The Washington herald., 1919-03-07
GERMANS RECOGNIZE
SOVIETS AS FIGHTING
CONTINUES In BERLIN
CONTINUED FROM PAGE ONE.

ndQ Dtth oiucitd slOpptu lOf
two reasons: First, IL was believed
that the German advance would not
be as threatening as had been repre-
sented; second, II the United States
Embassy were moved, Lenine and
Trotsky3 feared 1t would excite the
counter revolutionaries. The train
stayed there three days and therf
went to see Denine about IT. He told
me there was no danger. that Petro-
grad was safe and that the departure
Of the Embassy would have a bad ef-
feet"
This was the first time Robins de-
fed Lenine- He continued:
II tod him the train must 20, that
he no longer had any control over the
soldiers in the barracks, that they
might break loose at any time and
loot the stores and wreck the En-
bassy. Finally he ordered the train
to go. i have the original letter from
Lenine giving this order and asking
safe conduct for the train from all
the local soviets- 7 went to vologda
with the mission and was back in
Petrograd on March 5.
Trotsky Asked Allied Aid.
TT was then that Trotsky came to
me and asked me II would like to
keep the Brest-Litovsk treaty from
being ratified. I told him there was
nothing in the world I'd like better
to do. He said: You can do it I
laughed at him and said that Lenine
was in command and that could do
nothing
'"Trotsky told me that Lenine at last
had come to realize that the German
advance was threatening, and was
willing to retire to Ekaterinburg. for
tify the Ural Mountains and beat the
Germans back IL he could get allied
support T asked him to give me this
assurance in writing. and he did so.
Together we went to see Ienine. I
was rather satisfied with the entire
genuineness Of their position.
Il must digress at this point to tell
how it came about that r. A. Bruce
Lockhart was sent to Petrograd as
the British High Commissioner. When
William B. Thompson left Russia In
November. 1917. it was because he had
been so identified with the Kerensky
government that the officials OF the
Soviet government regarded him with
unjustified suspicion. He went against
his will. He had been libelled by the
/ Bolsheviks, who called him a repre-
sentative of Wall Street and uttered
charges to the effect that he had OBJ
tained large concessions of mineral
deposits for his own use. The same
sort OF things have been said about
me and every one who has tried to
! help matters in Russia. Anyway, Col.
Thompson went to London and saw
Lloyd George and talked with him for
two hours; he told the Premier ex-
actly what I have been telling you.
that IL the allied governments would
promise economic support to the
Soviets the Brest-Litovsk treaty
would not be ratified and the Red
Guards would take the field against
Germany and keep on fighting.
Sustained by Lockhnrt.
"As a result of this conference,
Lloyd George sent Bruce-Lockhart to
Petrograd to make a study OF the
situation. advising him to call upon
me and obtain my views. In the cable
message sent by Lloyd George, a
copy of which I have, occurred this
language: I don't know what is to
be done in Russia, but I know our
people are wrong. Go to Russia, see
Robins and find out what We should
do
when Lockhart came, he looked
the situation over and reported to
Lloyd George that everything was ex-
actly as I had stated It I told him
that at that time the Soviet move
ment was an international revolution
ary movement against the whole
world, but more particularly against
the Germans and that we could do
business with them; he said 1 was
right"
Col. Robins said he then talked
with Harold williams, the correspon- =
dent of the London Chronicle. an
ayowed enemy of the Bolshevists, who
became convinced that he was right.
As result Williams, he said, sent
cable messages to the British foreign
office and to Lloyd George saying that
the Bolshevik government was the
only power in Russia and if supported
by the allied governments they would
Tight Germany and repudiate the
Brest-Litovsk treaty"
Col. Robins prevailed upon an
American Press Associations corre-
spondent in Petrograd to send a sim
liar message, and induced the mana
ger Of the branch of the National City
Bank to send a message to Frank A
Nanderlip to the same effect. The
American Ambassador also sent two
cables to the State Department ad-
vising prompt action. No response
was received from any of these mes
sages.
Treaty Bitterly Condemned.
In the meantime, he said, Lenine
postponed for two days the calling of
the all-Russian Soviet at Moscow in
the hope that some response might
be received. Col. Robins went to Mos
cow and few days later Lenine came
and asked if any word had been re-
ceived; he doubted whether any an
swer would come. Lenine asked what
he could do. Col. Robins asked to ex-
anime the credentials Of the delegates,
and this privilege was granted; he
examined the credentials and found
them to be "the most definite general
representation that could be found In
Russia
Finally the Soviet was convened
and for two days, Col. Robins said,
the Brest-Litovsk treaty was not
spoken of in debate except in bitter
condemnation. There were seven
parties in the conference, and all
but one voted against the treaty.
Trotsky meanwhile was "sulking in
PetrOgrad."
AT midnight of the last day of
the session." Col. Robins continued,
'Lenine was sitting on the platform,
and I was sitting on the steps OF
the platform a few feet away. He
came over to me and asked what I
had heard from my government. I
answered. nothing. He asked if
Lockhart had heard anything. I
told him he had not. Then there is
nothing to do but ratify the treaty.