Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1917-08-20
COAST OF BELGIUM
GOAL OF GERMANY
Must Acquire 1t Now or Fight
Another War, Gen. Won
Liebert Asserts.
POPE'S PLAN NOT POPULAR

BY the Associated Press.
AMSTERDAM. August 2o.-Gen. Won
Lfebert, in a speech at Rathenow. Prus-
sia, is quoted by the Deutsche Tages-
zeitung as saying:
I'VE cannot sign peace before we
have the Flanders coast, a colonial en-
pire and maritime bases. Should We
not realize this now we must prepare
to work for it after the war in view
of the next war"
Gen. Lieberts speech was loudly
cheered by his hearers. but 1t was
criticised by the German press.
Vorwaerts declared: This may pro-
long the war until Germany has been
so beaten that even our pan-Germans
cannot think of next time"
Fope's Note Stirs Germany.
COPENHAGEN. August 2o.-The
Pope's peace proposal now is being
dragged into the field Of party politics
in Germany and made the subject OF
contention between the pan-German
annexationists and advocates of mod
crate peace.
George Bernhard, in the Berlin
Vossische Zeitung. says the Pope's ac-
tion has cleared up one of the mys-
teries connected with Matthias Erzber-
gers recent peace campaign IN the
reichstag, and that the adoption by
the reichstag of his resolution was to
pave the way for the Popes note.
The terms of the Pope's note and the
reichstag resolution against compulsory
annexation continue to trouble the reia-
tions of Bulgaria to her allies, and 1t has
been found necessary to explain to Bull
garia again and again that Germany
would interpret the acquisition OF Mace
donian regions as annexation. Vienna
dispatches say the government newspa-
darl a
possible to cede foot of soil to Italy. but
otherwise little vehement objection to the
Popets note is heard from Austria
SCOTS at ".Moral Power"
Count Won Reventlow. in the Tages Zei-
;ung. continues his cynical discussions of
German policy. He avows. in reference TO
the moral power of justice for might of
arms. that the moral law exists for the
Germans only so far as it applies to the
German empire and nation. The writer
says the Germans cannot consent to a re-
duction in armaments, which alone have
made possible the existence of the en-
pire and the possibility of its moral ac-
tivities
Count. Won Reventlow adds that Ger
many cannot bear her own war bur-
dens and that, therefore. she cannot
renounce indemnities. and that guar
antees for Belgium's independence
the carrying out of the papal program
would mean an end to- the middle Eu-
ropean alliance and Germany's ruin
Annex4tfonist mass meetings con-
tinue to lombard Field Marshal Won
Hindenburg, Chancellor Michaelis and
Admiral Scheer. commander of the bat
tie fleet. with protests against the
reichstag peace resolution.
German Outlook Brighter
BERLIN. August 10. via London.
August 20.-The main committee of the
reichstag will meet next Tuesday to
deal with the military and economic
situation in the empire, which is said
to be considerably improved over con-
ditions existing six weeks ago, when
the political crisis occurred. At that
time the Russians were penetrating
farther into Galicia, while the U-boat
figures threatened to show a falling off
in sunken tonnage.
The food situation in Germany was
then anything but confidence-inspiring.
due to shortage of potatoes and alb
sence of new vegetables and fruit and
to reduced bread rations. Today the
food situation has been eaSed by the
arrival of a new potato crop. added bread
rations and an improvement in the sup
ply of vegetables. while the military
situation on the eastern front, accord
ing to the official leaders, has been con-
Russians and Rumanians and a redemp-
ton of Austrian soil from the invaders.
The outstanding military feature since
the quieting of the recent political storm.
however, is found on the western front,
where the offensive of the entente in
Flanders. in the German view. is again
halted, and the German U-boat base on
the Belgian coast has been successfully
defended.
The new chancellor and his newly ap-
pointed staff of secretaries, therefore,
are permitted to enter into the initial
conferences with the reichstag main
committee at a moment when the CEN
tral powers are declared again to be in
military ascendancy and the domestic
situation is shorn of features which en-
ba rrassed the government on the eve ct
the crisis
In view of the unparalleled economic
and military situation. the opinion pre-
walls in many quarters that the reichs-
tag, unmindful of the clamors of the
pan-Germans, should unequivocally re-
iterate the principles of it's peace reso-
luton as adopted by a two-thirds ma
jority at the close of the recent stormy
session 1t is not unlikely that the
papal peace note will be informally
discussed early in the session of the
main committee.
The Norddeutsche Allgemeine Zei-
tung announces that DR. Michaelis, the
imperial chancellor. will take the floor
at Tuesdays meeting for the purpose
of participating in the general discus
sion. and he also viii make reference
to the papal peace note.