The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-09-18
AUSTRIAN EFFORT ] ID BEFOOL ALLIES
 CLOSED INCIDENT Brief Reply of America Re jecting Proposal Already
 on Way to Vienna
NEXT MOVE OF
 ENEMY AWAITED
Believed Possible That Austria May Now Agree to Principles as Laid Down by President and
 Make New Offer

Washington, September 17.
 Austria's peace offensive is
 a closed incident so far as the
 American government is con- |cerned.
 Secretary Lansing sent to the Swedish minister today the
 note authorized last night by
 President Wilson flatly reject ing in two short sentences the
 proposal of the Austro- Hun
 garian government for secret land nonbinding peace discus |sions. It was started on the cables at once for transmission
 to Vienna by the foreign office at Stockholm.
 The Presidents action-including the precedent-setting brevity of the reply and the promptness with which it was delivered-drew expressions of approval during the day everywhere in Wash |ngton, at the capitol, among officials and throughout the allied diplomatic cir cles. The responses from other nations at war with Germany are expected to follow quickly.
 COURSE HEARTILY APPROVED IE the Senate Senator Lodge of Mass achusetts, republican floor leader and ranking minority member of the for egn relations committee voiced the feel
 ing of Congress on the subject in pre- pared speech, heartily approving the Presidents course as both wise and right The United States, the senator said, can talk peace only to a Germany beaten and deprived of power further to harm 8 wronged world He was fol- lowed by Senator McComber, of North Dakota republican. and Senator Thomas Iof Colorado, democrat, with like express sions On the House side, Representative Fess, of Ohio, chairman of the repub- lican congressional committee, spoke in approval, declaring that the quick re- ply might jar upon diplomatic ears but is justified as rebuke to the double dealing of our enemy
 Unequivocal rejection Of the Austrian offer from all the allies will be in ac- cordance with the general policy which has governed the entente powers and America in meeting the German peace offensives. Prompt action is regarded as the surest means of defeating the un- deriving purpose of the central powers | to shake the allies and develop fatal weaknesses by the encouragement of the 1 expression of the individual aims and 1 views of the separate states. Foreign Minister Balfour's comment Is accepted in Washington as sufficient indication of | the attitude of Great Britain and 1t is 1 not doubted similar expressions will be ] forthcoming from other entente capitals l in the next few days.
 NEXT MOVE AWAITED | Regarding this phase of the peace cam paign practically closed the administra- 1 tion Is now closely watching for the next move on the part of the enemy for 1t is not believed that they will abandon their efforts It has been suggested that. de- nleG unlimited fields of secret discus- 1 sion of war issues Austria may attempt a coup by assenting to a restriction or the discussion to the principles laid down by President Wilson as the only pos sible basis of peace.
 Ii was said authoritatively to- day that such n proposition would he accepted. Hut this statement wns accompanied by significant reminder of conditions which must he met preliminary to any such discussion. These are that the central powers must withdraw completely from all occupied ter ritOry in France and Belgium, Italy, Russia and Serbia, the Ger mans must drop the subterfuge of the Brest-Litovsk treaty made ny Germany with Russian agents, hired to betray their country; they must loosen their hold upon the wheat fields of Ukrainia and the oil wells of Serbia and Russia, and l all of this must be done before l America would consent to talk of l peace. even upon <the basis of the 1 Tresfdent's stiuulatiOn.
 TERMS WELL KNOWN l Attention was called to the fact that | in his reply Secretary Lansing referred l to the terms upon which the United States would consider peace as having l been stated repeatedly. That meant not
 only that the four propositions laid down by President Wilson in his Fourth of July speech at Mount Vernon must be considered. but that they must be con 1 sidered in conr ection with other declara- tions from the same source. It was | particularly intended, 1t was explained | that there should be held in mind the l fourteen propositions stated by the Presi dent in his address to congress January Is last Whereas, the Fourth of July speech stated simply broad general prin- ciples that should govern any peace dis I cussion, the address to Congress laid
 down details of the positions and there fore should be the governing utterance tContinued on Page Two)
 
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