**To Comrades Chicherin and Karakhan**

Regarding the note to Wilson, it seems to me that it ought to be sent.

Compose it with utmost thoroughness, politely, but with a sting.

We, for our part—even to the governments of capitalists and billionaires—consider it our duty to propose peace, in order to attempt to stop the bloodshed and to open the eyes of the peoples.

The fall of Kazan, Simbirsk, Syzran, and Samara has clearly exposed such-and-such rumors...

Do not the capitalists want part of the forests in the North, part of Siberia? % of 17 billion? 189 If so, then surely they cannot hide this. We propose to you: speak plainly, how much?* As for the Brest Peace—Germany will agree to withdraw its troops. What is the problem then?

Do you not want to place your troops in place of the German ones?

And so forth.

I propose that such a draft note be composed immediately, and we would discuss it together.190

On Friday morning *Pravda* wanted to print my article against Kautsky.

Did you receive from Sverdlov my note with a request to forward 12 copies of Ioffe for Berzin and Vorovsky, so that they might publish it as a leaflet? and to forward it Friday evening?

NB:

* — how much? Ed.