Bisbee daily review., 1918-05-17
BRITISH READY TO HEAR PEACE TALK" DALFOUR
Claims Teutons Have Never Made Fair and Honorable Proposals; World Must Be
 Free from Hun Domination.
CRy Review Leased wirel


 LONDON, May 16.-I'he British secretary of foreign affairs, Arthur ]. Balfour. in giving explanations in the house Of commons today in connection with Emperor Charles letter to Prince Sixtus of Bourbon. recently made pub Inc by the president of the French re- public. declared that no effort at con versations has ever been made by the central powers in the interest of a fair and honorable peace. and he added:
 If any representative of any bellis- erent country desires seriously to lav before us any proposals. we are ready to listen to them"
 The letter in question had been ex- amined by committee of the French chamber. said Mir. BalfOur. and the conclusion was that it did not provide an adequate or satisfactory basis fO- an honorable peace.
 7eplie5 To Questions
 Mir Balfour in his explanations was reply ing to questions submitted by the Right Hon Walter Runciman. former president of the board of trade, who asked whether. when Emperor Charles. letter was communicated to the French government and by the French government to the British prime min- ister. it was communicated to any other of the allies; had the American government any information as to what was passing? Did the prime min ister inform the foreign office at the tune of the fact that the communism ton had been shown to him? Why were the negotiations drOpped-was 1t on purel~ tCTritorlsl grounds; was it ecause a demand was made by France. not only for Alsace-Lorraine but for the 1Slt line, or even the 179O !inee
 MT. Balfour explained that he had no secrets from President Wilson. He was in America at the time and had net gone very thoroughly into the mat ter The letter. however. had been conveyed by Prince SiNtus to F'resi- dent PoiLcare and the French premier u;.Ger sea. e the strictes. sccrecy. Only the B.i.ist sCvareigr and pre- mier were to see it. Therefore. it was not communicated to the president 9f tra United States and tao American government was no better informed of the facts regarding the letter than he was himself.
 Letter Kept Secret
 'In international affairs" Nr Bal four said it is not a good thing to necessarily discourage informal at- temDts at conversation. But we have never at any time initiated cOnversa- tions of that sort. We have never turned down conversations when other people wished them. IT any rep resentative of any belligeTent country desires seriously to lay before us any proposals we are ready to listen tO them. Of course. we are not going tO depl without the cOgnizance of our allies The mere fact that such con versatiOns are of an informal char acter makes them a very improper sub ject for discussion in the house.
 "The letter tO which public atten- ton is directed was a private letter written by EmperOr Charles to a rela- tive (Prince Sixtus of BOurbon) and conveyed bv him 10 President Pom care and the French premier under seal of the strictest secrecy. but with no permission tn communicate it to any one except the sovereign and pre- mier of this country. The letter was
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