The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-09-16

leSS' ana hlSn-mlnded statements O principle.
 It is known from more or less Ger man declarations that the central pow. CTS are willing and anxious to enter 2 league of nations to make future wars impossible, and also to guarantee tho freedom of the seas and the right o1 self-determination of oppressed peo' peoples and immunity from seizure oi private property at sea.
 WOULD SERVE GERMANY
 Hut all these aItruistic princi-
 ples, 1t is expected, would be bent
 to serve German purposes, if the
 "discussions' were to bear the
 fruit expected by the authors of
 this latest peace offensive. The
 league of nations involves inter-
 national disarmament, according to
 the German idea, upon a scale pro-
 portioned that the central pow
 CTS would continue to be dominant
 from the military point of view.
 The freedom of the seas from the German view would involve the aban- donnent by Great Britain of Gabraltak Malta and, Suez, and the other great naval bases and Qualifications upon which depends the life of the British navy and the security of the British lines of communications with India and heT other COlOHidl pOSSbSSlOHS. IHo immunity from seizure. of merchant shipping would make impossible such a splendid blockade as that by which the British, American, French and Italian navies have isolated the Germanic pow CTS
 Finally, it is considered that the
 purpose of acceptance of the prin-
 ciple of the right of se1f-determi-
 nation of small nations is to ac-
 
 sition. German officials do not con-
 template n re1inquishment of her
 control of Alsace-Lorraine, nor Po-
 land, nor Schleswig- HOlstein, nor
 even of the border States which she
 has wrested from Russia and she
 feels that the surest way to main
 tain her hold is to defeat this prop
 osition of seIf-determination by
 making the independence of Irc-
 land and India condition of its
 acceptance.
 AUSTRIA IS CATS PAW
 London, September 15.-Austria again is Germanys cats paw, was the comment generally heard in London today when the news of Austria's invitation to the belligerents to confidential nonbinding discussions at neutral center" became public. It was not considered sllrpris- ing that Austria should make a move to secure peace for Vienna, since the early days of September has been the scene of many conferences of the states ot the central powers and the Tehtonic allied monarchs.
 Week before last Admiral Won Hintze, the German foreign minister, was there and besides having long conference With Baron Burian, the Austro-H Hunga- rian minister, was received in audience by Emperor Charles. Likewise, King Ferdinand of Bulgaria on his way back to Sofia, had conversation lasting an hour witli Emperor Charles. Talaut Pasha, the Turkish grand vizier, also has been lowering around Vienna and Budapest a'id giving out interviews de- claring that military victory for either side is now impossible.
 It has been thought the Austrian Elm peror intended to ask for mediation either by the King of Spain or the Queen of Holland, but he has gone no further than, without disclosing any terms, to ask for a nonbinding discus sion and incidentally by sending to the pope to endeavor to secure the pontirt s support for the proposal.
 NOTE REACHES LONDON
 London, September 15.--It is under stood that the government has received the Austro- Hungarian peace note and also the proposal. previously referred to that all the powers should withdraw their troops from the Murman terri tory.