Coulee City dispatch. [volume] (Coulee City, Wash.) 19??-19??, 1917-08-30
REPLY OF AMERICA TO
POPE's PEACE PROPOSAL
(By Associated Press)

(By Associated Press)
WASHINGTON, ID. c., Aug. 28.-
President Wilson has rejected the
pope's peace proposals. The text OF
the note follows.
august 81, 1917.
"To His Holiness, Benedictus XIV,
Pope:
In acknowledgement of the COM
mnication of your holiness to the be-
lligerent peoples, dated August l,
1917, the president of the United
States requests me to transmit the
following reply:
every heart that has not been
blinded and hardened by this terri
BILE war must be touched by this
moving appeal of his holiness, the
pope; must feel the dignity and force
of the humane and generous motives
which prompted it and must fervent-
ly wish that we might take the path
of peace he so persuasively points
out. But it would be folly to take il
if it does not in fact lead to the goa
he proposes.
Our response must be based upor
the stern facts and upon NOTHING
else. 1t is not mere cessation o.
arms he desires; it is a stable and
enduring peace. This agony mus
not be gone through with again, an6
it must be matter of very sober
judgement that will insure us agains
it.
His holiness, in substance, propose
that we return to the status quo ante
bellum and that then there be a gen
eral condonation, disarmament an(
concert of nations based upon ar
acceptance of the principle of arbi
tration; that by a similar concert
freedom of the seas be established
and that the territorial claims Of
France and Italy, the preplexins
problems of the Balkan states ant
the restitution of Poland be left te
such conciliatory adjustments as
may be possible in the temper OF
such peace, due regard being pal.
to the aspirations whose political
fortunes and affiliations will be in.
volved.
ut is manifest that no part of thi,
program can be successfully carried
out unless restitution of the status
quo furnishes firm and satisfac.
tory basis for it. The object of thi
war is to deliver the free people O.
the world from the menace of the
actual power of a vast military es.
tablishment controlled by an irres.
ponsible government which, having
secretly planned to dominate tn,
world, proceeded to carry the plal
out without regard either to the sa.
cred obligations of treaty or the lont
established practices and long cher
ished principles of international act
ion and honor; which chose it's owl
time for the war; delivered its blow
fiercely and suddenly; stopped at nc
barrier either of law or mercy
swept a whole continent within tn,
tide of blood-not the blood of sol
diers only, but the blood of innocen
women and children also, and of tn,
helpless poor; and now stands balk.
ed, but not defeated-the enemy
four-fifths of the world. This power
is not the German people. 1t is NJ
business of ours how that great peo
pie came under it's control and sub.
mitted with temporary zest to tn
domination of its purpose; but it i.
our business to see to it that thu
history of the rest of the world
no longer left to it's handling.
'To deal with such power b,
way of peace upon the plan pro.
posed by his holiness, the pope
would, so far as we can see, make
it necessary to create hostile com
bination of nations against the Ger
man people, who are its instruments
and would result in aboliShing tho
newborn Russia to the intrigue, thu
manifold subtle interference and the
certain counter-revolution which.
would be attempted by all the NAL
ign influences to which the German
government has of late accustomed
the world. Can peace be based up
on restitution of its power or upon
any word of honor it could pledge
in a treaty of settlement and accom-
odation?
Irresponsible statesmen must now
see, if they never saw before, tina.
no peace can rest securely upon po.
litical of economic restrictions
meant to benefit some nations and
to cripple or embarasS others, upon
vindictive action of any sort or any
sort of revenge or deliberate injury
The American people have suffered
intolerable wrongs at the hands ol
the imperial German government
but they desire no reprisal upon the