V ^y>.vC'4"«-*^'.;, ■ ^S3i2-A_^^f>,\< ''^H Congress. I SENATE. ( Report M Session, j ( No. 526. EUSSIAN PROPAGANDA, April 14, 3920. — Ordered to be printed. Mr. Moses, from the Committee on Foreign Relations, submitted the following EEPORT. [Pursuant to S. Res. 263.] By resolution of the Senate adopted December 20, 1919, the Com- mittee on Foreign Relations, through the fulL committee or by a subcommittee, was authorized to make inquiry into the status and activities of Ludwig C. A. K. Martens, the representative in this country of the Soviet regime in Russia. On the 23.cl of December a subcommittee was designated to deal with the subject, and its membership comprised Messrs. Moses, Borah, Knox, Pomerene, and Shields, Messrs. Knox and Pomerene found it impossible to render the necessary service, and they were replaced by the appointment of Messrs. Brandegee and Pittman. respectively. Subsequently, the Senate, by resolution, authorized the subcom- mittee to employ counsel, and the Hon. Wade H. Ellis, of Ohio, was retained in this capacity. Mr. Ellis was assisted by John B. Trevor, Esq., of New York City, who served the committee gratu- itously and whose knowledge gained through service with the Lusk committee was of great value. The resolution under which the committee actea w ci? as follows : [Senate resolution 263, Sixty-sixth Congress, second session.] Wliereas one Ludwig G. A. K. Martens claims to be an ambassador to the United States from the Russian Soviet Government ; and Whereas, according to newspaper reports, he refuses to answer certain ques- tions before the Lusk investigating committee in the city of New York, a committee appointed to investigate propaganda against this Government, on the ground that he is sucli ambassador and entitled to diplomatic privileges ; and Whereas said Martens has headquarters in the city of New York and is allegerl to be directing propaganda against this Government ; and Whereas, according to his testimony before said Lusk committee, he came to this country as a eGrman citizen and is a member of the Communist Party, pledged to overthrow capitalistic systems of government the world over ; and r^^>-^ russia:nt peopagan"da. ' ^''K-^rv^ }^^\^ 1 Whereas said Martens, according to liis said testimony, regards this Govt\ meht as a capitalistic government : Now. therefore, be it '^J-^, Resolved, That the Committee on Foreign Relations is hereby authorized js^ directed, through the full committee or through any subcommittee thereoty investigate as speedily as possible the status of said Martens ; what allv^^ed government or power in Europe he represents; what, if any, recogni V n of any kind has been accorded him by this Government; whether or not Iv |is an alien enemy; what propaganda, if any, he is carrying on for the overthrow of governments; and all facts and circumstances relating to his activities lu this country and his alleged diplomatic representation, and all facts relative to the activities of any other party, parties, or organization bearing upon or relating to Russian propaganda in this country, and make report to the Senate of such findings. The said committee is hereby empowered to sit and act at such time smd place as it may deem necessary ; to require, by subpoena or otherwise, tb.e attendance of witnesses, the production of books, papers, and documents ; lo employ stenographers at a cost not exceeding $1 per printed page. The chair- man of the committee, or any member thereof, may administer oaths to wit- nesses. Subpoenas for witnesses shall be issued under the signature of the chairman of the committee or subcommittee thereof. Every person who, having been summoned as a witness by authority of said committee or any subcom- mittee thereof, willfully makes default, or who, having appeared, refuses to answer any question pertinent to the investigation heretofore authorized, shall be held to the penalties provided by section 102 of the Revised Statutes of the United States. The expense thereof shall be paid from the contingent fund of the Senate, o", vouchers ordered by said committee, signed by the chairman thereof, and approved by the Committee on Contingent Expenses. The subcommittee held its first meeting January 12, and continued its sessions from time to time until March 29, when the hearings were formally declared closed. It was the constant purpose of the subcommittee to restrict the inquiry to the narrow lines set for it by the I'esolution above cited, and this effort was measurably suc- cessful, although, as is natural in cases where counsel appear — Mar- tens being represented by former Senator Thomas W. Hardwick, of Georgia — much matter of a controversial or argumentative nature will be found in the record. Inasmuch as the major line of inquiry under the resolution dealt with the subject of Martens's activities in this country, the com- mittee deemed Martens himself to be the most competent source of information. 