| OCR Text |
Show ! RUSSIAN WAR MINISTER k SOUNDS NOTE OF ALARM 'ThP ' .In Letter of Resignation M! Guchkoff fiy SnjH Divided Governmental Auth- , orlty Threatens Consequences HJnU ( B 1 ' nl to Liberty . aiul Existence . of ST Russia." , ', V '!'" if .-U'.C' . k P Russia still loams In .the eye3 of S thoVorld ns,n portontdusfjataclo to V an early 'successful Issue of tho war tell for tho ontento.nntlonsand tho Unlt- tf ' cd States over Germany and her nl- j With a far from satisfactory state Rj of affairs existing between tho counts! coun-ts! ell of workmen's and soldiers' deput- les and high Russian government of-H of-H flcals, which In tho last fow days has Wl resulted In tho resignation of tho H commander of tho forces In Potro-H Potro-H grad and tho minister of war and K marines, comes a renewal of tho ru-K ru-K mor that Turkey Is following In tho B footsteps of Gormany and Austria B nnd endeavoring to effect a separata I pcaco with Russia. While thero havo been rumors that H the council of workmen's and sol- dlors' deputies has called for on ar- mlstlco, official donlol of tlili Is mado I by tho council. It Is stated by the council that an appeal to tho sol-dlors sol-dlors 13 being drawn up declaring I against a separate peace. Pt ,) Pctrograd, Slay 14. General li Guchkoff, minister of war, has ro ll i signed. In announcing his reslgna- f f tlon at jestenlay's meeting of tho 6 j j congress of delegates from tho front, f J ' M. Gutchkoff read tho following lot- Itor sent by him to Premier Lyoff : "In review of tho condition In which tho power of tho government has been placed, especially to author- I Ity of tho minister of war, In rela- i . tlon to tho nrmy and tho navy, n jj condition which I am powerless to alter nnd whleh threatens to havo J consequences fatal to tho defense of tho liberty and oven tho existence of Russia, I can no longer cxerclso tho functions of minister of war and inarlno and sharo responsibility for tho gravo. a!n ,, bctijg -committed : . against tho country." j Tho resignation of General Guch- 1 Itoff follows that of General Korni- j loff, commander of tho Petrograd garrison, who said his position had i becomo impossible on account of tho j lH eforts of various organizations to I control tho garrison, tho last straw which lead to his resignation having been a demand by tho oxccutlvo committee of tho council of workmen's work-men's and soldiers' delegates that j nil his orders bo presented to tho '. commltteo for Its Indorsement. I . In nn Impassioned nppeal to dolo- I gates from tho front nt a meeting in ',' Petrograd Sunday, A. I Kerensky, '. minister of Justice, 'mado tho most alarming diagnosis or Russia's Internal In-ternal crux that has conio from any official slnco tho revolution. Tho minister of justice., heretoforo opto-mlstlc opto-mlstlc nnd reassuring In his assertions, asser-tions, confessed that his confidence I had left him nnd that he feared dl- jP saster. Vj "I camo to you," said M. Keron- fj sky, "becauso my strength Is at an I ft end. I no longer feel my former , courago nor havo I my former con- j! 1jl vlctlon that wo aro conscientious I j'i citizens, not slaves In rovolt. I am I I sorry I did not dlo two months ago I vl when tho dream of a now llfo was I j glowing In tho hearts of tho Russian aj people, when I was suro tho country ! H could govern Itself without tho whip, j M "As affairs aro going now, It will , $i bo Imposslblo to savo tho country. JJ Perhaps tho tlmo Is near when wo j will havo to tell you that wo can no ' longer give you tho amount of bread i you expect or othor supplies on which you havo a right to count. Tho process pro-cess of tho chnngo from slavery to l freedom Is not going on proporly '4 Wo havo lasted freedom and ara ! slightly tntostcatnd, ' but what wo need la Bobrlety and dlsclplino. I "You could suffer and bo silent for ton years and obey the orders of a hatod govornmont. You could I oven flro upon your own peoplo when commanded to do so. Can you now suffer no longer?" . M. Keronsky's declaration, though n trlflo moro outspoken In its pessl-mlsm pessl-mlsm than th'o utterances of othor officials, Is not unrepre3ontatlvo of public opinion In Potrograd at tho prosont tlmo. Unless there Is a quick infusion of a now spirit In tho army nnd a now understanding pf freedom among tho massos, and unless tho energy which now la being used to r. bring about poaco Is transformed In- . to cnegy warning for tho defense of tho country, it Is generally felt (that Russia will not long bo nblo to go on with tho war. A congress of peasant delegates, representing twenty-seven, provinces, opened' .hej toVr- TBo, bureau .of tho peasant's -throughout JlusslA'"fr. tho sajvnjlon qf th cqunty" to furnish furn-ish grnhYand fqdJer for tfid army and tho pooptoil tho'rearV" r - Tho appeal Bays supplies havo been dropping since raster, that Btores aro becoming exhausted and that tho situation Is critical nnd riots aro threatened, although thoro nro amplo reserves In tho country. Tho semiofficial news agency today to-day gavo out tho following: "Tho report that tho council of workmen's and soldiers' delegates has called for an nrmtstllo is denied. Tho question of an armistlso has never been raised by tho council, which, on tho contrary, Is engaged at prosont In drafting an appeal to tho soldiers at the front, pointing out tho Inadvlsablllty of ,a separato peace or of fraternizing with tho nemy." |
