The Morgan City daily review. (Morgan City, La.) 1916-1920, 1918-10-07
KAISER'S PEACE DRIVE

From the beginning Of the war until
this LAY there has never been the most
remote chance that it would or could end
in a draw. At no time, and least Of an
since the United States entered the strug-
gld, las there been any prospect Of a
peace brought about by barganing-by
using gains to force concessions. Let rs
put the matter concretely.
The Allies have set themselves the task
Of putting an end to Prussian nilitarism,
If they abandon that task unfulfilled,
they have vainly spents four years Of war
at untold sacrifice Of life and treasure.
Germany will never consent to that re-
form until it is compelled to do so. No
discussion can change that situation. The
Allies cannot accept other concessions by
Germany as an equivalent for relinquish-
ing that condition of peace; Germany
will not regard anything else that the
Allies might offer as compensation for
the los Of its military system. That is
the one great point upon which no com
promise is possible.
IT is not the only point. The Allies
will not leave Germany i'll control of
Russia; they will not permit Turkey to
block the Dardanelles, or to retain the
power to Cypress Christians; they will
not suffer France and Italy to be baked
in their righteous claims. They will not
permit Belgium to be any longer at the
mercy Of men in whose eyes solemn
treaty is merely scrap of paper. On
not one of those points can be found the
basis of a compromise. All that Ger
many has to offer as inducement TO the
Allies to yield on any one of them is a
withdrawal from more or less of the ter
ritory it has occupied, devastated and
robbed.
That is conclusive as to the blunder
ingly verbose Austro- Hungarian peace
note, and the reported proposals of the
The note itself was based on
two great errors; first, that there exists,
and is increasing, in any of the countries
fighting against the Central Powers,
longing for "a peace of understanding, =
which in the Austro- Hungarian tongue
reans peace without victory; second,
that the proof of such longing is found
in a moderation of the terms on which
the statesmen of the Eentente would
make peace Neither of those assump-
tions is true. The terms are unchanged.
If there is to be change, it will not be
in the direction of mildness to the Ger
man. AS for longing for peace, every
one has it and has had it all along, but
not now or ever is there any longing for
peace to which Germany and Austria
will willingly consent.
Did not the author of the note, Prince
Macmillan, and those for whom they
act know all that' Asuredly. Whether
it was inspired by an idea, most uncom-
plimentary to those who were addressed,
that they could not see through its So
phistries and erroneous assumptions; or
it was issued in an expectation
that it would spur pacifsts to action and
so promote pacifism in enemy countries
that, in its own language, "streams of
pent-up human kindness would be re-
leased; = or finally, whether it was chiefly
or wholly for effect at home, to strength
en- the accusation that the Allied coun-
tries are responsible for the continuance
OF the war-whatever may have been the
purpose or the expectation, it has left
all the Allied peoples unmoved and I'M
changed in their determination.
The American people, and their allies
are with them, are resolved that Germany
shall gain nothing whatever in territory
or world power from the war that it pre-
pared and provoked Why discuss it
with the KaiSer7