ernment. It was
he undoubtedly who conceived the idea of staging a revolution in
Russia, of creating or precipitating a premature uprising, as had been
done so successfully in 1905, but for a different purpose. The idea
now was to create such internal disorders as to give the Government a
pretext for making separate peace with the Central Powers. This might
deceive everybody; the revolutionary elements, which would be used as
the medium for the disorder, and the liberals and conservatives who
were now strongly anti-Government. In the midst of the turmoil the
separate peace could be effected; then the soldiers could be recalled
from the front and used in suppressing the revolution, a task that
could be easily accomplished with the vast number of men under arms.
As was later to be demonstrated, the dark forces did not reckon with
the psychological changes which the army was also undergoing.

Mysterious placards now began to appear in the factories and munition
shops calling on the workingmen to go out on strike and organize
demonstrations. Police agents, disguised as workingmen, went into the
industrial plants and began to preach revolution. It was easy enough
to utilize Socialist philosophy for this purpose. Why should the
workers of Russia fight the workers of Germany, when their interests
were identical? Why should they shed their blood for the ruling
classes, when the ruling classes were the only ones who could gain
through the war? The German Socialists were even then rising against
their masters; the Russian Socialists were urged to do likewise and so
join their German comrades in paving the way to the cooperative
commonwealth.

Fortunately the Social Democratic party had already issued a detailed
manifesto explaining why the Russian Socialists should stand by the
war. The genuine leaders of the Socialists should [see TN] the labor
organizations realized immediately the policy which the dark forces
were initiating. For once they came together with the liberals and
even with the conservative elements, and prepared to combat this
underhanded propaganda. Placards were posted and proclamations were
issued by the real leaders denouncing the impostors and explaining
their tactics. This underground fight among the laboring classes was
of long duration, however. In instituting this policy the dark forces
were indeed playing with the fire which was eventually to consume
them.

Throughout the war the food supply had been