The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-12-10


 cheers.
 Dr. Won Bethmann- Hoilwag began by
 saying that in the countries at war
 with Germany there had been much dis
 cussion of the socialist Interpolation.
 and that the knowledge that peace was
 to be discussed in the Reichstag, had
 seen source of satisfaction to these
 countries. This was incornprehensible in view of the successes won in the cam
 psign against Servia which opened the
 road to Germany's Turkish allies and
 threatened the most vulnerable points
 of the English empire.
 Although this situation would explain
 a desire for peace on the part of Ger manys enemies. he declared. none of them
 einglng to the intentions which they had announced publicly with naive brutal ity' at the besinn.ng of the war
 TERMS DISCUSSED The chancellor then reviewed recent ut q.
 teranees concerning conditions of peace
 made in countries opposed to Germany
 such as the handing over oe Alsace and Lorraine to France, the aunhilation of "Prussian militarism; the expulsion of
 the Turks. cession of the left bank of the Rhine, and the creation of greater
 Servia, including Bosnia.
 It was true, the chancellor continued, tEat there were some persons m the countries at war with Germany who took
 sensible position but they were in the minority and their voices like those of certain members of the English House of Lords, were unheard
 The theories advanced by Germany's g enemies, he said, had lost their force. People had ceased speaking of a war of 20 years. The pretext that the war was being waged for the protection of small nations had lost it's persuasiveness of power in view of recent events trans bring in Greece.
 Small countries are in a serious plight since England has been fighting for them, he remarked
 He discussed the principle of national ity as applied to by Germany's enemies. He asked whether the British colonial secretary knew that of the 1900, ,000 inhabi- tants of Alsace, more than s7 per cent spoke German as the mother tongue. He asked whether Poland belonged to Rus sia by right of nationality Whether this principle lost Its power and value if applied to India or Egypt.
 Germanys enemies blinded at the be-
 ginning of the war by false stories, ex- cited by added hatred, were now after
 military and diplomatic defeats able to
 cling only to the idea of Germany's an- initiation.
 For this purpose there had been in- vented the theory that Germany could
 be starved On this point the chancellor said with particular emphasis: GERMAN SUPPLIES We all agree that our food supplies are sufficient that the only important ques- tion is distribution. The economic unit stretching from Arras into Mesopotamia cannot be crushed.
 As to copper, the chancellor declared Germany had immense stocks. sufficient for withstanding years of boycott He spoke of plants producing substitutes for certain American articles such as rubber. Referring to the discussion whether Germany's enemies would be able to bring greatly superior forces into the field the chancellor mentioned the fact that France already has called to the colors, the class of 1917, bringing into the war youths under the usual military age.
 The chancellor referred to the charge that members of the crew of a Ger
 man submarine had been shot while defenseless by the crew of the British patrol boat Baralong, and said the Eng fish press had concealed the facts of this case from the nation. As he made these remarks the whole house i'arose as an expression of indignation. Speaking of the guarantees of the po- sition of Germany in the future, to be included in the peace terms, pr. Won Bethmann- Hollweg insisted that the i longer the war is continued with in- creasing bitterness by Germany's enc mics the greater is the need of such guarantees.
 NOT WAR OF CONQUEST
 We do not fight in order to subju- gate other nations he said. We fight for the protection of our life and l liberty. For the German government l the war has always been what it was at the beginning-a war of defense for the German nation, and for her future welfare.
 "The war can only be terminated by
 peace which will give the certitude
 that war will not return We all agree
 about that. There lies, and there all
 ways will lie the root of our strength .' Dr. Schedimanns address was re- ceived with degree of interest sec ond only to that aroused by the chan cellors speech. He reminded the house that at the beginning of the war the socialists had approved the attitude of the German government glance at the map, he continued, would show that
 Germany, conscious of her strength and her successes, could now speak of peace without running the risk of being considered weak hearted or dispirited. Dr. Schedimann protested against the attitude of those who dream of the an- nexation of much territory. and spoke with equal earnestness in denunciation of those enemies of Germany who ad vocate dismemberment of this coun- try. He protested also against the cru | sade in foreign countries In oposi- ton "to Prussian militarism'' because 1 this conception was wrong and, fur thermore, because 1t was matter which concerned no one but the Ger mans themselves. The annexionists ] were mostly involved, he said, in AL sace and Lorraine.
 GERMAN SUCCESSES He said Germany has won enormous successes with the army but these had been gained at the price of heavy sac rifices. In view of the present situa- tion, the question of peace was impor- tant in all countries. The difficulty lay in the fact that statesmen did not
 know how to begin negotiations fear ing how such a step would be consid- cred a step of weakness.
 Dr. Schedimann spoke of the state
 ment made recently in the English House of Commons by Baron Courtney that the British government should thus show itself ready to accept any suggestion which would end the war. He referred to the attitude of Italian socialists and to the utterances of Count Andrassy, former Hungarian premier. He asserted that. according to reliable pri- vate information. the longing for peace in France was genuine.
 Dr Schadip1ann insstad thaf his re-