River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1918-10-03
President Pointedly Answers
Peace 0VertureS From the
Central Powers.
MUST Be GUARANTEED
Terms Will Be Impartial Justice to
All Nations and Germany Will
Have Chance to Redeem
Her Character.

New York, Sept 28.-Impartial jus.
tice to all nations will be the price OF
peace, the fundamentally indispensa.
BILE to secure it is q league of nations
formed not before or after, but at the
peace conference; and Germany as a
member will have to redeem her char.
acter, not by what happens at the
peace table, but by what follows"
This was President Wilson's answer
given before an audience of Fourth
Liberty Loan workers here, to the
recent peace talk from the Central
powers, although he did not refer
specifically to the utterances Of enemy
leaders.
Peace was not a question, declared
the President, of coming to terms"
for eve cannot come to terms with
them" as they have made it impos.
sible."
Peace must be guaranteed for there
will be parties to the peace whose
promises have proved untrustworthy
and means must be found in connec.
ton with the peace settlement to re-
move that source of insecurity"
Unouaranteed Peace Folly.
''It would be folly to leave the
guarantee to the subsequent voluntary
action of the governments we have
seen destroy Russia and deceive Rou-
MANIA" he continued.
The President emphasized that the
justice to be obtained by the league
must involve no discrimination toward
any people. This he set forth explicit.
ly in set of five principles which he
enumerated as "the practical pro.
gram" Of Americas peace terms and
for the maintenance of which the
United States Is prepared to assume
its full share of responsibility"
These principles were, he said:
First, the impartial justice meted
out must involve no discrimination be.
tween those to whom we wish to be
just and those to whom we do not wish
to be just 1t must be justice that
plays no favorites, and knows no stand
ard but the equal rights of the several
peoples concerned;
Second, no special or separate In.
terest of any single nation or any
group of nations can be made the basis
OF any part of the settlement which is
not consistent with the common inter.
est of all;
Third, there can be no league or
alliance or special covenants and I'm.
derstandings within the general and
common family of the league of ma.
tiOns;
Fourth, and more specifically there
can be no special, selfish economic
combination within the league and mo
employment Of any form OF economic
boycott or exclusion except as the
power OF economic penalty by exclu-
sion from the markets of the world
may be vested in the league Of nations
Itself as a means Of discipline and con.
troll;
Fifth, all international agreements
and treaties Of every kind must be
made known in their entirety to the
rest OF the world.
Issues Of War Restated.
Mr.. Wilson re-stated the issues OF
the war as follows:
Shall the military power of any ma
ton or group OF nations be suffered to
determine the fortunes Of peoples
over whom they have no right to rule
except the right OF force?
Shall strong nations be free IN
wrong weak nations and make them
subject to their purpose and interest
Shall peoples be ruled and domi.
mated, even in their own internal af-
fairs, by arbitrary and irresponsible
force or by their own will and choice ?
Shall there be a common standard
or right and privilege for all peoples
and nations or shall the strong do
as they will and the weak suffer with.
out redress?
snail the assertion Of right be
haphazard and by casual alliance or
shall there be a common concert IN
oblige the observance of common
rights?"
He added: mo man. no sroun ~
men, chose these to be the issues Of
the struggle. They are the issues of