The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1918-10-24
ANOTHfR GERMAN NOTE
Received Monday Again Asks for
Peace. and Offers Further
Assurances of Good Faith.

The second proposal from Ger
response to President Wilson's re
at Washington Monday, and while
the president has not yet replied to
it, it. is not thought that the note
will be accepted, but further nego-
versal demand among the people Of
the allies that nothing but uncondi-
tional surrender should be accepted.
In the meantime the allies are ra pid-
ly driving the Germans back to
German territory, and it will not be
ed out of both Belgium and France.
The text of the note follows:
''In accepting the proposal for an
evacuation of occupied territories the
German government has started
from the assumption that the pro
conditions of an armistice should be
left to the military advisers and that
the actual standard of power on
both sides in the field is to form the
basis for arrangements safeguard
ing and guaranteeing this standard.
to the president that an opportunity
should be brought about for fixing
the details. 1t trusts that the presi-
dent of the United States will ap-
prove of no demand which would be
irreconcilable with the honor of the
German people and with opening a
way to peace of justice.
The German government protests
against the reproach of illegal and in
humane actions made against the
German land and sea forces and
thereby against the German people.
For the covering OF retreat de-
structions will always be necessary
and they are carried out insofar as
is permitted by international law.
The German troops are under most
strict instructions to spare private
property and to exercise care for the
population to the best of their abil-
ity. Where transgressions occur in
are being punished.
The German government further
denies that the German navy in sink
ing ships has ever purpOsely Destroy
ed life-boats with their passengers
The German goyernment proposes
the facts be cleared up by neutral
commissions.
"In order to avoid anything that
might hamper the work OF peace, the
German government has caused or
ders to be dispatched to all submar-
pedoing of passenger ships without 4
however, for technical reasons, being
able to guarantee that these orders
will reach every single submarine at
sea before it's return.
"As fundagaental condition for
peace the president prescribes the
that can separately, secretly and of
it's own single choice disturb the
peace of the world. To this the Ger
man government replies:
Hitherto the representation OF
~1~ s,, J., n n q
not been endowed with an Influence
on the formation of the government.
''The constitution did not provide
for a concurrence of representation
of the people in decisions of peace
and war. These conditions have Just
change. A new government has been
formed in complete accordance with
the wishes (principleD of the repre-
sentation of the people, based on
equal, universal, secret, direct fran
chise; - 49,, uoo+ no,+ios
of the reichstag are members of this
government. In the future no GOV
ernment can take or continue in Of
flee without possessing the conf
dence of a majority of the reichsstag.
,'The responsibility Of the n.aaan chan
feor fsp Of o the The e%1ae eope is IS faf beng
developed and safeguarded. The
first act of the new government has
been to lay before the r! reichstag af "a
bill to alter the constitution OF the
empire so that the consent of the
representation of the people is re,
uuired for decisions on war and
peace.
"The permanence of the. new sys-
tenn is, however, guaranteed not onlv
by constitutional safeguards, but also !
by the unshakable determination OF
the German people whose vast ma
jority stands behind these reforms
and demands their energetic contin-
uance.
''The question of the president
with whom he and the governments 1ts
dealing-is therefore answered in a
clear, unequiyocal manner by the
and an armistice has come from a
government which is free from any
arbitrary and irresponsible infiu..
ence, is supported by TIL approval of
an Overwhelming majority of the
German people.
IL