The Council of People’s Commissars appointed a Commissar for the Fight Against Drunkenness, who, besides mercilessly putting down the wine riots, destroyed hundreds of thousands of bottles of liquor. The Winter Palace cellars, containing rare vintages valued at more than five million dollars, were at first flooded, and then the liquor was removed to Cronstadt and destroyed. In this work the Cronstadt sailors, “flower and pride of the revolutionary forces,” as Trotzky called them, acquitted themselves with iron self-dicipline…. 8. SPECULATORS Two orders concerning them: _Council of People’s Commissars_ _To the Military Revolutionary Committee_ The disorganisation of the food supply created by the war, and the lack of system, is becoming to the last degree acute, thanks to the speculators, marauders and their followers on the railways, in the steamship offices, forwarding offices, etc. Taking advantage of the nation’s greatest misfortunes, these criminal spoliators are playing with the health and life of millions of soldiers and workers, for their own benefit. Such a situation cannot be borne a single day longer. The Council of People’s Commissars proposes to the Military Revolutionary Committee to take the most decisive measures towards the uprooting of speculation, sabotage, hiding of supplies, fraudulent detention of cargoes, etc. All persons guilty of such actions shall be subject, by special orders of the Military Revolutionary Committee, to immediate arrest and confinement in the prisons of Cronstadt, pending their arraignment before the Revolutionary Tribunal. All the popular organisations are invited to cooperate in the struggle against the spoliators of food supplies. _President of the Council of People’s Commissaries._ V. ULIANOV (LENIN). Accepted for execution, _Military Revolutionary Committee attached to the C. E. C. of the Soviets of W. & S. Deputies._ Petrograd, Nov. 23d, 1917. * * * * * _To All Honest Citizens_ _The Military Revolutionary Committee Decrees:_ Spoliators, marauders, speculators, are declared to be enemies of the People…. The Military Revolutionary Committee proposes to all public organisations, to all honest citizens: to inform the Military Revolutionary Committee immediately of all cases of spoliation, marauding, speculation, which become known to them. The struggle against this evil is the business of all honest people. The Military Revolutionary Committee expects the support of all to whom the interests of the People are dear. The Military Revolutionary Committee will be merciless in pursuit of speculators and marauders. THE MILITARY REVOLUTIONARY COMMITTEE Petrograd, Dec. 2d, 1917. 9. PURISHKEVITCH’s LETTER TO KALEDIN