Senator Knox.  With these statements from Col.  House as to the American position and from Mr. Kerr as to the British position, and with the instructions which you had received, you proceeded to Russia, and, as you said a moment ago, you made a written report?

Mr. Bullitt.  I did, sir.  Do you want it read, or shall I state the substance and then put it in the record?  I think I can state it more briefly if I read the first eight pages of it and then put the rest of it in the record.

The chairman.  Very well; do that.

Mr. Bullitt.  This report I made to the President and to the American commissioners, by order of the President transmitted to me on my return by Mr. Lansing.  I should like to say, before I read this report, that of course I was in Russia an extremely short time, and this is merely the best observation that I could make supplemented by the observation of Capt.  Pettit of the Military Intelligence, who was sent in as my assistant, and with other impressions that I got from Mr. Lincoln Steffens and other observers who were there.

Senator Knox.  How long were you in Russia?

Mr. Bullitt.  For only one week.  I was instructed to go in and bring back as quickly as possible a definite statement of exactly the terms the Soviet Government was ready to accept.  The idea in the minds of the British and the American delegation were that if the Allies made another proposal it should be a proposal which we would know in advance would be accepted, so that there would be no chance of another Prinkipos proposal miscarrying.

I might perhaps read first, or show to you, the official text.  This is the official text of their proposition which they handed me in Moscow on the 14th of March.  Here is a curious thing—­the Soviet foreign office envelope.

TERMS WHICH RUSSIA OFFERED TO ACCEPT

As I said, I was sent to obtain an exact statement of the terms that the Soviet Government was ready to accept, and I received on the 14th the following statement from Tchitcherin and Litvinov.

Senator Knox.  Who were they?

Mr. Bullitt.  Tchitcherin was Peoples’ Commisar for Foreign Affairs of the Soviet Republic and Litvinov was the former Soviet Ambassador to London, the man with whom Buckler had had his conversation, and who was now practically assistant secretary for foreign affairs.

I also had a conference with Lenin.  The Soviet Government undertook to accept this proposal provided it was made by the allied and associated Governments not later than April 10, 1919.  The proposal reads as follows [reading]: 

TEXT OF PROJECTED PEACE PROPOSAL BY THE ALLIED AND ASSOCIATED GOVERNMENTS.

The allied and associated Governments to propose that hostilities shall cease on all fronts in the territory of the former Russian Empire and Finland on ——­[1] and that no new hostilities shall begin after this date, pending a conference to be held at ——­[2] on ——­[3]