found the Keeper of the Archives sitting at work in an old
sheepskin coat and felt boots, rising now and then to beat
vitality into his freezing hands like a London cabman of old
times.






THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE ON THE REPLY
TO THE PRINKIPO PROPOSAL


February 10th.



It will be remembered that a proposal was made by the
Peace Conference that the various de facto governments of
Russia should meet on an island in the Bosphorus to discuss
matters, an armistice being arranged meanwhile. No direct
invitation was sent to the Soviet Government. After
attempting to obtain particulars through the editor of a
French socialist paper, Chicherin on February 4th sent a
long note to the Allies. The note was not at first considered
with great favour in Russia, although it was approved by the
opposition parties on the right, the Mensheviks even going
so far as to say that in sending such a note, the Bolsheviks
were acting in the interest of the whole of the Russian