Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1917-09-06
THE pREsIDENT'T REPLY

Pope Benedict's peace proposal made
two weeks ago, replied in manner an
[ ticipated by all America. II was a
| wholly respectfully reply, recognized
the honesty of purpose of the great
church head, and applied reason in
support of the stand of the great
American people, that permanent
peace cannot be attained in the man
ner outlined by the Pope in his pro-
posal.
Iheupresideut very wisely avoided
discussion of the several angles of
the Pope's proposal, yet made it plain
why America entered the war and
what she is now battling Tornado
1T plain that America desires only q
| permanent peace and that it is bat
tllDg to remove the cause of discord,
The thing that will continue to be a
constant menace to peace and the
free peoples of the world so long as
1t has a semblance of power-is bat
tllng to remove from power the Ii
henzolerans and militarism, to re-
move them forever. To return to
conditions as they existed before the
war and without re4uiring reparatlon
the president explained would be
wholly intolerable as that would
leave the HohenzoIlerans and the
milltarists still in power and only
postpone the day when they would
continue their efforts for world dom
ination and world subjugation.
Equality of the peoples of the world
after the war was the dominant
thought of the presidents reply, for
he said:
"The American people have suffer
ed intolerable wrongs at the hands of
the imperial German government.
but they desire no reprisal upon the
the German people, who have them
selves suffered all things in this war,
which they did not choose. They be-
lleve that peace should rest upon the
rights of peoples, not the rights of
goyernments-the rights of peoples
great or small, weak or powerful
their equal right to freedom and
security and self government, and to
participation upon fair terms in
the economic opportunities of the
world the German people, of course,
included, if they will accept equality
and not seek domination.
Again disclaiming that America
has desire for any material gain, the
president said:
We seek no material advantage
Of any kind. We believe that the in
tolerable wrongs done in this war by
the furious and brutal power of the
imperial German government ought
to be repaired, but not at the expense
of the sovereignty of any people
rather vindication of the sovereign
ty both of those that are weak and
those that are strong.
Punitive damages, the dsmem.
berment of empires, the establish
ment of selfish and exclusive eco
nomic leagues, we deem inexpedient
and in the end worse thar futile, no
proper basis for a peace of any kind
least of all for an enduring peace.
that must be based upon Justice and
fairness and the common rights of
mankind -
The German people, not the Hohen-
zollerans and the militarists, must
sooner or later realize the sincerity
of the president and of the American
people, realize that it is for their good
as we'll as for the rest of mankind
and for 81! time that this war is be-
ing waged by America.
When the president said: eve can
not take the word of the present
rulers of Germany as guarantee of
anything that is to endure, unless ex-
plicity supported by such conclusive
evidence of the VIII and purpose of
the German people themselves as the
other peoples of the world would be
justified in accepting" he had in
mind the violation of Belgium (the
scrap of paper), the violation of prom
ises as to submarine warfare and the
terrible manner in which non COM
battants IN all territory invaded by
the Germans have been treated,
1t is an agreement by the German
people, speaking as democracy,
which must be had and not an agree
ment made by Hohenzolleran, an
agreement that cannot be broken at
will by any individual or set of indi-
viduals as other agreements have
been 80 ruthlessly broken in the past
by the imperial German government.
| Peace will come when cruel, re-
lentless autocracy is compelled to &C.