"We have called you here to ask your support. You must help us in our efforts to make peace with nations, and not with German militarism. If our delegation meets, eye to eye, representatives of the German emperor, without the people, then peace will be impossible. If dead silence should continue in Europe, if the German emperor should be enabled to offer offensive terms of peace, we should fight against it. I do not know to what extent we could fight, because of economic conditions, utter exhaustion, and the disorganized state of the army. But I think we would fight. We would release all elderly soldiers and call the youth of the country to fight to the last drop of their blood. The Allies must understand that we did not overthrow czarism to bend our knees before the kaiser. They know our game is not yet ended.
"If they should offer unacceptable terms directed against our basic principles, then we shall submit the question to the Constituent Assembly. But our party takes its position for a holy war against militarism in all countries. But if, exhausted as we are by this unprecedented slaughter, we must accept the terms of the German emperor, we would accept them only in order to rise together with the German people against German militarism, as we did against czarism."
Meanwhile during Christmas the peace conference was proceeding, the representatives of the Central Powers deliberating over the Russian proposals.
The German Socialist leaders, Haase, Ledebour, and Kautsky, had attempted to procure passports that they might go to Stockholm, there to meet representatives of the Russian Bolsheviki, to learn at first hand what conditions the latter demanded. But passports were refused them. Trotzky, hearing of this, telegraphed to the Russian delegates at Brest-Litovsk, stating that if this refusal were persisted in, the popular indignation in Petrograd would rise to such a pitch as to seriously hamper the prospects of success of the negotiations. Nevertheless, the passports were not granted.
On Christmas Day the Central Powers made their reply to the Russian peace proposals, and that reply was one which immediately attracted world-wide attention, for it took in all the Entente Powers.
Through Count Czernin the Central Powers offered a general peace based on the Russian demands; no annexations, no indemnities, etc. According to their interpretation, however, the question of the subjection of nationalities who have not independence, to another country, must not come under the scope of "self-determination"; such questions must be decided by each government and its people according to the constitution of each government.
In the event of mutual renunciation of claims for indemnities for war costs and war damages, Count Czernin continued, each belligerent would have to bear only the expense incurred by its subjects made prisoners, and to pay for damage caused in its territory to property of civilian subjects of an enemy country by violations of international law. The creation of a special fund for this purpose, as suggested by the Russians, could be discussed only in the event that the other belligerents joined in the peace negotiations within a certain time.
The chairman of the Russian delegation, Jaffe, while expressing his pleasure at the acceptance of the Russian basic proposals, demurred over the vagueness of the definition of self-determination of small nationalities; it was incomplete. He said that the war could not end without the reestablishment of the violated rights of small and oppressed nationalities, and Russia would insist on guaranties that their lawful rights would be protected in a general peace treaty.
"By renouncing the application of the right of the stronger nations with regard to territories occupied during the war," he continued, "the Central Powers at the same time give all their opponents an immediate peace ground. They affirm that the right of the stronger, after unprecedented bloodshed, shall be preserved with all its integrity within each of the countries with no regard for little and oppressed nationalities. The war cannot end without the violated rights of those nationalities being reestablished. The Russian delegation insists that those nationalities must in the very next peace treaty establishing a general peace among all nationalities receive, on the basis of international agreement, guaranties that their lawful rights shall be protected. The lapse of time in no case legalizes the violation of one people by another."
Germany also demanded the return of her overseas colonies, contending that the valor with which the natives of those colonies had fought for the German flag testified to their loyalty. While apparently not strongly impressed with this manifestation of loyalty, the Russians agreed that Germany had the right to make this demand. The Russian chairman then proposed that the next session of the conference be postponed until January 8, 1918, to allow ample time for the circulation of the German proposals among the Entente nations. At the end of that time the negotiations should be resumed, whether the Entente nations responded or not.