Little Falls herald. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1889-1950, 1918-01-25
BELGIUM MAKES
ANSWER TO POPE.
TERMS OF PEACE CALL FOR AR
SOLUTE ECONOMIC AND TER
RIT0RAiL INDEPENDENCE.
PREPARATION IS Demanded
King Albert Tells Pontiff That Coun..
try Desires Passionately That
Unheard Of Suffering
Be Ended.

OnnedTo OF ouHerln9
Be Ended.
Havre, Jan. 24-The Belgian gov.
eminent terms of peace so far as
they concern Belgium herself, set
forth in her reply to Pope Benedict's
peace note, just made public, are, in
substance, absolute Political, economic
and territorial independence.
King Albert, in enclosing his re-
ply, wrote a personal letter to the
Pope, which has just been published.
The letter follows:
Every Holy Father: 1 have taken
note, with lively sympathy and in
terest, of the message that Your
Holiness was good enough to send to
the heads of the belligerent coun-
tries the first of August, and have
fastened to submit it to my govern
ment, which haT studied it with most
serious and deterential attention. The
result o. j---:,t study has been record
ed in note which I am happy to
communicate 70 your Holiness.
Wants Durable Peace.
I'm assoc;at;:2.c;; myself with the
wishes of the Holy See, that Just
and durable peace may promptly put
an end to the evils from which hu-
mainly, and particularly the Belgian
people So rudely tried are suffering.
l beg Your Holiness to believe in my
filial and respectful attachment.
(Slgned.) ALBERT"
This letter was dated December ~.
1917.
The note Of the Belgian govern
ment says among other things:
Nothing has modified the situa-
ton that existed at the moment the
royal government last made known
its point of view to his holiness.
However, Belgium seizes eagerly the
occasion furnished by his holiness to
repeat before the civilized world what
it wrote nearly year ago to Presi.
dent Wilson,:
Observed Neutrality.
Before the German ultimatum
Belgium aspired only to live on good
terms with all it's neighbors. She
practiced with scrupulous loyalty to-
ward each Of them the duties i'm.
posed by this neutrality.
How was she recompensed by
Germany for the confidence she
showed in her? If there is a coun-
try that has the right to sit, took up
arms to defend it's existence it as.
suredly is Belgium. She desires pas.
slonately that an end be brought to
the unheard sufferings of it's popula.
ton but she would have kept only a
peace that would assure her at the
same time equitable reparation and
security and guarantees for the fu-
ture.'
PREPARATION Demanded.
The integrity of Belgium, the terri
tory of the mother country and COL
onies, political, economic and mill,
tary independence without condition.
or restriction, reparation for DAM
age suffered and the guarantees
against the renewal of the aggres-
sions of 1914-such remain the in;
dispensable conditions of a just peace
SO far as concerns Belgium. Any SET
t1ement that would not recognizes
them would shake the very founda-,
tions Of justice, since it would for
ever more be established that in in:
; ternational domains the violation of.
right creates a claim for it's author
and may become a source of profit.
"Since the royal government a year
ago formulated it's conditions, it per-
mits itself to recall that the Reichstag
voted resolutions called peace reso.
lutions. The chancellors and minis.
tiers Of foreign affairs have followed:
each other in the German empire, and
more recently in the central empires,
and have published notes replying to
the message of his holiness, but never
a word has been pronounced and never
a line written clearly recognizing the
indisputable rights of Belgium that his
| holiness has not ceased to recognizes
and proclaim