306 THE ZEMSTVOS DURING THE WAR
The extremist elements, however, did not rest satisfied with this
change. To them, it seemed absolutely necessary that the Union
should be reorganized from top to bottom. They advocated and agitated
 for elections of delegates to all the institutions of the Union
by universal, direct, equal, and secret suffrage. They insisted that
meetings should be held of delegates of their own choice and that
these meetings should elect the principal officers of the Union. Endless
 discussions took place regarding the system of voting and the
local election procedure. At last, everything was ready and the new
delegates were able to hold their meetings at the front. These delegates
 now included many representatives of the less educated groups
of employees. Yet these men were eager to discuss political questions
and many of them were under the influence of extreme political slogans.
 Nevertheless, in the end, the old leaders of the organization
were reélected in the overwhelming majority of instances. The fact
remains, however, that these conferences and meetings, where idle
talk was the rule rather than the exception, wasted much precious
time and energy, rendering the work more difficult and affecting the
results unfavorably.
Within the country, as has been already pointed out, events similar
 in character were taking place. During the summer and autumn
of 191%, zemstvo elections were held everywhere under the new electoral
 law. The majority of the newly elected zemstvo assemblies held
their sessions in August and September. At first it had been ntended
 to summon a conference of the newly elected representatives
of the Zemstvo Union in Moscow not later than in November. However,
 owing to the Bolshevik Revolution, some of the zemstvo assemblies
 found it impossible to elect delegates in time. Consequently, the
Moscow conference had repeatedly to be postponed and was unable
to meet until January, 1918. Most of the old officers of the Zemstvo
Union abstained from seeking reélection, so that the new committee
was made up of new men. They were confronted by a most difficult
task—that of saving the organization of the Union from usurpation
by the Bolsheviks. At the beginning of 1918 the Soviet Government
issued a decree nationalizing the properties of the Union. In spite of
this, the new committee succeeded in maintaining itself for over a
year. It was however moribund. The property of the Union at the
front was seized partly by the Germans and partly by the Bolsheviks,
 and the Government, as it gained strength, exercised increas