Memorandum for Mr. Auchincloss:
DEAR GORDON: I have studied carefully the draft of the reply
to Dr. Nansen which you have prepared. In spirit and
substance your letter differs so radically from the reply
which I consider essential that I find it difficult to make
any constructive criticism. And I shall refrain from
criticizing your rhetoric.
There are two proposals in your letter, however, which are
obviously unfair and will not, I am certain, be accepted by
the Soviet Government.
1. The life of Russia depends upon its railroads;
and your demand for control of transportation by
the commission can hardly be accepted by the
Soviet Government which knows that plots for the
destruction of railroad bridges were hatched in
the American consulate in Moscow. You are asking
the Soviet Government to put its head in the
lion's mouth. It will not accept. You must
moderate your phrases.
2. When you speak of the "cessation of hostilities
by Russian troops," you fail to speak of
hostilities by troops of the allied and associated
Governments, a number of whom, you may recall,
have invaded Russia. Furthermore, your phrase does
not cover Finns, Esthonians, Letts, Poles, etc. In
addition, you say absolutely nothing about the
withdrawal of the troops of the allied and
associated Governments from Russian territory.
And, most important, you fail to say that troops
and military supplies will cease to be sent into
the territory of the former Russian Empire. You
thereby go a long way toward proving Trotsky's
thesis: That any armistice will simply be used by
the Allies as a period in which to supply tanks,
aeroplanes, gas shells, liquid fire, etc., to the
various antisoviet governments. As it stands, your
armistice proposal is absolutely unfair, and I am
sure that it will not be accepted by the Soviet
Government.
Very respectfully, yours,