Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1917-08-30

AUTHOR OF 1.-THE GREAT WAR;"
"TAEY SHALL NOT PASS"
Cepyriaht 1917-The Tribune Assn
(The New York Tribune).
The announcement IN Tuesday OF a
peace proposal by the pope surprised
Few people familiar with the undercur-
rent Of European affairs in recent
months. The close relation between the
Austrian government and the vatican
Is we'll known. The position taken by
the erman party i'm the centre which
is the Roman Catholic party, i'm he
~retchstae on the matter of peace and
tho disclosures of Icrzberger at the time
OF the reichstag crisis were all SYM
boiic of the views held both in Rome
and Vienna and in South Germany,
where the influence of the Roman Cath
Ollie element is supreme.
1t has been clear from the beginning
OF the war that the pope was eager to
intervene at any at which il
was possible n by his mediation to
end a struggle devastating the world.
and particularly the Roman Catholic
world. 1t would be inaccurate to say
that the present papal gesture was "a
mere response of the vatican to the
Austrian sentiment; but, on the other
I, hand. it is quite clear that a Austria
Hungary still been determined to con-
tinue the war the present time would
mot have been selected by the pope as
advantageous for his intervention.
Necessities OF transmission of copy of
this article compels me to comment III
advance of the receipt of the official ut
terance of the pope. Such comrpent as
10 made here is therefore based upon
h preliminary forecast of> that docu-
ment. Yet these forecasts fairly fore
shade he text itself.
yn the diScuSSion of "a peaca gesture
by The pope it is essential at h outset
to recognize that, unlike all other peace
proposals. this arrives at a moment
when the world WEAKNESS of he war
ENSURES that at least it shall have a SER
ious hearing. Outside of Germany there
remains no considerable war party In
the world. The controlling desire of the
nations now fighting Germany Is COM
pretended in a wish to attain a peace
That shall be permanent, and they are
animated by a conviction that while
Germany remains in possession OF con-
Suered territory and affirms a deter
mination to profit by he war and by
the methods she has employed no peace
can be more than a truce and an illu-
sion.
Allied Purposes and Numbers.
We must recognize that in the course
Of the war there has been an expansion
n q contraction of allied purposes,
necessarily incidental to the extension
OF allied numbers n to the modifica-
fion Of purposes by some of the allies.
Going back to the outset of the war.
we can recall that 1t was precipitated
by an Austrian assault on the integrity
and Independence of Serbia. Russia
entered the war to defend Serbia.
France necessarily as an ally of Russia
first action OF Germany in the war
the invasion of Belgium-drew Great
Britain into the,conflict.
At the outset of the war the issues.
therefore, were twofold-the defense Of
the integrity and independence of Ser
hia and the restoration of the ipdepen-
dence Of Belgium.
Between France and Germany at the
outset of the present war there sub
sisted the old dispute due to the forcible
annexation by Germany of Alsace-Ior-'
fAtne In 1871 against the unanimous
protest of 10000 people-the inhabi-
tants Of these provinces-who desired
to remain French. Naturally the French.
attacked again by Germany. believed
n believe that the old wrong should
be rtghted and that Alsace-LOrraine
should be restored to France.
In h same sense, when Italy entered
the war the old question of Trieste and
the TrentinO. regions inhabited by Ital-
sians but excluded from Italian frontiers
half a century g when Italy was
made. was raised.
In 1909 Austria had annexed Bosnia
n Herzegovina, districts Inhabited by
Serbians and included in the aspira-
tons Of the Serbian a for unity.
Early in the war the unification Of the
Serb race. thus became one Of the de-
tails in h program OF the allies.
As the war progressed and Rumania
entered, the question of Transatlantic
and The regions Of Hungary inhabited
by Rlmanians came equally to the fore,
And 1t became 9 portion of the allied
HnOgram to achieve the ratification Of
the Humanian as well as OF the Serbian
The Question Of Poland.
The question of Poland was similarly
sbe6111lr forward when -Russia, rat the.
aOutoet OF b war. proclaimed q policy
which promised the reunion Of Russian.
austrian ana German Poland and au-
stonomy for this nation. which had been
destroyed by Austria, Prussia and RUS
oa1under the. direction of Frederick the
sOr~at IN the closing years Of the 18th
century.
The entrance OF Turkey into the war
feopened the Russo Turkish question.
And In the presence OF an attack by
Turkey. - the agent Of Germany,
France and England resigned their his
zeor!cal role as defenders OF the Darda-
shasies against Russian ambition and
cQRes4tea1xto Russian possession OF
90 algfAnttnople.
ssl6pattitiOns0f Turkey among the ma
Hons fighting Germany was also ar.
lived At 0Nftng the process Of negOtfa-s
Ss40n1s and this partition aimedeA at res-
So1sMg the Armenian Survivors from tho
xssss Il syria Ia He.op ots;nS s sns
42testlne from Turkish rule ana place
1t6HE.sf6Nam l1ndAr the nrotAcf0rnfA NJ