Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1916-05-14
EXPOSE CANARD ABOUT ENGLISH
 OFFER 0F PEACE
German Socialist Organ Gives True Story Con-
 cerning Incident,

Berlin, April 29.-The story tha,
 EEngland made an offer of peace tc
 sGermany in the spring of 1915, which
 mas TOT some time been persistently
 circulated by the disaffected wing oi
 tne Socialist party, has at last been
 elteGt'yely exposed by the "Chemnit-
 ger Volksstlmme," itself a leading So-
 elalls! organ; Deputy Haase of
 ko,e:nlgsberg, head of the leading So-
 clallst faction in the reichstag, was sponsor for the story. According to Ine socialist newspaper of Koenigs-
 Derg ne claimed to have proofs that
 England offered peace on condition
 that dermany make no annexations of
 territory, for which England in return
 would agree to cede some of it's col
 9nles to Germany and pay a war in aemnlty besides. This story was wide ly circulated, says the Koenigsberg newspaper, and caused much disatis, !actlon |! Tn the Socialist ranks, where It was felt that the government should nave responded to the British over ture.
 The Chemnitzer volksstimme with an article captioned "Haase's War Hoax" now exposes the whole thing oy reciting some recenl transactions i'll me budget committee of the reichstag. cording to this organ thls peace rumor was again men tloned at . nesting of the commit tee on March 29, 1916, by Herr Ledebour, prominent Socialist mem Der, although Under-Secre|,ary of state Zimmerman, of the foreign of- lice, had assured the committee months ago that there was no truto in it. Ledebour asked Chancellor yon bethmann Holweg why the English peace officers had been rejected. The chancellor replied that nhe statement was not true; he knew nothing about any English peace proposals.
 Haase. who was present, prompted -edebour vigorously; and the latter 'emarked further that the incident Q which he referred took place al; a 1me when the chancellor was absent rom Berlin, and Under Secretary of state Zimmerman could probably ell about it. Zimmerman thereupon lenled energetically that any English 'eace negotiator had been turned way, and That for the very good req on that none had ever shown up. 'hen he went on to explain how the mole story started, in the following erms:
 Zimmerman Gives Facts.
 Professor Schuecking, we'll nown German pacifist, had called pon him at the foreign office, said and told him that he ad been to Holland attending a leeting of the anti-orlog-raad (ani- + ar-counciD. where Under-Sec1 etary resselhuis, of the Dutch ministry of
 stice, had offered to come to Berlin a peace negotiator between Germany c Id England Schuecking added thar resselnuis would not come as hhe o fic1al repre- sentative of the Dutch h 'vernment, nor would he bring any b 'oposals whatever from the British 'vernment; in other words he only anted to hear Germany's proposals tt Id then proceed to London to see sl nat he could do there. Zimmerman Ii sWered that while he was of course c, ling to receive an agent holding a a from responsible English M atesmen of influential political cir le ss, he declined on his part to make ul ace proposals to England through q, private person. d; Neverthless. members of the anti ia log-raad went to England and had is nfer ence with such peace friends su
 Burns. Treveylan, Macdonald, and lers. When however, the Dutch l., egates put forward the view that Ju gland and Germany could certain ce
 begin negotiations upon & few ha lcrete points like the Belgian prob- lis T, they met with a general rejec- n of their plan. John Burns, in w ticular, according to report from sh Hand. characterized it as an i'm WI lent imputation" that they should Ina 'ctiate with Germans about Bel 12 m; Belgium. he said, was for Eng sh q no bargaining object there could Mpttelk of spesotse$lcns until .l me ny fade nncondat 6'stfy 'evdcuated l,'..I gium and restored it as it was be- six ? the war Zimmermann added fo. obviously no German in a re- tai rAsible position could have any l E more to do with such a matter. ( hen, according to the Chemnitzsr co, ksstimme, Zimmermann added I