Page:Paul Samuel Reinsch - Secret Diplomacy, How Far Can It Be Eliminated? - 1922.djvu/192



assured that no aggressive or hostile policy would be pursued against her by France, Russia and our- selves, jointly or separately." Without the sup- port of the people, kept in line by fear of hidden dangers, not even the militarists of Germany could have forced military action.

One of the first acts of the Russian Soviet Gov- ernment was to announce its hostility to secret diplomacy. When it first published the secret treaties and documents of the Czarist Govern- ment, its motive was, as shown by Trotsky's dec- laration made at the time, thoroughly to discredit the management of affairs under the old regime. In the same connection, it announced its own pur- pose of conducting foreign affairs in the open. Such seems indeed to have been its general prac- tice with respect to the announcement of policies, though its agents continued to use underground methods. One thing, however, the Soviet Gov- ernment is evidently trying to bring about, namely, a broad public interest in the conduct of foreign affairs. It desires the Russian people, and more particularly the members of the ruling Commu- nist Party, to be currently informed about the progress of international affairs and about ar- rangements concluded. Observers report that at the meeting of the provincial Soviets the first busi-