Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1917-12-28

IuuuuHs psC. -cs-VptutuI BtlE
on the reply Of the central powers
TO the B0lsheyiki peace terms, as
far as can be judged from the edl-
terials in the morning newspa-
pers, follows two main lines.
On one hand it seems TO be felt
that the central powers have made
perfectly sincere offer to end the
war Immediately, while on the
other hand 1t Is declared that they
have set cunning trap in which
they hope, although vainly. TO
catch the allies.
The former view is not confined to
papers generally regarded as having
! pacifist learnings. 1t is supported
strongly. for instance, by the conser-
| vative Daily Express, which stands un-
! compromisingly for victory In all
| the papers taking this view the state
ment of the central powers Is regard
| ed as being addressed less to Russia
| than to the allies collectively, and the
offer made through Count Czernin is
assumed to be an initial proposal
] Which the central powers probably are
bargaining The Express says:
May Be Germany's First Bid.
THE terms may be taken as Ger
many's first bid. The proposals are
Of course, wholly inadequate, but it is
significant thar the idea of conquest
has been abandoned completely. This
is the first indication that Germany
has begun to realize the true position
with which she Is confronted
| "At the same time the demand of the
allies for repatriation Is ignored totally
| tits a general peace that German,
and Austria Hungary want and behinC
/ Czernin's words there is, we think, {
perfectly sincere desire to end the wal
at once. The offer, for what it II
worth, is obviously genuine.
Germany is pledged definitely t,
the principle of restitution. THEREBY
bluntly reEudiating Won Tirpitz ant
the other pan-Germans, but while res
titution is accepted, reparation i
secuted. Reparation will be accepted
as the price of the restoration of thosl
economic relations without which Ger
many cannot live.
z IAN authoritative allied reply t.
! Count Czernin might be a demonstra
2 ton to the German people that the al
I lies have no wish to contrive their de
struction. hinder their development o
threaten Their independence. Whe1
they once understand what the allie
stand for and what really are their in
tentions, the German people themselve
will nj ha s,F ~.
| militarism which has set out to con
! quer the world"
Meant for All Allies.
| The Daily Chronicle says it is
striking fact that the central power
have accepted the formula OF no an
nexations and no indemnities, an
continues:
THE new peace offensive of tn
= ! central powers is meant, not primal
lily for Russia, but for the allies q
/ large and especially the United State!
: Coming at the same time as threat
and warnings of tremendous Germa
efforts on the western front, it is n
!, doubt merely the forerunner of pre-
posals more formal in character. Til
terms of the central powers offer n
a security whatever against a recurrene
q Of the war, whenever the original dis
: turbers OF the peace are strong enoug
to fight again with a better prospet
of victory"
II The Daily News which warmly el
h dorsed the recent letter of the ma
: quis of Lansdowne and is regarde
q as being tinged with pacifisrn, col
- tends that Germany had to choose b.
=, tween her extremists and her mode
: ates, as no peace formula could DO
sibly satisfy both Count Reventlo
q and Phillip Scheidemann.
- Nothing could be more ill-advised
- it says, than a general denunciatic
=, of the German offer by the press
=, politicians OF the entente, as such
&c rec ption is precisely what Germs
> diplomacy is playing for. That do
= not mean that the German propose
can be grasped at as basis of ii
: mediate negotiations their defec
lie are seif-evident."
ut After denouncing the terms as tn
OF would affect Belgium and other ma
ters as being altogether unacceptah
ed the Daily News adds:
nc III the allies are appealed to by t
T. Russians for their views, they shou
Id sieze without hesitation the opportu
ny ity of making a candid and reason
n statement of their war aims and the
peace terms
TO A highly interesting situation, t
es Daily Telegraph thinks, has been CT
IN ated by the reply of the central DO
OF ers, but it does not see in it the pre-
pect of any secure settlement of t
ry worlds peace.
OF with what looks like an abru
is change of mind,' it says, "Germa
IS has thrown over her annexationi.
and pronounced for a status quo az
IL peace.
lie THE enemy powers, however,
an ject the absolutely fundamental no
he ---------------- - -
CONTINUED On Pare Thirteen1