The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1915-04-15
ALLIES RESOLVE
TO BLOCK EFFORTS
TO OBTAIN PEACE
Are Determined to
Break the Back of
Germany.
END is PREDICTED
General Pau Says End of
Year Will See First Ser
ious Peace Move.
END is PREDICTED
BY G. Z. BertcIIi.

Paris. France.-After having
sounded persons i'll official and in
iluentlal circles here regarding the
peace feelers that Germany now is
putting out, notably in the United
| States, / am able authoritatively to
state that the allies position after
eight months of warfare is as fol-
lows:
France and England are fully
aware of Germany's preparedness to
sign a peace which shall leave Europe
precisely as it was last July, with no
territorial changes and no agreement
regarding the limitation of arma-
ment.
France, England and Russia, how
ever, are more than ever determined
10 persist in their resolution formed
last September to hurl Germany from
her position of military dominance.
They hold unfiinchingly to their plan
of shattering Germany's striking
force. No peace pressure eXerted
through neutral countries, oblique
ly or directly, will be allowed to in
tluence their resolution.
Germany's readiness to call the
great war draw and revert to the
status quo ante bellum meets no
favorable response in France, Eng
land or Russia, for the following
reasons:
Allies Expect to Gain Strength.
The British and French armies will
reach their highest pitch of eff
cheney as offensive forces during next
month. during the very moment the
weakening of the great German war
machine is expected to become ap-
parent.
Germanys methods of frightful-
ness on land. on sea and in the air
have removed all ideas of leniency
from the minds of the allies.
Since the scissors episode Ger
many utterly has failed to produce a
serious offensive effort on the West
ern front, while the force of Marshal
| Won Hindenburg's sledge-hammer
1blows on the eastern front has eX-
pended itself before it produced the
required strategical result, this de-
noting significant feebleness in at
tack quite foreign to the Kaiser's
army i n the first months of the war.
The allies could tolerate no peace
which would leave the Kaiser in a
|
'served my territories inviolate. We
fought where my staff wished, and
, if the result is not to aggrandize my
empire, its inherent internal strength
is not diminished.
Next months hostilities may be ex-
l.pected to lead to considerable short
ening of the battle front.
Hope Austria Will Quit.
Hundreds of miles of fighting front
|, may suddenly disappear by Austria
Hungary's throwing up the sponge.
! / learn semi-officially that Austria
would eagerly grasp the chance Of
accepting defeat on the basis o.
vielding Galica to Russia, and Bos'
mia and Herzegovina to Serbia, bu1
Mould insist upon the Allies provid
ing guarantees for her conservation
OF Trentne, Trieste, Istria and Dal
malta.
The only step France and Grea
Britain so far have taken toward
peace is the disposition they now arr
showing to agree in the principle o
peace with Austria worked out OF
the above basis with only minor mod
iilcations.
Regarding the duration of the wa
with Germany new authoritative ligh
> is shed on this question by Genera
Pau, Europe's most experience
Judge of military operations and Gen
cral Joffre's right-hand. man. In a.
. uncensored interview General Pa
declared:
: :. "Toward the end of this year w
= shall hear the first serious talk Q
n peace. Pourparlers probably will las
/ for a long tine. but the end of tn
: war then will be in sight