New-York tribune., 1915-12-10
ALLIES MUST
SUE FOR PEACE

sDcCtfullY. except Tor occasional lnIei
/ ruptions and outbursA Of laughter
/ from the Socialist DR.. Liebknecht, wn1
/ has not been in accord with his party
since the beginning Of the war, ana
( v no received no sympathy to-day
When the Chancellor with impas-
stoned force stated the position OF the
/ German government on the question OF
peacc his remarks we're cheereo WIN
2 great enthusiasm. When br. Won be'h-
mann -Hol!weg rose 20 make his reply 70
tpe iu+orreIatiou silence fell over the
whole house. The silence OF his auol-
tors was soon broken, however, ny
; manifestations of approval Several
times the Deputies and the crowcs IN
/ the galleries interrupted him with
/ cheers
The Reichstag presented the typical
/ appearance Of momentous day. There
7 was not even standing room IN the gar
/ leries. The American Ambassador
I James W. Gerard. was among the
/ diplomats present The great audi
/ ence also included the Duke of Meek
+ lenburg. Admiral Won Tirpitz, Minister
/ Of Marine; Gottlieb Won Jago%, Min
ister Of Foreign Affairs; Count Iep-
pelin. Or. Alfred zimmerman, Under
| Secretary for Foreign Affairs. and Dr.
| Karl Helferich. Secretary Of the I'm
perial Treasury and former director OF
/ the Deutsche Bank.
Can't Be Starved Out.
The imperial Chancellor in his first
speech. lasting half an hour, explained
the military situation on all the fronts,
and declared emphatically that Ger
many could not be starved out. The
country had enough food, if properly
distributed Germany's enemies, he
said. were suffering more than the Ger
mans and paying higher prices Tor
food.
"Rumors that Germany is on the
verge of a collapse" said the Chancel-
lor. "and the attribution of peace
mission TO every prominent German
who goes abroad, Prince Won Bulow,
Prince Macmillan Of Baden, DR.. Solf,
Secretary for the Colonies, and Car
dinal Won Hartmann reports in which
there is not word of truth-are all
part Of deliberate campaign 70 keep
up the spirits of the enemy peoples IN
the face Of repeated defeats. There is
not a weak point in the German reck-
oning. II our enemies do not choose to
accept the situation and end the war
now they must do so later. Germany
can wait"
At the conclusion of the Imperial
! Chancellors first speech DR.. kaempf,
president Of the chamber, read the in
terpellation and put the formal ques-
ton as TO whether the government was
prepared to reply.
1--WE are ready to reply Immediately" "
responded Dr.. Won Bethmann-Hollweg.
Can't Understand Allies.
DR.. Won Bethmann- Hellweg began his
address by saying that in the countries
at war with Germany there had been
much discussion Of the Socialist inter
relation, and that the knowledge that
peace was TO be discussed in the Reich
tag had been a source of satisfaction
to these countries. This was incompre-
hensible, in view of the success won IN
the campaign against Serbia, which
opened the road TO Germany's Turkish
allies and threatened the most vulner-
able points of the British Empire.
Although this situation would ex-
plain a desire for peace by Germany's
enemies, the Chancellor declared, none
of them had made overtures. Instead,
they were clinging to the intentions
which they had announced publicly,
with naive brutality" at the beginning
Of the war.
The Chancellor then reviewed recent
utterances concerning conditions of
peace made in countries opposed 10
Germany, such as the handing over of
Alsace and Lorraine 10 France. the an
initiation of "Prussian miitarism,
the expulsion of the Turks, the cession
Of the left bank Of the Rhine, and the
creation of greater Serbia, including
Bosnia.
1t was true, the Chancellor continued
that there were some persons in 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 Eng
lsh House of Lords. were unheard.
"Enemy's Theories Shattered"
The theories advanced by Germany
enemies. he said, had lost their force
People had ceased speaking Of a wal
OF twenty years. The pretext that the
war was being waGed for the protection
of small nations had lost its persuasive
mower. in view of recent events il
Greece.
small countries are in serious
plight since England has been fighting
for them he remarked.
DR. Won Bethmann- Hollweg discussed
the principle Of nationality as applie'
bv Germany's enemies. He askeC
whether the British Colonial Secretarl
knew that Of the 100000 inhabitanti
of Alsace more than 81 per cent SPOKE
German as the mother tongue. HI
asked whether Poland belonged to Rus
sia bv right f nationality; whether
this principle lost its power and value
if applied 10 India or Egypt Ger
many's enemies. blinded at the begin
ming Of the war by false stories, excited
10 hatred. were now able. after milltar'
and Diplomatic defeats, TO cling only u
the idea Of Germany's annlhllation.
For this purpose there had been in
vented the theory that Germany coul'
be starved. On this point the Chan
cellor said, with particular emphasis:
ave all agree that our food supplle'
are sufficient. that the only importan
question is distribution. The economic
unit stretching from Arras into Meso
potamia cannot be crushed.
As TO copper. the Chancellor declared
Germany had immense stores, suihclen
for years and years. lie spoke OF Ger
many's success in producing substi
tutes for certain articles, such as rub
Der.
"Foe's Recruits Exhausted
Referring 20 the discussion whether
Germany's enemies would be able tt
bring greatly superior forces into ,h'
field, the Chancellor mentioned th'
fact that France already has called q
the colors the class Of 1917, bringing
into the war youths under the usna
military age.
, The Chancellor referred 20 the charge
that members OF the crew Of a German
submarine had been shot while DE-
fenceless by the crew OF the British
patrol boat Baralong and said that IN,
English press had concealed the fac.'
from the nation. As he made thcss