The Knoxville independent. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1894-current, 1917-09-01
Copyright.)

NopyIlSut.J
that the history Of the rest Of the
world is no longer left to its handling.
No ReprisaI Upon German People.
"To deal with such power by way
of peace upon the plan proposed by
his holiness the pope would, so far as
we can see, involve recuperation Of
its strength and renewal of its pol
icy; would make 1t necessary to ere
ate O permanent hostile combination
Of nations against the German people,
who are its instruments; and would
result in abandoning the newborn
Russia to the intrigue, the manifold
subtle interference, and the certain
counter-revolution which would be at
tempted by all the malign influence to
which the German government has OF
late accustomed the world.
Can peace be based upon a resti-
tuition of it's power or upon any word
of honor it could pledge in treaty
Of settlement and accommodations
Responsible statesmen must now
everywhere see, if they never saw be-
fore, that no peace can rest securely
upon political or economic restrictions
meant to benefit some nations and
cripple or embarrass others, upon viny
dictive action Of any sort, Or any kind!
OF revenge or deliberate injury.
'"The American people have suffered
int0lerable wrongs at the hands of the
imperial German government, but
they desire no reprisal upon the Ger
man people, who have themselves suf-
fered all things In this war which they
did not choose. They believe that
peace should rest upon the rights of
peoples, not the rights of governments
the rights Of peoples great or small
weak or powerful-their equal right
to freedom and security and self-gov-
ernment, and to participation upon
fair terms in the economic opportuni-
ties of the wOrld-the German people,
of course, included, If they will accept
equality and not seek domination.
Purposes of v. S. Known to World.
"The test, therefore, of every plan of
peace is this: Is 1t based upon the
faith of all the peoples involved or
merely upon the word of an ambitious
and intriguing government, on the one
hand, and of a group of free peoples
on the other? This is a test which goes
to the root Of the matter and 1t Is the
test which must be applied.
THE purposes Of the United States
In this war are known to the whole
World-to every people to whom the
truth has been permitted to come. They
do not need to be stated again. We
seek no material advantage of any
kind. We believe that the intolerable
wrongs done in this war by the furious
and brutal power of the imperial Ger
man government ought to be repaired,
but not at the expense of the sover-
eighty Of any people-rather vindi-
cation Of the sovereignty both of those
that are weak and those that are
strong.
Punitive damages, the dismember-
ment Of empires, the establishment of
selfish and exclusive economic leagues,
we deem inexpedient and in the end
worse than futile, no proper basis for
peace Of any kind, least Of all for an
enduring peace. That must be based
upon justice and fairness and the COM
mon rights of mankind
Won't Take Word Of Kaiser.
"We cannot take the word of the
present rulers of Germany as q guar
antee of anything that 1t to endure, un-
less explicitly supported by such con-
elusive evidence Of the will and pur-
pose Of the German people themselves
as the other peoples of the world would
be justified In accepting, without
such guarantees, treaties OF settle
ment, agreements for disarmament
covenants to set up arbitration In the
place of force, territorial adjustments,
reconstitutions of small nations, IL
made with the German government. no
man, no nation could now depend on.
We must await some new evidence OF
the purposes Of the great peoples OF
the central powers. God grant 1t may
be given soon and In way to restore
the confidence of all peoples every
where in the faith of nations and the
possibility Of covenanted peace.
ROBERT LANSING.
Secretary of State of the United
States of America