The Breckenridge news. (Cloverport, Ky.) 1876-1955, 1916-05-31
NOT READY TO
CONSIDER PEACE
Entente will Fight. War TO a
! Finish.
VIvIANl ISSUES STATEMENT

Answer Made to BerIin's Readiness
to Talk Peace-consider Gernany's
Power to Be on the Wane-AIlies
See Victory.
Washington, May 22.-"The die is
cast. Germany must fight on to the
bitter end and cannot escape retribu-
ton by useless appeals to neutrals
for peace"
This is the answer of the entente
allies to the steadily increasing peace
talk which has reached official cir
cles here from Berlin. The allies
position, 1t is explained, has been
made perfectly clear to President
Wilson, and this is the prime reason
why the presidents efforts to act as
mediator i'm the war have been con-
hned to more or less academic utter
ances on the general subject of peace,
instead of taking the form of a def
mite proposal to discuss the ending
Of the war.
Both the president and Secretary
Of State Lansing have been informed
conidentially from sources close to
the entente capitals, that peace pro-
posals now are out Of the question.
The time Is not ripe, it is explained,
and the time will not be ripe, until
Germany's military dominance has
been completely broken.
The attitude of the entente, how
ever, has been explained to the world
by Viviani, of the French cabinet,
Who, with the full sanction of all the
entente governments, made state
ment in Petrograd in which he said
that the allies stand solid for flight
10 finish" that they intend to break
Germany's heavy sword, and that they
are steadily forging Germany's chas-
tisement.
Diplomatic circles here fully realize
the importance to be attached to this
official utterance, made through the
French embassy in Petrograd. 1t is,
in fact, the first statement from an
authoritative source, setting forth
the entente reply to Germany's pro-
posal to bring about the end Of the
struggle.
Monsieur Vivianis statement ex-
plains why Secretary Lansing is I'M
derstood to believe that any pro-
posal for mediation now would sim
ply vitiate the position which the
United States may logically hold
when the time to discuss peace final
ly does arrive.
The entente allies have translated
Germany's peace pleas into the mean
ing that the imperial government
now sees the handwriting on the wall
and is taking measures far in advance
in an effort to end the war. The en-
Itente claims that they are daily grow
Ing stronger in both armament and
men. They claim that their campaign
slowly but surely breaking Germanys
power by means of their additional
resources, backed by the control OF
the seas, is now beginning to bear
fruit.
Information has been received
showing that the failure Of this sum-
HltI CIOD III WOulu Sptli
unprecedented disaster. Heroic eff
forts are being made in Germany to
deal with the food problem, which
would be involved in this contingency
but so far no solution is. in sight. The
German officials, who are now devot-
ing their time exclusively to offseting
the affects of the British blockade
and providing food for the populace,
have made a number of mistakes
with the result that growing hostile
criticism has been aroused.
Naturally no scrap of this informa-
ton has escaped the entente capitals.
It explains why Great Britain is
tightening the blockade more and
more.
President Wilson cannot, however,
make any definite proposal for peace
now, 1t is explained, without making
the United States appear in the role
of a protector of the central powers
SO far as the entente allies are con-
cerned.