Fergus County Democrat., 1916-12-21

| WASHINGTON, Dec. 20.-President
! Wilson has appealed to all the belliger-
ents to discuss terms of peace.
Without actually proposing peace or
offering mediation, the president has
sent formal notes to the governments
of all the warning nations suggesting
4 that "an early occasion be sought to
\ call out from the nations now at war,
such an avowal Of their respective
views as to the terms upon which the
war might be concluded and the ar
Irangements which would be deemed
satisfactory as a guaranty against its
renewal or the kindling Of any SINH
lar conflict in the future, as would
make it possible frankly to compare
them"
Wholly without notice and entirely
contrary to what administration Off
cials have described as his course, the
president last night dispatched the
notes to all the belligerents and to
all the neutrals for their information.
This latest development in the rap
idly moving world events toward a
discussion of peace was not permitted
to become known until tonight when
the notes were we'll on their way to
1.-THE American ambassadors in the bel
iligerent capitals and probably already
in the hands Of some Of them.
1t was most distinct surprise to
all official Washington, which had
J been led to believe that with the for
NAL transmittal OF the proposals Of
the central powers the officers of the
United States would await further
} moves between the belligerents them
, selves and that certainly, in view Of
) the speech Of Premier Lloyd George
and the announcements in Russia and
! France and Italy, further action by
neutrals would depend upon the next
careful and delicate moves of the bel
ligerents.
The whole tenor of official opinion
throughout Washington. when the
! presidents action became known, was
! that it immeasurably improved the
: prospects for some sort of exchanges
: looking toward an approach to peace
discussions between the belligerents,
: without impairing the position of the
J. United States should they finally be
. unable to find ground upon which
? to approach one another.
!, At the White House no statement
!, whatever could be obtained as to
, !
!, intimated how they would receive the
!. note, and there was every indication
= that the same careful secrecy, which
). prevented anything whatever becom-
ing known about the presidents action
until it had been taken, would sur
lround any of the succeeding moves
British officials declared they were
f. utterly taken by surprise, were Who'll
tt ly unable to explain It, and were en-
J. phatic in their statement that no ex
n changes whatever had passed through
!. the embassy here as preliminary
l. The wish and hope of the German
h powers that President Wilson would
Z. intercede in some way has long beer
e we'll known and has been conveyed ir
n different ways to the White House
S The attitude of the entente allies as
ri expressed by their statesmen and Ger
r. tainly until recently in official ad
vices to the American government, has
been that peace offer by the United
States would be considered almost tht
next thing to unfriendly.
= All that, however, was before thu
~ German allies, of their own accord
brought forward their proposals fol
discussion of peace. President Wilson
D. specifically says in the notes he j!
a. somewhat embarrassed in making thu
le suggestion at this particular time "be
II cause it may now seem to have beer
prompted by desire to play par
III in connection with the recent over
. lures of the central powers"
III Diplomatists consider it incredibl,
u, !, that the president would bring for
~ ward such a proposal at such tim
y :, unless he had reason to believe |
~ would receive respectful consideration
~ " at the hands of all the belligerents
=. - and above all, would not prejudice tn
y position of the United States as
=, possible mediator
- The German embassy view, consist
~, ~, emily hopeful that proposals of tn
~ central allies would lead to discus
~ sion of peace, was expressed in thi
~ authorized statement by Count vo
-, Bernstorff, the German ambassador.
y "Now," said he, 81 am perfectly cor
20. vinced that there will be confer
nd ence."
ha The nearest parallel in world his
..1 tory for President Wilson's action wa
.d President Roosevelt's move in 1905
10 end the war between Russia and Jal
70 an. But in that case the presider
NJ had been assured his proposal woul
nv not be disagreeable to either of tn
belligerents, and curiously enough,
rp was through Emperor William of Ge
in many that the preliminary sounding
ed crystallized into the suggestion thu
en- President Roosevelt take the steps.
in Those in official circles who woul
of discuss the notes thought it worth
he of attention that President Wilso
ISL after saying his action had long bee
cir in mind, added: "The president CO
only beg that his suggestion be co
yas sidered entirely on its own merits, al
all as II it had been made in other ci
ION cumstances."
10 The president looks forward in Il
notes to the part the neutrals shs