n or taken from Germany
by the Allies to be regarded as partial payment of the
portion of the debt due from the soviet republics of Russia.

The Soviet Government of Russia undertakes to accept the
foregoing proposal provided it is made not later than April
10, 1919.

In regard to the second sentence in paragraph 5, in regard to "giving
help to Soviet Russia" I may say that I was told that that was not a
sine qua non but it was necessary in order to get the proposal through
the Russian executive committee, which it had to pass before it was
handed to me. I was also handed an additional sheet, which I refused
to take as a part of the formal document, containing the following:

The Soviet Government is most anxious to have a semiofficial
guaranty from the American and British Governments that they
will do their utmost to see to it that France lives up to
the conditions of the armistice.

The Soviet Government had a deep suspicion of the French Government.

In reference to this matter, and in explanation of that proposal, I
sent a number of telegrams from Helsingfors. I feel that in a way it
is important, for an explanation of the matter, that those telegrams
should be made public, but, on the other hand, they were sent in a
confidential code of the Department of State, and I do not feel at
liberty to read them unless ordered to specifically by the committee.
I should not wish to take the responsibility for breaking a code which
is in current use by the department.

Senator KNOX. I should think your scruples were well founded. I should
not read those telegrams.

Mr. BULLITT. I can simply inform you briefly of the nature of them.

Senator KNOX. You might give us the nature of them. To whom were they
sent?

Mr. BULLITT. On reaching Petrograd I sent Capt. Pettit out to
Helsingfors after I had had a discussion with Tchitcherin and with
Litvinov with a telegram, in which I said I had reached Petrograd and
had perfected arrangements to cross the boundary at will, and to
communicate with the mission via the consul at Helsingfors; that the
journey had been easy, and that the reports of frightful conditions in
Petrograd had been ridiculously exaggerated.

I described the discussions I had had with Tchitcherin and with
Litvinov, and said they had assured me that after going to Moscow and
after discussion with Lenin, I should be able to carry out a specific
statement of the po