The sun., 1918-10-10
QUESTIONSPUT
IN WILSON NOTE
CORNER KAISER
Wilhelm Must "Fish or Cut
Bait" Is Opinion of Great
Britain.
"
WHO RULES IN GERMANY?
This Considered Most Import
ant Question in Peace
Situation.
WHO RULES IN GERMANY?
Special caoie Despatch TO THr Sun.

Copyright. 1915: oil Tiohts reserved.
LONDON. Oct. 9.--The Kaiser now
must fish or cut bait" This homely
american saying comprehensively ex-
presses the opinion of Great Britain
as to the effect OF President Wilson's
reply to the German request for an
armistice and q peace conference.
OF the Presidents three preliminary
questions. each Of vital moment, the
one that goes deepest to the root of
matters Is that asking IL the German
proposal is put forward by those who
made the war and SO far have con-
Quoted It. Upon the truthful answer
to that question depends the measure
Of reliance which can be placed upon
Germany's replies as to whether she
accepts Internationally President Will
sons fourteen points. is prepared to
evacuate all occupied territory and
will furnish evidence OF good faith In
desiring an armistice.
Germany as yet has not furnished
any conclusive evidence that the I'm
perisl Goverpment. as reconstructed.
does not come within President Wilson's
category OF those who are without honor
and accept no principle but their own
interests. with whom Il Ia impossible
for civilized nations to come to terms.
Nor must It be forgotten that the
Strasburg Post, commenting on the
formation of the Prince Macmillan
Government, declared, Even among
.ln l..
ratiziug Germany. All that is desired
is TO monentariiy unite all forces OF
the nation for common action"
Horns OF Dilemma.
In diplomatic circles in London Pres
ident Wilson'S questions are regarded as
placing the Kaiser and the German Gov
ernment on the horns of a dilemma in
demanding whether the German Chan
cellor is the spokesman of a new Ger
many In which the Kaiser has no stand
ing In the settlement of the war. or II he
speaks for the old imperialistic Germany
in which the Government IL simply the
mouthpiece of the HohenzollernS mill
tary party.
While the Foreign Office is not making
any statement, in official circles 1t is
known that there Is warm approval of
President Wilson'S demand that Ger
many answer STRAIGHTFORWARD questions
before any further steps toward peace
be taken. 1t is held that a salts factory
reply TO President Wilson's queries
would he definite acknowledgment of
German defeat, while any ambiguous re-
sponse would stamp the German pro-
posal as simply a trap to give time for
the extrication of the German armies to
prepare new lines of defence.
II the Allies fell into the trap II
would enable the Kaiser's army chiefs
to convince the German people that they
are the savlors of the fatherland by
preventing any allied force being on
German soil at the time of the conclu-
sion Of peace. Thus they would rivet
militarism upon the German people and
preserve the prestige of.the army. The
almost certain abuse OF the armistice
that might be expected could quite
easily enable the German rulers to pur-
suo a policy that would reinstate them,
temporarily at all events, in a position
Of absolutism. which they have dsa-
vowed nominally-only nomInally for
their own purpose.
Must Quit Invaded Lands.
In military circles President Wilson'S
statement that no armistice is possible
30 long as enemy armies are upon the
soil OF allied countries is not taken to
mean that any such evacuation of allied
territory would be carried out except
under pressure OF the allied armies.
They, believe that the Germans will get
back TO their own frontiers as best they
can.
Military men agree that Germany's
appeal for an armistIce Is due not only to
the fact that the military position every
where is bad, with eventual defeat GER
tain, but also to the fact that the Ger
man army on the western front to-day
cannot escape without disaster from the
desperate situation into which Foch has
maneuvred II.
From the standpoint OF the army lead
ers the best way of destroying the
military party of Germany is to infiict
such a disaster upon the German army
as will utterly discredit the military
party with the people of.Germany. As
II has been reported that both Luden-
dorff and Hindenburg have told the
Kaiser that a German defeat is in
evitable II is not beyond the probabili-
ties that the Prnssian mllitarists, whose
tradition II has been to reckon with
facts, may now bow to facts and come
to the conclusion that the situation is
irretrievable and can only grow worse
" prolonged. They thus may accept
the logic of the situation In the form
Of unconditional surrender.