The Sentinel=record., 1917-05-16
GERMAN OFFENSIVE FAILS ID MATERIAL|zE

vlction that the leading statesmen of the powers which are our allies are with us.
 'l thoroughly and fully understand the passionate interest of the people In the war aims and peace conditions | understood the call for clearness which today Is addressed 10 me from tihe right and the lert. But in the dis cussion Of our war aims the only guid. Ing line for me is the early and satls- factory conclusion of the war. Beyond that I cannot do or say anything.
 'If the general situation forces me to reserve, as is the case now, l shau keep this reserve and no pressure either from Herr Scheidemann or Herr RoesIcke will force me from my path
 Il trust that the reserve which must eXercise-lt would be uns rupu lons on my part did not exercise ft -Wil. find support from the majority of the relchstag and also amongst the people. For a month past unparal- eled battles have been raging on the west front. The entire people, with all it's thoughts and sorrows and feel ings, is with its sons up there. who with uneXampled tenacty and der- lance of death, resist the daily re- 'newed attack If the English and French.
 Even today I see no readiness for peace on the part of Eng and or France, nothing of the abandonment of their excessive aims of conquest and economic destruction. Where. then, were the governments who last winter openly stood up before the world in order to terminate this in- sane slaughter of peoples? Were they in London CT in Paris? The most recent utterance which | have heard from London declares that the war .aims which were announced two yeans ago remain unaltered
 "Even Herr Scheidemann will not believe that I cou meet this declara- ton with beau geste. Does anyone believe. in view of the state of mind of our western enemies, that they could be induced to conclude peace by a program of renunciaton?
 As regards our eastern neighbcr, T9ussia, l have recently spoken It appears as if new Russia had declined for herself these violent plans of con quest. Whether Russia will CT can act in the same sense as her allies am unable to estimate Doubt ess England. with the assistance of her allies, is employing all her efforts to keep Russia harnesSed to England's war chariot and to traverse Russian wishes for the speedy restoration of the worlds peace.
 "lf, however, Russia wants to pre- vent further bloodshed and renoun er all violent plans Of conquest, for her selff if she wishes to restore durable re ations of peaceful life side by side with us, then surel yit is n matter of course that we share this wish which will not disturb the permanent relationship in the future and will not render it's development impossible by demands. which. indeed, do not ac- cord with the freedom of nations and would deposit in the Russian nation the germ of enmity. (Thundercus p- plause,)
 TI doubt not that an agreement aiming exclusively at a mutual un derstanding could be attained, which excludes every thought of oppression and which would leave behind no sting and no discOrd.
 Our military position has never been so good since the beginning Of the war The enemy in the west. dc spite his terrible losses, cannot break through Our Ulhoats are operating with increasing success. I won't use any fine words about them: the deeds of our U-boat men speak for them selves. I think even the neutrals will reconflze that.
 "So far as compatible with our duty toward our own people who come first, we take into account the inter- ests of the neutral states. The con cessions we have made to them arc not empty promises"
 In speaking on the socialist inter- pellation Phillip lScheidemann, social ist member and former vice president of the reichstag, defended the social ist peace program of renunciation and gave the chancellor's baiters one of his typical rrllngs.
 A motion to end the debate was lost, after which the middle road par ties, made up of the centrists, national liberals, progressive peoples party and German fraction presented a joint declaration approving the chancellors attitude
 Following the chancellor, Dr Peter Spahn. leader of the Catholic center party, sDeakng in the name of the cen tris,s, the national lberas s, the pro eressive people, party and the majori ty Of German fraction, said:
 We are unanimously agreed that at present the thorough discussion in the reiehstae of our war aims rightly lrderstood would no- serve the inter- ests Of the fatherland. The German peoples desire for peace is directed q h ttsfff