Weekly journal-miner., 1918-02-13
FALL OF KERENSKY
 REGIME DESCRIBED
Deserted by Their Leader, Ministers Hold Palace Until Seized by Bolshe-
 wiki and Blood- Thirsty Mob.


 the Moscow liberal newspaper Outro
 Rossii of November 2l, received here,
 gives a circumstantial picture of in
 cidents at the Winter Palace at Pet
 rograd, seat of the Kerensky govern
 ment, during the Bolshevik revolution
 oi November /, showing the unpre
 Iaredness of the kerensky leaders to
 meet the conditions which led to
 their downfall When the Bolshevik
 uprising broke upon it, the Provision al government found that, instead of
 large number of loyal troops in the capital. it had only a handful of cadets and soldiers on which ii could rely fo- the defense of the Winter Palace, that there was no food in the building to provision 1t for siege | and that no effective support could be expected from various organizations
 on which the government had count
 cd for assistance.
 The account takes up the story at ?
 a. m. on the morning of November 6,
 at the close of the all-night session
 of the provisional government follow irg the outbreak of the Bolshevik up rising. Premier kerensky and Vice | Premier konovaloff, left for general headquarters, where the question of the strength at the disposition of the | government and the activities and
 latest plans of the opponents was be- | irg discussed. Here 1t was disclosed 1 that the government was in state 1 Of utter unpreparedncss. It was dis covered that the entire Petrograd garrison was, beyond a doubt, on the side of the rebels and the encourag- | ing news which had been given dur ing the past few days by Colonel | Polkovnikoff, commander of the
 troops in the Petrograd district, as
 70 .hc support which the government l could expect was entirely baseless. l About four o'clock in the morning | he premier and Vice-Premier Kono- | ,aloff came to the conclusion that he position of the government as re- 1 gards combating the insurrection vas absolutely hopeless.
 | Kerensky now finally concluded | that it was impossible to work furth- CT with Colonel Polkovnikoff, and it | was decided to remove him, step | which Konovaloff and the other min isters had long been insisting upon, but which Kerensky had hesitated to 1 .ake. II was decided to summon ! General Manikovsky, acting minister | of war, who left immediately for gen. | ,ral headquarters, but arrived there I only at five in the afternoon, after teing repeatedly stopped by soldiers | of the war-revolutionary committee 1 (the Bolshevik organization). A two i hour conference between Kerensky, | Konovaloff and General Manikovsky | brought out the fact that the Cos 1 sacks and the military cadets, upon 1 whom the government counted parti- cularly for support, could not be en- ! irely relied upon.
 Kercnsky then decided to go to the ! il ont, leaving instructions with Vice l Premier Konovaloff to summon all l the members of the cabinet and to I hold a continuous session at the l Winter Palace until his return.
 This session the last one of the I Kerensky administration opened at II the following morning, all the ministers except Terestchenko being present. Konovaloff, deeply moved, stated the result of the conference
 with Kerensky and Manikovsky and
 related the situation in its actual colors. The hopelessncss of an at tempt tc combat the insurrection, he said, made it imperative for the gov crnment to remain at its post and de-
 fend its position as long as possible. "Thc country and the revolution are in danger" he said, "and we have
 no right to abandon without resis- tance the authority to the rebels, who will ruin the country and the fruits
 of the revolution. l propose that the provisional government should not
 interrupt its session, but remain here until the last" konovaloff then told the ministers
 of the hopes cherished by Kerensky, who believed that the uprising of the
 Petrograd garrison was far from be- irg an indication that the entire country was in rebellion and was con- vinced that in the army consider able healthy element was ready to 1 defend the interests of the revolution against the small group of men who, he said, were misled by the Bolshevik.
 The provisional government un-