=German-Russian Differences as to the Occupied Areas=

“The second difficulty to be reckoned with, and one which has been most widely echoed in the Press, is the difference of opinion between our German allies and the Petersburg Government anent the interpretation of the right of self-determination among the Russian peoples; that is to say, in the areas occupied by German troops.  Germany maintains that it does not aim at any annexation of territory by force from Russia, but, briefly stated, the difference of opinion is a double one.

“In the first place, Germany rightly maintains that the numerous expressions of desire for independence on the part of legislative corporations, communal representations, etc., in the occupied areas should be taken as the provisional basis for the will of the people, to be later tested by plebiscite on a broader foundation, a point of view which the Russian Government at first was indisposed to agree to, as it did not consider the existing administrations in Courland and Lithuania entitled to speak for those provinces any more than in the case of Poland.

“In the second place, Russia demands that this plebiscite shall take place after all German troops and officials have been withdrawn from the occupied provinces, while Germany, in reply to this, points out that if this principle were carried to its utmost limits it would create a vacuum, which could not fail to bring about at once a state of complete anarchy and the utmost misery.  It should here be noted that everything in these provinces which to-day renders possible the life of a state at all is German property.  Railways, posts and telegraphs, the entire industry, and moreover the entire administrative machinery, police, law courts, all are in German hands.  The sudden withdrawal of all this apparatus would, in fact, create a condition of things which seems practically impossible to maintain.

“In both cases it is a question of finding a middle way, which moreover must be found.

“The differences between these two points of view are in my opinion not great enough to justify failure of the negotiations.

“But such negotiations cannot be settled from one day to another; they take time.

“If once we have attained peace with Russia, then in my opinion the general peace cannot be long delayed, despite all efforts on the part of the Western Entente statesmen.  I have learned that some are unable to understand why I stated in my first speech after the resumption of negotiations that it was not now a question at Brest of a general peace, but of a separate peace with Russia.  This was the necessary recognition of a plain fact, which Herr Trotski also has admitted without reserve, and it was necessary, since the negotiations would have been on a different footing—­that is to say, in a more limited sphere—­if treating with Russia alone than if it were a case of treating for a general peace.