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INTERNATIONAL SITUATION (Continued) (9)

Russia deserves not as to be abandoned but sympathetically helped
because she is offering up herself as a vicarious sacrifice for the rest of
us; but there is another function of Russia to which I would call attention.
Many superficial and many uninformed people have considered the various ex-
treme movements in Russia new and in the past as "interesting" or "wild" or
"wicked" according to their point of view, but almost always as peculiarly
Russian. These people are often as little informed about conditions in their
own country as not to know that such movements also exist there but not on
such a scale, and tempered by more practical experience. As a matter of
fact I have come to regard Russia as a sort of sensitive galvanometer or
seismograph, which sharply registers what are only delicate electric currents
or earth scarcely felt earth rumblings in other parts of the world. It
will always be worth while, therefore, to watch Russia.

Always admitting the military man's point of view as to the import-
ance of the actual conduct of military operations, we must have a broader
and more inclusive outlook than this. For us there is not only the war but
the after-war. If we keep this in mind we shall see that it would be a world
calamity for Russia to "fry in her own fat" and "stew in her own juice" as the
disgusted and short-sighted are advocating these days. We cannot do anything
leave her to do this. We must stay by the ship and only leave Petrograd
temporarily when if a time should come, when, for hours or days, it might be
impossible to remain. Not only stay but help each element that makes for
order, not worrying too much as to the diplomatic usage in the case.

We ought to be willing to help Russia bring her soldiers back from
the front, to pass from the war into the peace conditions, in a spirit so
magnaminous as to make German intrigue impossible. Some of the Bolshevik
newspapers have commented upon the reported departure of the Allied missions
from Petrograd. One paper in Moscow published this rumour and remarked that
it was a good riddance! It is only fair to say that this has not been the
official view of those in power at the Smolny Institute -- at least they have
not published it.

There is no one country, which can do so much for Russia as America,
and in time the commercial rewards will come of themselves. There is an
unstable time ahead, which will last no one knows how long. We can help
to make it shorter! As to the immediate future it needs no alarmist to
see that conditions may become very bad here if the side of anarchy is not stemmed.
Our Military Attaché, who was in Russia during the Russo-Japanese War, and is
one of the best minds here among the foreigners, is free to say that, if
nothing is done to alleviate the situation, such an anarchy might result
as would dwarf the war in its attendeant loss of life. Many are saying
that our appropriations are for "war purposes" and that Russia should not receive
one agricultureal machine if she ceases to be an ally. I am opposed to this
reasoning and regard the order and development of Russia as having such an
international bearing and such a direct effect upon the outcome of the war
that money loaned for this purpose is well expended. Let us stand by this
country so that the Germans may not say to the Russians "The Americans like
all the rest of the Allies were only interested in your as long as you could
give them something. Now they have dropped you and cast you out. Come to
GERMANIA'S ample and generous bosom!"

November 26.- As this closes I have spoken with the President and dir-
ectors of an important bank here, and they look forward to the passing of the
present regime and the formation in the very near future of some sort of a
coalition government. This will be weak but will serve to discharge routing
duties.

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