'Accordingly, he was the chief and almost the only witness to be heard, and his examination was developed naturally along the lines of his own admissions and from documentary assist- ance, which in substantially every case was fully authenticated be- fore being made use of. The rights of Martens were fully Drotected not only through the presence of hi:;.i;ounsel, Avho sat with him from the beginning of the inquiry lo the end, Avhereas four sessions of the committee were held before suitable counsel could be obtained for it; and he was permitted at the outset to state his case from prepared manuscript with the utmost vigor of expression and with only slight interruption or interrogatory. The committee deems this statement essential by reason of Martens's protest in the closing days of the inquiry that he had not been permitted to make suitable explanatory^ replies to the inquiry to which he had been subjected. On this point the rec- ord will speak for itself. The committee finds itself unable to reconcile the self-evident con- tradiction in much of Martens's testimony. He is a thorough lin- o; of iJ. - '^'-^^ 8 1920. RUSSIAK PEOPAGAND/ guist, he was aided by able cou'iisel; and In^ P^e^' lo^^s exanjJTjjitjojT, by a joint committee of the Assembly of the slate of Xew York had fortified him for the line of inquiry which was pursued, here. In consequence, it is unnecessary to go beyond the record to sustain the findings of the committee further than to point out certain in- evitable and wholl}^ warrantable deductions. Following seriatim the items of inquiry enumerated in the reso- lution of the Senate, the status of Martens is disclosed by the testi- mony under several heads : (1) What alleged Government or power in Europe does he rej:)- resent ? His credentials (p. 14) Avere issued hj the "People's Commis- sariat of Foreign Affairs " of the " Russian Socialist Federated Soviet Republic," from Moscow, under date of January 2. 1919. They were signed by G. Chichearin, " People's Commissar for For- eign Affairs," and were sealed with the official seal of the commis- sariat. This Government, as was brought out in the course of the testimony (p. 23), was set up in November, 1917, by a counter- revolution to the movements of March in that year, which had accomplished the overthrow of the dynasty and government of the liomanoff Czars. This republic operates under a constitution, b}^ the terms of which (p. 160) " all property rights in the land, treasures of the earth, water, forest, and fundamental natural re- sources Avithin its boundaries are abolished " ; which confirms " the transfer of all banks into the ownership" of the Government; by which there " pass over without indemnification to the disposi- tion * * * of the county, provincial, regional, and Federal So- viets," all private live stock and inventoried property of nonlabor- ing homesteads ; and under which " private merchants, trade and commercial brokers " (p. 162) ; " monks and clergy of all denomi- nations " (p. 194), and in general all persons who do not "perform useful, social functions" (p. 163), have no right either to vote or to be voted for. For instance (p. 39) Martens explained that a man who owns a farm in Russia and who leases it to another may not vote or be voted for. Under this constitution all banks were converted into a state monopoly (p. 168), and holdings of bonds in excess of 10,000 rubles were confiscated (p. 169) ; these confiscations having taken place prior to the adoption of the constitution and were confirmed by that instrument. Under this constitution no Russian is permitted to in- vest his capital or to ship it out of the country or to receive interest upon it (p. 173). This constitution also provides for the disarming of the property classes, the arming of " all toilers " and the o^:^an- ization of " a Socialist red army " (p. 164). Under this constitudioi- , in an election, the records are received by a Soviet (p. 200) whiicb. appoints a commission of verification: which in turn reports bac'^ to the Soviet and the Soviet " decides the question when there is a doubt as to which candidate is elected." By this means deputies are elected to " the All-Russian Congress of Soviets " and by this con- gress the prime minister is chosen, to hold office during the pleasure of his electorates (p. 200). From this government Martens took his letters of credence as aboA'e stated ; and there were later supplemented, under day of May / ! 