The Wahpeton times. [volume] (Wahpeton, Richland County, Dakota [N.D.]) 1879-1919, 1917-08-02
How tho War Came 10 America

duc preparations VI Ills uOlc, tSkluS
the belligerent powers to define
their war aims. But before he had
completed it, the world was sur
prised by the peace move of the
German Empire, Austria Hungary,
Bulgaria, and Turkey, sent thru
neutral powers ON December IL,
1916, to the governments of the
Allies, proposing negotiations for
peace. While expressing the wish
to end this war-''a catastrophe
which thousands of years Of COM
mon civilization was unable to pre-
vent and which Injuries the most
precious achievements of human
ity"-the greater portion of the
note was couched in terms that
gave small hope Of lasting peace.
Boosting of German conquests.
the glorious deeds Of our armies,
the note implanted in neutral
minds the belief that it was the
purpose of the Imperial German
Government to insist upon such
conditions as would leave all Cen.
trail Europe under German DOM
lance and so build up an Empire
which would menace the whole lib
eral world.
Moreover, the German proposal
was accompanied by thinly yelled
threat to all neutral nations; and
from a thousand sources, official
and unofficial the word came to
Washington that unless the neu-
trails used their influence to bring
the war to an end on terms dictat-
ed from Berlin, Germany and her
allies would consider themselves
henceforth free from any obliga-
tions to respect the rights of nell
trails. The Kaiser ordered the
neutrals to exert pressure on the
Entente to bring the war to an alb
rupt end, or to beware of the con-
sequences. Clear warnings were
brought to our Government that if
the German peace move should not
be successful, the submarines would
be unleashed for more intense
and ruthless war upon all COM
merce.
On the 18th of December, the
President dispatched his note to all
the belligerent powers. asking them
to define their war aims. There
was still hope in our minds that
the mutual suspicious between the
warning powers might be decreased
and the menace of future German
aggression and dominance be re-
moved by finding a guaranty of
good faith in League of Nations.
There was a chance that by the
creation of such a league as part Of
the peace negotiations. the war
could now be brought to an end be-
fore our Nation was involved. Two
statements issued to the press by
our Secretary of State, upon the
day the note was dispatched threw
a clear light on the seriousness with
which our Government viewed the
crisis.
From this point, events moved
rapidly. The powers of the En-
tente replied to the German peace
note. Neutral nations took action
on the note of the President, AMI
from both belligerents replies to
this note were soon in our hands.
The German reply was evasive-
III accord with their traditional
preference for diplomacy behind
closed doors. Refusing to state to
the world their terms, Germany
and her allies merely proposed a
conference. They adjourned all
discussion of any plan for league
of peace until after hostilities
should end.
The response of the Entente
Powers was frank and in harmony
with our principal purpose. Many
questions raised in the statement Of
their aims were so purely Europ-
can III character as to have small
interest for us; but our great con-
Germ in Europe was the lasting
restoration of peace, and it was
clear that this was also the chief
interest of the Entente Nations A.
to the wisdom of some of he meas
ures they proposed toward this end
we might differ in opinion. but the
trend of their proposals was the
establishment of just frontiers bas
ed on the rights of all nations, the
small as we'll as the great, to de-
eide their own destinies.
(To be Continued)