Omaha daily bee., 1916-12-15
ENTENTE WON'T
FLATLY Reject
GERMAN OFFER
Official Copy Does Not Differ
in Substance from the
Version Given Out
at Berlin,
WILL TRANSMIT IT SOON
4 Undecided Whether Comment
by President Will Accom-
pany It.
CHARGE GREW REPORTS
BULLETIN.

LIE ~
Washington, Dec. l4,-Ihc en-
bassics OF the entente allies here to-
day reflected the view that Germany's
peace proposals will not be rejected
without examination. but that the
allies in reply will probably all for
statement oi proposed terms, SO
they may not be placed III a position
OF unQualIicdly rejecting peace.
Washington, Dec. l4-rhc note
conveying the proposal for peace by
the central powers. which the United
States is 10 transmit to the entente
bcligcrent>, arrived during the night
and was being prepared for President
Wilson carly today.
The document was said to be sub
stantially the same as published in
the unofficial dispatches from Berlin
in the rcpo.t OF the Overseas News
agency. Accompanying it was con-
idcntial report from American Charge
Grew, understood to be an outline of
affairs which led up to the German
! chancellor's speech in the Reichstag
and the sending OF peace proposals.
4 As soon as President Wilson has
seen the note it will be forwarded to
Minister Whitlock in Belgium, Am
bassadors Sharp, Page, Guthrie and
Francis, in France, England, Japan
and Russia, and to the legations at
the Serbian and Roumanian govern
mcnts.
President May Add Word.
The actual transfer of the peace
proffer now brings up the important
question Of whether President Viii
son will decide to act merely as an
intermediary, or whether he will ac
company the transmittal with some
expression Of hope, in some form.
that the proposals for consideration of
peace shall not be rejected without
examination and reflection. There is
a prevailing opinion here that the
president wants to do something OF
the sort and is. Hooking forward to
some movementNfor league OF ma
tions to preserve peace as one of the
elements of the settlement Of the
war
1t is possible that some means may
be taken to establish little more
definitely the temper Of the entente
allies toward peace proposals before
the president acts, but it is under
stood there will be no delay in for
warding the German note to the for
eign belligerent capitals
After reading the German note
carefully Secretary Lansing said that
while there were some differences in
translation when compared with the
official copy, and while the order of
arrangement of some of the para
graphs was little different, there
was absolutely no change in meaning
Mr.. Lansing said the note would go
forward to the belligerents presum-
ably today and that no decision had
been reached as to whether the
United States would accompany it
with any expression.
The German note was the only one
to arrive. Nothing has been heard
Of the communications from Austria,
Bulgaria or Turkey, but it was said
they would be forwarded in the same
manner without delay.
At least one of the European neu-
trails here already has sent a dispatch
to his home government asking to be
authorized to assure President Viii
son Of the support of his government
in sending some expression to the
entente allies designed to influence
them to give consideration to the
offer to discuss peace. There are in
dications that some of the other neu-
trails NAV follow suit