The Oskaloosa herald. (Oskaloosa, Mahaska County, Iowa) 1885-1919, 1918-10-17
IT'S DOWN AND OUT
FOR THE KAISER
NO PEACE WITH MILITARY POW.
Err SAYS PRESIDENT.
AgDICATE OR Be REMOVED
Whatever the Process May Be the
Allies viii Not Treat With Him
AS Long AS He Holds the
Power.
(Rv Robert ]. Benders.O

Washington, Oct. 15.-Kaiser Will
helm must step down from his power,
or his POWER must be curtailed, so
that he will be the merest figure head.
before Germany can have peace.
That is the basic meaning Of Presi.
dent Wilson's decision" with respect
| To his reply for peace to the German
people.
Abdicate or Be Removed.
He can remove himself as the Car
of Russia did long before him, or be
removed such as monarchs have done
since.
Or he can be removed by the Ger
man people themselves who have be-
come tired of his God given" eXer'
else of power to kill them at will.
Must Be Shorn Of Power.
Or the German people can have
quietly internal political reforms when
viii wholly cmasculate the power oil
the Kaiser to declare war or peace.
! That summarizes the views OF Of
! ficials here today the way that Ger
many can have peace.
! Guarantees Must Be Sufficient.
Previous to such a momentons
stcp at such an extreme vital time
there must he sufficient guarantees
given that will not cheat the allies ont
of supremacy should an armistice
come.
! These guarantees may include the
occupation of such a strategic strong
hold as Metz, the REIMBURSEMENT OF
Teutonic submarines and the lifting
of mine fields.
AIsace-Lorraine For France.
One outstanding point which does
not appear in the presidents note, a
point on which the world has been
asking questions, can easily be an
swered. When the president de-
clared that the wrong done to France
when Germany took Alsace-LOrraine
should be righted, he meant that Al
sace-Lorraine should ne returned TO
France.
Those who contend the presidents
decision arranges the situation for
something more than an uncOndition-
Al surrender base it on the argument
that he has now passed the stage
where he might have accepted a sur
render of the German military and
naval forces and left the HohenZol-
Tern autOcracy on its throne.
/ Mr.. Wilson, according to this
> view has now finally informed the
, German people that if they want
peace. they can only attain it by
getting rid of the kaiser and his
system. An armistice, il is true,
might come first and the details OF
/ the downfall of the German, auto
cratic government might be ar
ranged later. But, this is what an
armistice would entail:
Conditions of Arnistice.
| FiIst-A stop to the atrocities on
land and sea and the systematic de-
struction and devastation in the wake
of the retreating German armies.
SGtOflt--l ne ulSdi VI an
the German forces and the deposit Of
their arms and munitions at points
TO be chosen by the allied military
commanders.
Third--'The occupation by allied
forces of certain German cities or
stroaghoids of strategic importance.
Probably also the occupation of all
submarine bases, a turning over Of
the German fleet.
In short it would entail taking
from Germany of everything with
which she might break her word to
an aTmistice.
From that point the United States
and the allies might proceed TO dis
posed of all that remained of kaiser
ism if the German people have not
done it before, as President Wilson
in his note plainly invites them to do.
Guilt is Personal.
While nowhere in the note does
the president openly join with the
enterte statesmen in the demand that
the chief criminals" must be dehy
cred uD for trial, the presidents con-
fdants point out that he plainly sub
scribes TO the doctrine that the guilt
of bringing on the world war is per
sonal
II VIII be noted that the president |
completely rejects the German sug
gestion for mixed commission to
arrange an evacuation and reminds |
the militarisis that they will accept |
the terms laid down by Marshal Foch |
and the associated commanders; that
they will have no part in framing
them.
Cedar piano Eund