Mr. BULLITT. Yes; I asked Col. House these questions [reading]:
1. If the Bolsheviki are ready to stop the forward movement
of their troops on all fronts and to declare an armistice on
all fronts, would we be willing to do likewise?
2. Is the American Government prepared to insist that the
French, British, Italian, and Japanese Governments shall
accept such an armistice proposal?
3. If fighting is stopped on all fronts, is the Government
of the United States prepared to insist on the
reestablishment of economic relations with Russia, subject
only to the equitable distribution among all classes of the
population of supplies and food and essential commodities
which may be sent to Russia?
In other words, a sort of Hoover Belgian distribution plan
so that the Bolsheviki could not use the food we sent in
there for propaganda purposes and to starve their enemies
and to feed their friends.
The fourth question I asked him was as follows:
4. Is the United States Government, under these conditions,
prepared to press the Allies for a joint statement that all
Allied troops will be withdrawn from the soil of Russia as
soon as practicable, on condition that the Bolsheviki give
explicit assurances that there will be no retaliation
against persons who have cooperated with the allied forces?
Col. House replied that we were prepared to.
Further, I asked Col. House whether it was necessary to get
a flat and explicit assurance from the Soviet Government
that they would make full payment of all their debts before
we would make peace with them, and Col. House replied that
it was not; that no such statement was necessary, however,
that such a statement would be extremely desirable to have,
inasmuch as much of the French opposition to making peace
with the Soviet Government was on account of the money owed
by Russia to France.
I further had an intimation of the British disposition
toward Russia. As I said before, I had discussed the matter
with Mr. Philip Kerr, and Sir Maurice Hankey and Col. House
asked me to inform Mr. Kerr of my mission before I went. It
was to be an entire secret from all except the British. The
British and American delegations worked in very close touch
throughout the conference, and there were practically no
secrets that the American delegation had that were not also
the property of the British delegation.