At that time nobody had acted in a definite, uncompromising
matter. It therefore fell to the ground.

There was a further discussion as to what should be done. The peace
conference was still of the opinion that it was impossible to hope to
conquer the Soviet Government by force of arms, because in the latter
part of that report, which I did not read to the committee, there was
expressed very forcibly the opinion of Mr. Lloyd George, that the
populations at home would not stand it. Therefore they desired to
follow up further the line of making peace.

About that time I was working particularly closely on the Russian
affairs. I had had a number of discussions with everyone concerned in
it, and on the very day that Col. House and Mr. Lansing first asked me
to undertake this mission to Russia, I was dining at Mr. Lloyd
George's apartment to discuss Russian affairs with his secretaries, so
that I had a fair idea of the point of view of everyone in Paris.

I further, before I went, received urgent instructions from Secretary
Lansing if possible to obtain the release of Consul Treadwell, who had
been our consul in Petrograd and had been transferred to Tashkent, and
had been detained by the local Soviet Government and had been kept
there several months. He was one of our Government officers they had
seized. Mr. Lansing ordered me to do everything I could to obtain his
release.

I further, before I went, asked Col. House certain specific questions
in regard to what, exactly, the point of view of our Government was on
this subject, what we were ready to do, and I think it perhaps might
be important to detail a brief resume of this conversation. The idea
was this: Lloyd George had gone over to London on February 9, as I
remember, to try to adjust some labor troubles. He, however, still
insisted that the Prinkipos proposal must be renewed or some other
peace proposal must be made, and I arranged a meeting between him and
Col. House, which was to take place, I believe, on February 24, at
which time they were to prepare a renewal of the Prinkipos proposal,
and they were both prepared to insist that it be passed against any
opposition of the French.

I arranged this meeting through Mr. Philip Kerr, Mr. Lloyd George's
confidential assistant. However, on the 19th day of the month, Mr.
Clemenceau was shot, and the next day Mr. Lloyd George telephoned over
from London to say that as long as Clemenceau was wounded and was ill,
he wa