SATURDAY, September, 1st 1917. THE MOSCOW CONFERENCE.

Grey River Argus, 1 September 1917, Page 4

SATURDAY, September, Ist 1917. THE MOSCOW CONFERENCE.

THE treat Moscow Conference which was looked forward to with mjuch interest has ended. What has been achieved tao not been disclosed but it is clear that there was very little, if aiiy discussion '"-"icernrng a separate peace ; rather do we conclude from the cabled reports of the* great; gathering that there was a. fairly definite note of determination 'to continue the war, though hopes of an early . offen« sive- by the Muscovite armies are very smidll. It seems that the -great •■natiofl is finding great difficulty in securing a set of men united to form a foundation for building up the hew Empire. The man on whom so much faith has been placed is evidently losing his magnetic

power and public favour is passing from M. Kerensky to Generl Korniloff, a position which gives rise to much speculation. General Korniloff is of conservative ideas. He believes in . strict discipline both in the army and in the civil life of Russia and though; Kerensky has done much work in the direction of restoring law and order it" seems that his methods are not definite enough to satisfy the majority of the people. The pendulum! swung from^ [the strict discipline and oppression of ■ the days of the Tsar with an irresistible rush to a freedom amounting to.---j license and the whole country was thrown into military and political chaos. The difficulty was to "find men. with sufficient force of character to* carry on the work of restoration, a hazardous and delicate task. Several great Russian leaders have passed ■in review during the last few. months, !and their terms under the limelight of ■ leadership have been very brief, M. Kerensky alone having survived. Nowit seems, this great statesman's star is losing brilliance and General Korniloff is becoming the favourite of the public. Yet all the leaders have done great work for their nation and have been links .in the chain of progress, which, though blurred by the ugly upheavals of sections of both the army arid the people, has nevertheless been . proceeding definitely. The position "to-: day is much better than ever before;' We. may not be inclined to accept such a statement, because of our knowledge that Russia is an indefinite fighting factor and an unknown quantity, but the Moscow Conference itself is proof of the assertion. All classes took part in .that Conference, yet T we read that Germany is disappointeS'' because the delegates have not expressed any desire to forsake the Allies. Within a year of Russia's forced entry into the war, we had talk of.separate peace, and from time to time reports were received that **jshe was likely to desert the Allies and conclude a separate peace. The revolution alone saved Russia from such a catas--trophe, and, though events , since thatgreat victory for internal freedom have caused much fear among the Allied nations, the one bright fact, has been Russia 's emphatic attitude towards Germany. Considering the "enormous amount of work done by the German secret service in Russiaj it is remarkable that ; the nation .has remained in the war, arid still more remarkable that, after the Galician disaster, tbe general conference in "Moscow should leave .the idea of a..separate peace out of its program-, me. Russia is suffering from a nationdyspepsia due to. her people having drunk too deeply of the freedom Won by 4 the revolution, and the malady is proving very difficult to remove. The condition of the army is indeed regrettable, and the loss of control over, the rank and file is extremely serious, but the re-establishing of the death penalty may.be expected to end a large amount of the trouble. General Korniloff has been the chief factor in having capital punishment restored, "and the report that he is becoming the idol of the people indicates that they are in the majority desirous that severe measures should be taken to restore order. The death penalty will have to be resorted to in some cases in civilian life as well as in the army, so that the difficulties fostered by anarchists may be overcome. M. Kerensky has given a warning that the Provisional Government intends to take severe measures and- that the forces of anarchy will find an. implacable enemy in Democratic Russia. M. Kerensky admits that he hates the re-es-tablishment of the death penalty, and it speaks volumes for his broad-min_-edness that he is willing to abandon his theory that capital punishment can be avoided. The conflict ,pf opinion between M. Kerensky and Glen eral Korniloff may cause further complied* •tions, but it is hoped that both will act in a spirit of compromise in the interests of the whole nation. . Unity is sadly needed and we believe that the Premier at least. .will be willing togo-a x long way towards "accepting the General's ideas. The main .source •■- of trouble will be in the respective parties' attitude towards each other; Several delegates expressed their peoples' loyalty to the Provisional Govermne^t and even the people of the south where trouble has at times looked likely have expressed their readiness to make any sacrifice for. the good of the nation. Taking the expressed views of the delegates to the conference generally, it can be said that the position in Russia to-day is very greatly improved. A conciliatory spirit is more in evidence, and that in itself is a guarantee that th_ nation, much hampered in the "past and torn asunder by many factions, will ultimately become a powerful ally an d a great and progressive people.