New Britain herald., 1918-09-17
GERMAN CLUMSY AS IMITATOR OF WILSON
Cannot Speak or Dress Like Presi-
 dent, Baliour Declares

London, Sept. 17.-A. J. Balfour, his personal viewpoints on the Aus trian peace note to visiting journalists said.--"lt is incredible that anything can come of this proposal" II cannot honestly, in the proposals now made to us as I have been able 1 to study them,' Mir. Balfour said,
 ''see the slightest hope that the goal l We all desire--the goal Of peace which shall be more than truce-can really be attained.''
 [ The Foreign Secretary said he was ! utterly unable to see that a conference proposed by Austria could have the 1 desired end. He said he agreed with l the Austrian note when it's authors l said that the whole civilization was at ! stake and that the prolOngation of ] hostilities was a risking or sacrificing I of great deal that was really dear to | everybody interested in the progress [ of mankind. The terms of peace and war were so tremendous and the 1 calamities imposed by the continual | ton of hostlbtieS so overwhelming he said. that he would never treat With disrespect any peace proposal. Conversations such as were propos- ed by Autria-Hungary MT. Balfour said, undoubtedly would have great value under certain circumstances. 1 He said they would serve to smooth out obscurities such as questions of pride, etc, but he declared that the questions now between the bel ligerents were definitely defined. 1T am not taking the proposals of {xry<~ 0fI Toe hut rNf last week." Secretary Balfour said. ] 'The German vice chancellor, speak ing for the German government, clear ly and without obscure verbiage showed where Germany stood on the 1 question of Belgium, Alsace-Lorraine, the German colonies and the Brest- Litovsk and Bucharest treaties No Indemnity for Belgium. It could not be more clearly set forth than it was by Won Payer last | week that Germany intended to pay no indemnity to Belgium, MT. Balfour continued. He indicated, the foreign l secretary said, that Germany did not l believe in the principle of indemnities, and yet at the same time she is squeez- ! ing millions of dollars out of Russia. 'This,' the speaker went on, was ! for the wrongs Russia is supposed to | have done Germany. How can those wrongs be compared with the devasta- l tion and ruin which Germany is ] wreaking on Russia now?"
 Regarding the question of colonies, l Secretary Balfour said:
 The colonies are one question on | which there is no misunderstanding We stand on one side and Germany on l the other.'
 \ Ppfa ri TO to Inc nf @ i effort by the Central Powers, as em- 1 phasized by the Von Payer speech and ] the Austrian note, the foreign secre- ! tary pointed to the clumsiness of Ger | man diplomacy.
 "The German" he added, "excels in l direct, simple brutality, but when he l tried to dress in President Wilson 8 | clothes or tries to act as President | Wilson would act he is clumsy" The foreign secretary continued:
 Won Payer made long speech last l week in which he gave utterance to 1 words which were perfectly explicit
 and quite unmistakable. Take Bel
 gium, for example. The phrase he
 uses is a very curious one, but I SUD-
 pose it is intended to mean that Ger
 many feels that she really must re-
 store Belgian independence. She does
 not say what she is doing to do to re-
 store Belgian prosperity or that in
 dem mites are to be given to the coun-
 try she wasted, brutalized and rav-
 aged.
 But it seems that if Belgium will
 consent to make certain notifications
 in her internal arrangements she is to
 be allowed to get back her independ-
 ence. Explicit though 1t be, it explic-
 itly refuses that which we think ob-
 Viously just, namely, restoration of
 and indemnity to Belgium, which has
 been so monstrously treated.
 "Von Payer stated that the German
 boundaries should remain intact, which
 of course means that Germany will
 keep Alsace-Lorraine. There are no
 misunderstanding between the bellig-
 erents on that score"
 MT. BalfOur recalled that Won Payer
 said the Brest and Bucharest treaties
 should stand and declared:-
 There is no misund there
 It is in black and white without cir
 cumspection or fine phrasing. No
 dexterity of dialogue is going to
 smooth differences of that kind.'
 Mystified by Note.
 The Secretary said that he could