also the Suez and Panama Canals. Freedom of navigation for merchant ships. Abolition of the right to torpedo merchant ships in war time.
"12.—All belligerents to renounce war contributions or indemnities in any form, but the money spent on the maintenance of prisoners and all contributions levied during the war to be returned.
"13.—Commercial treaties not to be based on the peace treaty; each country may act independently with respect to its commercial policy, but all countries to engage to renounce an economic blockade after the war.
"14.—The conditions of peace should be settled by a peace congress consisting of delegates elected by the people and confirmed by Parliament. Diplomats must engage not to conclude separate treaties, which hereby are declared contrary to the rights of the people, and consequently void.
"15.—Gradual disarmament by land and sea, and the establishing of a non-military system."
The Executive Committee, which still placed emphasis on diplomacy and not on revolutionary action, delegated former Minister of Labor Skobelef to present these terms as its delegate to the Conference of the Allies at Paris. But the Provisional Government secretely advised the Allies against Skobelef,[1] and Jules Cambon, of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, declared that "the Allied governments will absolutely refuse to consent to M. Skobelef's taking part in the deliberations" of the Conference; and it was declared, moreover, that the Conference would discuss only military problems, and not problems of peace terms. The attitude of the Allies caused an immediate reaction in the Revolutionary Democracy, destroying completely the influence of the moderates and establishing firmly the ascendancy of the Bolsheviki, who ten days later realized their program of "All power to the Soviets."
- ↑ On October 29, Tereschenko, the Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Kerensky government sent a secret telegram (subsequently published by the Bolshevik government) to the Russian Ambassador in London, reading in part as follows: "With regard to your conversation with Balfour, I deem it important to confirm that in our opinion the forthcoming Allied Conference shall have for its problem an appraisal of views of the Allies with regard to the same. At the same time the Conference should determine the means of further conduct of the war and mutual assistance which the Allies must show to each other. With regard to the participation at the Conference of a person [Skobelef] having the confidence of our Democracy, it is important to bear in mind that this person will be one of the personnel of the Russian government delegation, in whose name only its head will speak officially." The hint was enough. This is proof that the Provisional Government conspired secretly with imperialistic governments to continue the war and intrigued against the Revolutionary Democracy.