4 ^mssiAN pkopAganda. mf'W^ (P- M): by ft/ further feeTtificate signed by Chicherin and addressed " To Whom it may concern," in which Martens was given cert4in aiithorization to take over' and administer all property in America " belonging to the Russian Federative Socialist Soviet Re- public " and to exercise further functions cognate to those of a diplo- matic or consular representative. Aside from his own declarations the committee found no means to ascertain Martens's real mission in the United States. His let- ters of credence and documents supplementary thereto were not in a form to warrant his assumption of diplomatic privilege. They were not indeed even in the form attaching to the commission upon Avhich a consular officer receives his exequatur. The policy which he adopted in pursuance of his authorization as he interpreted it was equally unique and nebulous. For example, he protested throughout the entire course of his examination that his sole purpose in this country was to establish and develop cordial relations be- tween Soviet Russia and the United States, especially through the building up of commercial intercourse. In support of this purpose be declared that he had attempted to enter into contractual relations with many American enterprises to whom he offered contracts for tools, machinery, clothing, etc., to be sent to Russia. These proffers, ' however, proved to be wholly tentative; and the form of contract Tvhich he employed in the few instances where such engagements were executed was wholly unilateral and the burden not only of sup- plying the wares in question, but of securing their shipment to Soviet Russia, was placed entirely upon the producer and no earnest money ^^ as ever deposited in a single instance ; while the American contrac- tor by one means or another was led to bring pressure upon the (xovernment of the United States for the purpose of forcing either a modus vivendi with or an actual recognition of the Russian Soviet Government. To the committee, therefore, the conclusion is inescap- able that the entire fabric of trade negotiations which Martens un- rolled was part of an ingenious scheme of propaganda to create sym- pathy, based upon cupidity, for the Russian Soviets and to produce by indirect means the admission of Soviet Russia into the companion- ship of international relations which other means had failed to secure. The next inquiry suggested by the resolution of the Senate: " What if any recognition of any kind has been accorded him by this Government?" It has been observed that neither Martens's original letter of credence nor the supplementary certificate was in the usual form of in^Dlomatic credentials; and in fact he testified (p. 36) that he is n>t familiar with the ordinary manner of diplomatic procedure, but thrAi he knows of no reason why the usual form of such communica- ^^i'ons should have been departed from in his case. He testified that he filed his letter of credence with the Department of State on the 19th of March, 1919, accompanying it with a memorandum (p. 23) " dealing with the intentions of the Government of Russia, as well as with the internal affairs of that country." He had other communi- cations with the State Department (p. 27) ; but to none of them was any reply vouchsafed. He never presented himself in person at the State Department (p. 89) or sought the usual audience with the Secretary of State, which is customary for diplomatic representa- \ EUSSIAlSr PEOPAGANDA. 5 tives ; and he " totally abandoned all efforts to secure personal recog- nition " (p. 81)- after having sent his letter of credence to the de- partment by mail. He testified (p. 89) that "he was still trying to get recognition"; but that no official representatives had ever been sent by him to the State Department (p. 90). Unofficial representatives had conversa- tions with officials at the State Depaj-tment, including the Under- secretary of State, and from these Martens received oral reports. Protesting constantly that his sole purpose in the United States was to develop trade relations between this country and Soviet Rus- sia, and testifying (p. 91) that he had never communicated in any manner with the War Trade Board or Avith any other department of the Government, he asserted, however, that certain American in- dustrial companies with whom he sought to make contracts had com- municated with the President (p. 135), and with the Attorney Gen- eral (p. 75), with a view to securing a change in the policy oi this Government toward the Soviet Government to the end of opening up trade relations. He made no effort to claim for himself or for any member of his staff, any of the usual privileges accorded a diplomatic officer (p. 43) such as to bring any household effects without payment of customs, etc.; and he never asserted his diplomatic quality (p. 43) until he was summoned for examination before the so-called Lusk committee of the Assembly of the State of New York. In fact, his appointment as representative of the Soviet Govern- ment appears to have be3n shrouded in some mystery. He testified (p. 100) that he had had no knowledge concerning his designation prior to receiving his appointment and that his credentials were brought to him by a courier. It appeared from documentary evi- dence, however (p. 308), that a bureau had been organized in the city of jSTew lork for the purpose of establishing communications with Russia, the membership of this bureau embracing eight per- sons, among whom *were Martens himself, Santeri Nuorteva. who was secretary of the Martens bureau, Gregory Weinstein, who was Martens's personal secretary, and a Prof. Lomonosoff. Avho. having been earlier connected with the regularly accredited Russian em- bassy in this country, later cast in his allegiance