Arizona republican., 1917-08-29

is not even necessary to read between the lines of the presidents response to see clearly apparent the inflexible purpose.
 For this reason the president was not to be led into any discussion of the peace conditions detailed by Pope Benedict, though that field was made alluring by the pontiff's adoption of some of the proposals laid down by President Wilson himself in early ut
 terances. On the other hand there was no effort to evade responsibility for an expression of view as to the basis of sound and enduring peace for the presidents response in concluding paragraphs re-states the purpose for which America entered the great war. r The radical difference that appears to exist between the pope and the president touches this very matter of a stable and enduring peace. The pon- tiff looks to the restoration of condi-
 tions as they existed before the war;
 the president turns his back upon
 these, convinced that a return to the status quo ante bellum could never
 bring permanent peace, which could be secured only by agreement between free peoples on both sides. As one of ficial, commenting, expressed it, the presidents response. reflecting as it
 does the views of the entente allies, sounds the doom of Hohenzollernism and military domination of peoples. This can and should be accomplished
 without the destruction of the Ger man people is one of the striking ex- pressions in the presidents note, when
 he expressly disclaims any intent to seek punitive damages and the dis mo hnr af &l,. punishment of the central powers after
 the war by gigantic economic com binations against them.
 This shaft is aimed straight over | the heads of the army controlled Ger
 man foreign office at the understand 1 ing and appreciation of the German people already manifesting many 1 signs of a determination to assert theil 1 right to govern themselves by par liamentary methods. It is assumed here | that there will follow a fierce out , burst of denunciation against the at l tempt from the outside to dictate to | the German people their form of gov | ernment But it is also believed tha, as the hardships of war and misgov-
 ernment bear with ever increasing 1 severity upon the German people they
 must in the end throw off their mil | itary masters and take in their owr | hands, through a representative gov
 ernment in the conduct of negotiations | looking to a fair and honorable and 1 permanent peace.
 Active exchanges have been in pro-
 gress between the president, Secretary Lansing and the entente powers mainly
 through American diplomatic repre-
 sentatives abroad regarding the answer
 to be made to the pope's proposals ever
 since they were delivered to the
 various foreign offices. It seemed by
 common consent that to America was
 confided the heavy responsibility of
 framing and delivering the first of the
 replies. The propriety of the course was apparent from the consideration
 of the fact that every one of the en- | tente premiers and ministers who had | spoken publicly on the subject of peace had turned to the language of Pres ident Wilson's historic address to con- i gress and his other public utterancas
 on the subject as disclosing thrr owr conceptions of the proper base of peace negotiations. And even more potent than this consideration was the con- 1 viction that America was best fitted | of all nations to deal what it was | hoped would be the death blow tC
 autocracy of the Germanic type. Every
 precaution was taken to prevent 3 | premature disclosue of the contents oi
 the presidents response Few member;
 of the cabinet were informed on the
 subject before today's cabinet meet i ing. Last night the document was
 sent to Ambassador Page in London
 who was to deliver it to Foreign Min
 ister Balfour for transmission to Rome At the same time copies of the com
 munication as a matter of courtesy 1 were placed in the hands of the diplomatic representatives of the en-
 tente in Washington for their infor-
 nation.
 | Although the pope's proposals wers