The Provisional Government had gone farther, and, while
declaring that these matters must be left to the Constituent Assembly for
settlement, had declared itself in favor of woman suffrage and of _the
distribution of all land among the peasants, the terms and conditions of
expropriation and distribution to be determined by the Constituent
Assembly_.
The Provisional Government also established a War Cabinet which introduced
various reforms into the army. All the old oppressive regulations were
repealed and an attempt made to democratize the military system. Some of
these reforms were of the utmost value; others were rather dangerous
experiments. Much criticism has been leveled against the rules providing
for the election of officers by the men in the ranks, for a conciliation
board to act in disputes between men and officers over questions of
discipline, and the abolition of the regulations requiring private soldiers
to address officers by the title "Sir." It must be borne in mind, however,
in discussing these things, that these rules represented a great, honest
effort to restore the morale of an army that had been demoralized, and to
infuse it with democratic faith and zeal in order that it might "carry on.
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