with the soviet gov- ernment and Avith Martens's bureau. According to this evidence (p. 309), it was at first proposed that Weinstein should become the Soviet representative in the United States ; but a question regarding Weinstein's integrity having arisen and two weeks' time being allotted to him to clear himself, at the expiration of this psriocl Weinstein came before the committee with the information that Martens had received the appointment. The discrepancy between this evidence and Martens's assertion that the first intimation of liis appointment had come when the courier handed him his credentials is apparent. But in whatever manner his appointment was brought about, it is wholly clear that he received no recognition, even per- sonally, from the Government of the United States. His communications to and from his Government, or its repre- sentatives, were almost invariably carried by couriers — whose names were withheld from the committee and whose travels, it is fair to assume, were facilitated by spurious passports or otherwise in direct 6 EUSSIAlSr PROPAGANDA. violation of the statutes covering foreign intercourse during the period of Martens's supposed representation here. These couriers brought to him not only letters, instructions, and other written com- munications, but also brought in large sums of money in the aggre- gate at least $150,000 in violation of the trading with the enemy act, and of other statutory and regulatory restrictions. These cour- iers, in ihe number of about 20, he testified, comprised both Ameri- can citizens and foreign subjects. The inquiry whether or not Martens is an alien enemy, which the resolution of the Senate directs, brought out that Martens was born at Bachmut, in the Province of Ekaterinoslav, in Russia, in 1874, and that his parents were German subjects. His birth was registered in Russia as of German parentage and he was educated in Russia as an engineer, following that profession until 1899, when, after having spent three years in prison for revolutionary activities (pp. 7 and 8), he was deported by the Russian authorities to Germany, where he was held as a German subject to the military service which the German Government required. In 1906, Martens took up resi- dence in England, where he remained for 10 years (p. 10). Until the beginning of the war in 1914, no occasion arose in England for the determination of his citizenship; but in October of that year (p. 11)) a registration, in most cases accompanied by internment, of German subjects, was set on foot. Martens then registered as a German subject, " as a purely technical matter," according to this testimony (p. 11), alleging that to be the reason why he was not interned. Following his decision to come to America, permission to make the journey was accorded by the British inspector under the alien act, and Martens and his wife came to the United States on the 2d of January, 1916 (p. 11), and, upon landing at New York, he declared himself to be a German subject (p. 11), making the regu- lar declaration under oath.' He contended before the committee, however, that he did this solely because of the British permit which he carried and which identified him as a German subject. Upon the issuance, December 31, 1917, of the rules and regula- tions for the registration of German enemy aliens in the United States, Martens did not so register; basing his claim (pp. 18-19) upon the assertion that he had been made a Russian citizen by virtue of a decree of the provisional government of Prince Lvov. This citizenship, he testified (p. 19), was procured for him by an applica- tion made by his relatives in Russia without special authority from him and with no formal paper from him in any manner. He was unable to furnish any copy of this decree (p. 20), though he de- clared (p. 20) that a document to this effect was issued to him, given into the possession of his sister in Russia and that she dispatched it to him by mail. This information, he declared (p. 20), came to him in a letter from his sister, but Jie was unable to produce the letter in question. He expressed the belief (p. 17) that the letter containing his certificate of citizenship had been seized by the Brit- ish censor of mails, but from the American embassy in London came information that no such letter had ever come into the possession of the British censor. Martens's citizenship has been called in question more than once. By his own testimony (p. 15) he applied for Russian citizenship, which was refused on" the ground (p. 16) that he had not performed RUSSIAN PROPAGANDA. 