Arizona republican., 1917-12-24
FORMAL NEGOTIATIONS BEGIN
 IN EFFORT TO TERMINATE .CREAl r;;:::2!,,.A!\ $s::2 AND BRING PEACE
Republican A. p. Leased Wire1

AMSTERDAM, Dec. 23.-A dispatch received here from Brest-Litovsk, Rus. sia, dated Saturday, says:
 To-day at four o'clock in the after noon the peace negotiations were be- gun at a solemn sitting. The meeting was attended by the following dele gates:
 Germany: Dr. Richard von kuehl- mann, foreign minister; Herr Von Rosenberg, Baron von Hoch. General Hoffman and Major Brinckmann.
 Austria Hungary: Count Czernin, Freiherr von Wisser, Count Colerda, Count Osal1y, Field Marshal von Chis ieres, Lieutenant Parny and Major von Gluise
 Bulgaria: Minister Popoff, former Secretary Coseff, Postmaster General Stoyanovich, Colonel Gantjiff and pr. Areasasoff.
 Turkey: Former Minister of For eign Affairs Nessimy Bey, Ambassador Hakki, Under Foreign Secretary Hek- init Bey and General Zekki Pasha
 Russia: Joffe Kamineff, Bisenko | Pokrosky, Karaghan Lubinski, Welt man Pawlowich, Admiral Altvater, | General Turmoil, Colonel Rokki, Col l onel Zeplett and Captain Lipsky Prince Leopold of Bavaria, as com mander-in- chief of the German forces | in the east. welcomed the delegates and invited Hakki Pasha, as the senior | delegate, to open the conference. Hakki Pasha, after an expression of d desire for a satisfactory result, declared the negotiations formally open and pro Il posed Dr. Von Kuehlmann as the pre- siding officer The German foreign minister was unanimously elected ! chairman.
 The most important speech before the delegates was made by Dr. Richard von Kuehlmann, the German foreign
 minister. He said:
 The purpose of this memorable meeting is to terminate the war be-
 tween the central powers and Russia
 and re-establish a state of peace and
 friendship. In view of the situation it
 will be impossible in the course of these deliberations to prepare an in
 strument of peace elaborated in it's
 smallest details. What I have in mind is to fix the most important principles
 and conditions upon which peaceful
 and neighborly intercourse, especially
 in the cultural and economic sense. can be speedily resumed, and also to decide , upon the best means of healing the , wounds caused by the war. Our negotiations will be guided by the spirit of peaceable humanity and l mutual esteem. They must take into Q account, on the one hand, what has f become historical, in order that we may
 not lose our footing on the firm ground l of facts, but, on the other hand. they l must be inspired by the great and new n leading motive which has brought us t here together.
 2 It IS an suspicious circumstance : that the negotiations open within sigh. h of that festival which for centuries :. past has promised peace on earth, good y Will to men. enter upon the negotia t tons with the desire that our work y may make speedy and prosperous
 progress
 S The German foreign minister pro-
 posed the following rules, which were e adopted:
 e "Questions of precedence will be de. ,, clded according to the alphabetical lis s. Of the represented powers. 1T Plenary sittings will be presided e over py the chief representative O 1t each Of the five powers in rotation. ,- The following languages may b. )f used in the debate: German. Bul 'r garian, Russian and Turkish. al Questions interesting only to par y. Of the represented powers may be dis er cusSed separately
 5e Official reports of the proceeding
 will be drafted Jointly.
 At Von kuehlmann' suggestion in
 chief Russian delegate stated the chic
 principles of the Russian peace nro
 gram in a long speech, which coincide IT. IT. on the whole with the well know 9n theories of the workmen and soldier, 1u deputies
 is The Russian terms include: F'irs ad no compulsory annexation of territor V, taken during the war and speedy eyac an uatlon of such territory; second. tha o n political independence shall be restore o to all nations deprived of independenc IT by the fortunes of war; third tba a national groups not independent befor ho the war shall decide by a referendul r- whether they shall become independer co or give their allegiance to some bower IS. fourth, where mixed nationalities occl as py any territory the rights of tl
 minority shall be defended by a ser - arate law assuring educational freedoI
 and administrative autonomy, if DOS
 slble; fifth, no belligerent country sha
 be required to pay contributions an
 private persons shall be compensate
 for losses incurred through the ws
 from special fund contributed by a
 e"O pOiIlSOioiieo oH q pTOpOrllOn basis. The same principles shall l
 applicable to colonies as to the parel
 countries.
 'The final clause of the terms pr, he hibits the boycotting of one count as by another and provides for separa. he customs agreements and for nav lg, blockades not pursuing direct milita1
 objects.
 ay ''The delegates of the central powe he declared their readiness to begin u Id, examination of the Russian progral ol- .er. (Continued on Page Two)