The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1919-03-07

order that l should no longer cooper
ate with the Soviet government. The
American amba ssador believed in me;
at least. ! hope he did: any way he
requested his government to with
draw that order and it was done, and
was instructed to continue in CO.
operation with them. From that time
until left Russia / was in constant
and close association with the Soviet
officials. Upon numerous occasions ]
was the unofficial representative of
the American embassy in dealing with
the Soviet government
Treat With Germany.
When the negotiations at Brest-
Litovsk were first begun there was a
perfect understanding between Ienine
and Trotzky for a democratic peace;
that Is, peace without indemnities,
without lamentations and with the right
of self DIFFERENTIATION. Later. when the
allies had refused to have anything to
do with that suggestion, negotiations
were begun with the central powers
alone and Germany accepted for such
a democratic peace.
but after the first meeting at Brest-
Idtovsk, when the Soviet representa-
lives went back. the real German
terms were disclosed: they we're just
the opposite. In other words the So
vlets had been betrayed by the Ger
mans into accepting the negotiations
for peace, and then the terms had
been changed. Lenine and Trotzky
were both violently against acceptance
of the terms: they denounced them in
big meetings held in Petrograd.
Trotzky's statement with reference to
the German proposal was:
Germany Is trying to carve its way
with the sword over the body of Euro
pean nations
"At this point Lenine and Trotzky
separated. Trotzky believed he could
beat the Germans and was in favor of
going back 20 Brest. rejecting the
terms and defying Germany to fight;
he wanted to tell the German repre-
sentatiyes that the Soviets had been
deceived and would not accept the
terms. Lenine however, believed it
was too late and said there was moth
ing to do but accept the obnoxious
terms
Dcnounces the Hun
'"Trotzky went back to Brest and
denounced the German delegation and
then took the first train back to Petro-
grad. AS soon as he had left the Ger
mans did not wa< for the expiration
of the truce. but began to advance
The red guards tried to resist, but in
front of them were the remnants of
the old Russian army, rotten to the
core, and they deserted. forcing the red
guards into a retreat. There is one
thing that can be said of the red
guards. no mattel what else- is
charged against them, they do know
how to die They made a gallant re-
sistance, but ii was of no use,
"Lenine then took supreme COM
mand, TrotZky sulked. Lenine sent
a new commission to Brest with orders
to sign the treaty. 1t Is said they did
not even look at the document and
were forced to sign at the point of the
bayonet. Lenine ordered the capital
removed to Moscow and directed the
all-Russian Soviet government to con-
vene there"
Colonel Robins said the whole
plan OF the German government
was to obtain economic control of
Russia In order to exploit the land.
In regard to the presence OF Ger
man agents and German money In
Russia, he said they had always
been there. Rasputn had been
bought by German influence. The
czarina was friendly with the Ger
man court. and If the Kerensky
revolution had not come when II
did Russia would have surren-
dered to Germany anyway.
when the Kerensky revolt sue
ceeded. the German agents continued
their work more industriously," he
said, land helped to bring about the
victory Of the Bolsheyiks. But the
latter succeeded far beyond Germany's
ideas and instead OF the civil warfare
for which the German agents had
planned, the Soviet movements swept
all over Russia and began to spread it's
propaganda among the German and
A II {ef n n tie taA h.
Germans to finance the anarchistic
groups. or nter-revolutionaries.
who began to fight ths, RolshcYssts.