File No. 861.00/3020
The Consul at Moscow (
Poole) to
the Secretary of State
Moscow, undated.
[Received
October 22, 1918.]
Sir: I have the honor to furnish herewith,
for information of the Department, four copies of the letter
addressed to the People’s Commissar for Foreign Affairs of September
8, 1918, by the chief of the American Red Cross in Russia,
protesting against the extreme measures now being adopted by the
Soviet government against Russian citizens.
In this connection reference is made to my unnumbered despatch of
September 4, 1918, transmitting copies of a similar communication
addressed to the Commissar for Foreign Affairs by me personally.
I have [etc.]
[Enclosure]
The Chief of the American Red Cross Commission
to Russia (
Wardwell) to the Soviet Commissar for Foreign
Affairs (
Chicherin)
Moscow,
September 8,
1918.
Dear Sir: In the name of humanity I
feel it my duty as representing the American Red Cross in Russia
to protest against the extreme measures now being adopted by the
Soviet government against its own subjects. I realize that
criminal attempts upon the lives of prominent Commissars may
call for
[Page 686]
severe
measures against the guilty. As to the punishment for such
political or personal crimes the American Red Cross cannot
concern itself nor does it attempt to suggest that such
punishment be extenuated, however much it would approve, should
a more clement policy be adopted particularly where large
numbers of persons are involved. However the recent
announcements of the beginning of a class terror indicate an
intention upon the part of the government to wreak a bloody
vengeance upon a whole section of the people, for no other
reason than that they are suspected of holding political views
different from those of the authorities in power, although they
may have taken no steps against such authorities. That this
announcement is no mere threat, is made clear by the official
statement that after the death of Commissar
Uritski in Petrograd some 500 persons
were shot. It is not pretended that these people were in any way
involved in the crime and moreover it is inconceivable that
their guilt could have been established in the short time which
elapsed between the killing of the Commissar and the shooting of
so many persons. This wholesale execution is only a particularly
striking instance of other acts of like character.
Such unwarranted slaughter cannot be allowed to pass unnoticed by
an association whose object is to relieve human suffering. The
action belongs to barbarous days and cannot but bring lasting
discredit upon the authorities who are responsible for it or who
in any way countenance it That others with whom the Soviet
government is contending may also have committed acts of
barbarity can be no answer. The American Red Cross, as you
doubtless know, has not hesitated and in the future will not
hesitate, equally to condemn such actions on the part of the
others.
The American Red Cross under trying conditions has used every
effort to relieve some of the suffering which is being endured
by the people within the limits of Soviet Russia. While it
claims no reward for what was freely given, I believe that its
actions are fair proof of its freedom from political interest
and thus entitle this note to the careful consideration which
its serious subject matter deserves. That the future course of
the Soviet government in respect to the people within its power
will not be guided by mere word of ours, I readily agree; and I
ask only that such course should be determined by the simplest
principles of humanity and of justice which must be the basis of
any form of government which has at heart the best interests of
the people which it represents.
Respectfully yours,
