say that the above state
ment is wholly erroneous. ] know from per.
sonal interviews with the highest authorities
that the commission was appointed without
the slightest reference to Russia's internal
affairs, its purpose being % to extend the
greetings of the American people to the Rus
sian people and (2) to learn in Russia what
practical aid the Russian people would desire
from US in prosecuting the war against autoc-
racy. | strongly urge that Mr.. Lansing or
some one with authority repudate the Wash
ington statement and officially substantiate
what have just said.
WILLIAM ENGLISH WALLING.
Greenwich, Conn, May IL, 1917.