Page:Emile Vandervelde - Three Aspects of the Russian Revolution - tr. Jean Elmslie Henderson Findlay (1918).djvu/146

 in the mind of the Russian soldier: had not the Soviet of Petrograd made them believe that it would be a regular peace conference?

It seemed quite clear to us, however, that the enthusiasm of the army for the Stockholm Conference had considerably cooled down since it had become more and more clear that the hopes of a democratic revolution in Germany, as a direct result of the Russian Revolution, were denied by stern reality. Also, with one exception—that of a somewhat timid Bolcheviki heckler at a meeting at Podgaïce—the statement we made regarding our attitude in connection with the proposed International Socialist Conference met on the front with nothing but complete approval.

We had the pleasure of meeting again in the Soviet of the armies of the south-west one of the delegates from the sailors of the Black Sea, whom we had met three weeks previously at Petrograd. We met several others later on. After having visited Petrograd and the other large towns of the provinces, these 160 delegates, sent