flour, [Footnote: _Russkaia Svoboda_, 1917. No. 3, p. 24.] enough to last
Petrograd ten days, meat, besides other food hidden in police stations and
elsewhere out of reach of the public. It has been said that the Government
instigated the uprising in order to bring about a separate peace with
Germany. No direct proof has as yet been produced to substantiate this
charge, and the only testimony that I have bearing on this case is the
statement made by commander-in-chief Alexeiev in a confidential interview
with a journalist already quoted. [Footnote: There is not the least bit of
evidence to show that the Emperor himself was mixed up in these intrigues.
Among the papers of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs there is but one
document that throws any light on the question of a separate peace during
the time of the monarchy. It is a letter from the minister of the German
Court to the minister of the Russian Court insinuating a separate peace.
This letter was shown, as was intended, to the Tsar, who read it, put it
aside, and did not answer it. This, however, does not mean that Sturmer,
Protopopov and the clique of the Empress were not planning to bring about a
situation which would compel a separate peace.]

These four points--the encouragement of a revolt by the secret agents,
the impersonation of Miliukov, the concealment of food in the factory
districts, the desire of a separate peace with Germany--make out a fairly
good case to show that the Government was behind the disturbance. Aside
from the reason already given for the desire of a separate peace, the
other reason for the action of the ministry was this: It feared that the
revolutionary movement, if permitted to take its natural course, would
develop such strength that it could not be put down when it broke out, and,
therefore, the Minister of the Interior decided to take it in hand and at
the right moment crush it with such force that it would be a long time
before it could raise its head again. Before it was over he hoped to
drag in prominent members of the Duma (or the Duma itself) and other