Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1916-01-14
Germany Ready for Peace;
The Allies RESOLVED on War.

Germany is now in a position to discuss peace
on terms which. from her point of view. would be
reasonable; and there are indications that she is
willing. if not eager. TO do Holding Serbia and
Poland and Belgium. and rich region of France.
che could make seemingly generous concessions
and at the same time drive the shrewdest bargain
in history. She could relinquish Belgium and her
strip of France and. perhaps. portion of Serbia
in return for her lost colonies in Africa she could
withdraw from Poland. making il nominally in
dependent kingdom; she could go even go far as to
saIve French pride with certain grants in Alsace
and Lorraine. and yet. by retaining her present
mastery in the Near East particularly at Constan-
tinopIe. bear away the golden fleece of the whole
great adventure In any negotiation a basis of
the war map as ii Is today the advantage would
be Overwhelmingly with the Teutons -
Naturally, then, Berlin is sending forth hocks
Of doves in. the hope that some of them may find
resting place in neutral If not belligerent minds;
and we're the Entente Allies as fasorably circum-
stanced at this juncture as are the Central
Empires. the Entente. doubt, would be trying
the same policy. It only little while ago
that the German Imperial Chancellor declared the
Allies would be responsible for prolongation of
the war. Repeatedly of late there have come semi
Official intimations that Germany and Austria
would be pleased to consider peace proposals. The
Louisville Courier-Journal pertinently quotes the
remark Of correspondent from Constantinople
who says that recently. when he was in that city,
the Turkish newspapers, whose tone was deter
mined and Inspired BY German influences. pub
lished column Of peace news every day. Every
whisper Of Cancellation. he added was given the
widest presentation-Bryan's reported peace trip,
Fords plan, the utteranees OF the Pope, and proc
lamations by the various German societies outlin-
ing their idea of the conditions under which peace
would be concluded" 1t is not surprising that
the Powers who are intrenched on the enemys
soil in every arena of the struggle are ready for
settlement
But there must be two parties to a peace as
well as to- q war. The very fact that the Teutons
hold Serbia and Poland and Belgium and por-
tionaof France and, as conditions now stand, are
dominant in the Near East makes the Allies the
more determined to fight on until they have
altered the situation 4 alter it they can If they
had reached or nearing the end of their
human and economic resources, they doubtless
would be disposed consider fairly reasonable
terms But, having reserve of strength, and be-
leving as they do that Germany has reached her
maximum, they apparently are as resoIute today
as at the outset In these circumstances the dura
ton OF the war and its outcome depend on the
power Of the Allies to prevent further serious
aggressions BY the enemy and the power of the
Teutons to hold their own and stand the enonomic
strain
One of the ,keenest and fairest students of the
is Mr.. Frank H. simonds, an American writer
whose analysis OF the various phases of the great
struggle have won widespread attention abroad
well at home He says in discussing the
present posture OF affairs:
"Germany's enemies believe they can
crush her; che does not believe she can crush
them. but she is satisfied they cannot crush
her She, not the Entente. is now fighting
for existence"
OF the Allies determination to wage the war
to decisive end. Mr. simonds says:
This determination is based on an un-
mistakable expectation Of victory. Nations
do not continue a doubtful war when a rea-
sonable settlement is to be had unless they
satisfied that more be gained at a
price they are willing to pay. France, Russia,
Great Britain and Italy are all convinced that
they can together crush German and her
allies. They so sure of it that they have
rejected chance to make peace. Now, it is
well to keep in mind during the next year
exactly what grounds the Allies have for ex-
pecting to win. We shall then see as the war
progresses whether they were wrong or right;
If they prove to have been wholly wrong it is
certain that they will not persevere in their
course after their mistake has been estab-
Iished. Twelve months should tell the story
| do not mean that the Allies will be able to
conquer Germany in that time but do believe
that if they. fail in that time to make such
progress to be able to envisage ultimate
triumph they win abandon their present mood.
Briefly. the Allies satisfied that Ger
numbers have begun are about to
begin TO fail. They fix at 100000 the sum
total OF man power of the Germans using
every known method of calculation. They
figure that Germany has now lost permanently
at least 100000, and that before spring the
total will be far past 100000. The know
that it requires above 5000 900 men to hold
the German lines and that another 100000
is required for communications, garrisons and
other services Austria's situation is even