7 his military duty in Germany. He insisted throughout that his Ger- man citizenship was merely " technical " ; but he further testified (p. 17) that his German citizenship sufficed to bar him from the amnesty proclaimed against political offenders in Russia upon the overthrow of the Czar's Government, and it became necessary for him to obtain Russian citizenship by other means. He evidently was in a privileged class in this respect for he testified (p. 19) that there were exceptional circumstances applying to his case and that another, not as well known as he, could not be given citizenship without formal application. In this connection it may be worth ivnowing that the letter from Martens's sister, which constitutes the only written evidence he ever received touching the application and decree involved in his assumption of Russian citizenship, was not deemed of sufficient importance to have been kept by him with his official papers, and in consequence it could not be produced in evi- dence (p. 31). In view of the fact that Martens refused to disclose the names of any of his couriers it is impossible to say whether those whom he described as American citizens also owed allegiance to the Rus- sian Soviet Government, where citizenship is procured in so shadowy a manner that it might be possible for one, either native born or naturalized in America and in consequence exercising suffrage and other functions of citizenship here, to be at the same time a citizen of Soviet Russia, whose only prerequisite for citizenship as shown by the testimony is an application, Avhich may be made in absentia, accompanied by a declaration that the applicant is an honest man. In any event these couriers, whether American citizens or not, shared with Martens the responsibility for the repeated violation of Ameri- can statutes which their actions involved. It is perhaps questionable whether those who have associated with Martens in this country, and ^^ho have been paid by him for any services, have also been guilty of violation of the law; although in this connection reference may be had to those sections of the penal code Avhich will be found in the record. In the absence of evidence other than that of Martens's own asser- tion, unsupported except by his presumed letter of credence — which, it may be observed, issued from a government which the United States does not recognize — the normal international relations to which the United States has constantly adhered would continue to place him as a German subject and hence as an enemy alien. In seeking to determine what propaganda, if a.nj, he is carrying- on for the overthrow of governments, as directed by the resolution of the Senate, the testimony is somewhat complicated. It is evident from the constitution of the Government which he affects to repre- sent (p. 165) that the "fundamental problem" of Soviet Russia is to bring about " the victory of socialism in all lands." In this mo- tive Martens admitted (p. 166) the United States is " absolutely " included. There were also adduced in evidence two letters, copies of Avhich were furnished by Martens himself, purporting to have been addressed bj^ Nicholas Lenin, prime minister of Soviet Russia, to American workingmen. The first of these letters (p. Ill), dated August 20, 1918, counted " on the inevitability of the international revolution" (p. 116), while the second, dated January 21, 1919, laid emphasis (p. 117) on the tremendous rapidity with which ''the 8 KUSSIAIS^ PROPAGANDA. workers in various countries have gone over to communism and bol- shevism," and boasted (p. 120) " that the soviet power is great and spreading, growing and establishing itself all over the world." These documents, the authenticity of which Martens admitted (p. 121), were justified by him — ^the earlier appeal on the ground that this was necessary counterpropaganda against the activities which, as he asserted, the so-called Creel committee had carried on in Soviet Eussia (p. 122). He pointed out that this letter was written prior to his appointment as Soviet representative in this country. But the second letter, elated Januarj^ 21, 1919, and also offered by himself in evidence (p. 117), was written some three weeks after Martens's appointment, and he justified it (p. 179) upon the ground that American troops were in Russia opposing Bolsheviks, though he qualified this justification by declaring (p. 180) that propaganda of this character a few months later would have no justification. It appeared, however, that even at this time when, as he con- tended, propaganda of this character would be unjustifiable there met in Moscow the so-called Third Internationale, which is the parent body of all Communist organizations and, in fact, its inter- national court of last resort. From this body issued a manifesto, signed, among others, hj Nicholas Lenin, the soviet prime minister, and by Leon Trotski, the soviet minister of war, who are the ruling spirits in the Soviet Government. It is addressed " to the proletariat of all lands," and purports to contain (p. 182) "the authentic direct message from the conquering proletariat of great Russia to the toil- ing masses of the world " ; it pictures " alongside the dethroned dynasties of the Romanoffs, Hohenzollerns, and Hapsburgs and the capitalistic cliques of these lands the rulers of France, England," Italy, and the ITnited States * * * revealed in the light P^4^. ■^ C ^°-;^ v\ ^ "oV^ v^ .o;/. ^^ „ ' « o. <;''. ^ O V 4 O. 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