Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1918-10-15
BAYONET PEACE
ONLY ONE SAYS
FLOYD GIBBONS
Hum Request for Truce Designated
As International Crooked
"kamerad@ Plea
GERMANY Is NOT LICKED
Army and Navy Yet Intact and
Menace Demo cracy Warns
Against Offers TO Come.


estly declared Floyd Gibbons, no
ted war correspondent, speaking
before a gOod-sized crowd at the
evening. Not a single German
army has been annihilated, not
German town nor city destroyed.
and not an inch of territory Of the
German empire has known or felt
the awful ravages of war Your
sons, brothers and sweethearts
over there will tell you that Ger
many is far from whipped, and
that so long as the Hun bears
arms and the German navy is re
tanned intact, so long is democ-
racy unsafe.
We are facing a crisis in the
great world war We are facing a
terrific danger through over-cOn-
fdence. Your men in the trenches
knew three months ago that an
other mighty offensive was to be
launched, not on the battle field.
however, where your sons, broth
eTs and sweetheaTtS stood ready
with barred bayonets to receive il,
but a peace offensive directed
against the hackers Of the boys
ever there The attack was launch
ed a week ago last Saturday night
"A gigantic attempt was to be
made TO cause 600, 900 minds back
here TO stop thinking war, if even
for a minute, and think peace. Re
ports have flooded the news cen
ters Of the world about false con-
diti0ns in Germany A subtle APP
peal to the spirit OF humznity anil
mating America, was promulgated
in countless clever and hidden
ways. False dispatches were al
lowed 10 filter through the imper-
ial censors of Germany and were
published to the world from Ans,
terdam and Berne. to be reprint
ed in the press of America: its pur-
pose being to influence the minds
OF American people toward peace;
a peace which If made now, would
mark a German victory as surely
as would the capture of Paris by
It's armies.
Germany wants peace now, not
because she is licked, nor because
she fears the allied armies on the
western front at the present time.
She does not fear the Yankee army
IL the trenches today. She knows
that she is in no Immediate dan
ger Of serious defeat German
armies have been forced to retreat
but have not been disastrously
routed as some would believe. Her
backward march has been orderly,
Ike that of . bad man who backs
slowly and unhurTiedly out of a
room fun Of enemies with an auto
matte pistol in each hand.
Fears Americas POtentialities.
What Germany fears is Amer
ica's pOtentialities. She is afraid
Of what America might do with her
almost Unlimited resources, and of
what we are planning to do and of
what we are going to do. Ger
many realizes the ultimate power
Of America, perhaps even better
than do Americans themselves. She
knows what she would do if she
had America as an ally. And so
she is afraid, she sees the hand
writing on the wall She fears not
tie present but the future She
asks peace not because Of present
military, economic or industrial ne
cessity, but TO stave off defeat
which her statesmen recognize is
inevitable If America continues
her program. She is afraid, not of
men, but OF resources.
Resources mean men, material,
equipment, force 10 the utmost.
without stint or limit She fears
that you will send your maximum
tonnage to France every month.
She IS afraid that every loan will
be backed up by America, an
America united and determined
The German fighting man has met
the American fighting man and
knows that he is licked.
Since Aug. %, the day I land
ed in New York, ! have been try
ing to discounteuance the German
peace offensive which l predicted
was coming. l have tried to dis
credit il, expose the sham Of it by
giving the real unyarnished Tea-
cons and motives in the German
mind in making it. 1t came as
predicted. and many were fooled.
How Berlin must have laughed
What is referred to in the dis
patches as the present German
government is the old German
government, camou1aged by a few
pacifstic fgureheads such as
Prince Macmillan and Solf Ger
many occupies Belgium, northern
France, Russia and part Of Ser
bia. Germany wants to negotiate
peace She is like the burglar.
who caught with his loot, asks to
be allowed his freedom.
There will be fiattering offers TO
come Beware Of them. There is
only one peace that viii be endur-
ing peace, That IS the peace that