On the day of the issuance of Mr. Hughes' Note (March 25th) Mr. Hoover further declared:
Secretary Hughes's statement on the Russian trade situation this afternoon shows the complete agreement in the views of the whole administration.
The first thing to be determined about Russia is if, and when, they change their economic system. (Our italics.)
If they so change its basis as to accept the right of private property, freedom of labor, provide for the safety of human life, there is hope of their recovery from the miseries of famine. There is hope also of a slow recovery in production and the upbuilding of trade.
Nothing is more important to the whole commercial world than the recovery of productivity in Russia.
These very explicit and positive statements of Messrs. Hughes and Hoover might well have disposed of the question of the American Government's position. But so powerful is the pro-Soviet propaganda and so strong is the purpose to befriend the Bolshevist Government at any cost that a widespread effort was made to explain away the Note as being friendly to the Soviets! The Hearst papers and their Universal Press Service boldly claimed that "not one word of the statement was directed at the Russian Government, and no objection to the form of the Soviet Government was voiced"(!) They then declared, on the very day of the note, that "it is recognized that some of the guarantees demanded by this Government as a preliminary to the establishment of trade relations already have been announced by Lenin."
