The Washington herald., 1918-10-09

Peace Door Left Ajar.
The President leaves the door to
peace ajar. but If Germany looks in
she will only see the fatal hand
writing on the wall-unconditiona
surrender. There is no escape from
IL. The words themselves do not
appear anywhere in the Presidents
note. yet they seem to pop out from
every paragraph. and this Is why:
The nrst question asked by Mr..
Wilson is whether or not the lmpe-
rial Chancellor, Prince Max Of Ba-
den, to whom the QUESTIONABLE is
addressed, means that the Imperial
German government is ready to ae-
cept all the principles the President
has laid down as necessary for
peace. "and that its object in enter
ing into discussions would be only
to agree upon the practical details
Of their application"
The second Interrogation. which
goes hand in hand with the first,
has to do with the proposal of an
armistice. The President says that
before he could propose a cessation
of arms to the allies, and before
good faith could be established in
any discussion. Germany would have
to consent TO withdraw her forces
from all occupied territory. There
fore. does she so CONSENT
Asked Whom He Represents.
The third question is a request to
the new chancellor to tell IL he is
speaking merely for the constituted
authorities of the Empire who have so
far conducted the war
The entire matter resolves itself in
\ to the fact that it is impossible to
discuss peace in any manner until
Germany accepts without further ado
the fourteen principles set forth by
the President in his address to Con-
gress on January 8, and in subsequent
addresses dealing with the subject or
peace; also that no discussion can be
begun until Germany has first signl-
fed her willingness to withdraw all
Of her forces from occupied territories
and her submarines from the high
seas.
As a result Belgium, France, Rus
STA. Serbia, Italy, Montenegro and
Rumania will have to be evacuated,
the seas swept clean of submarines
| and Germany will have to stand ready
to allow the adjustment OF colonial
claims with reference to the wishes
Ol lIlc 5ONtAlGN BOPOlaAlOAlg hDeF4AON4
economic control Of Russian territory
indemnify Belgium; restore Alsace-
Lorraine, ,estore Italia Iridenta
consent to the establishment Of an in
! dependent Polish state; see to the re-
| linquishment of Turkish control Of
| non-Turkish populations. and the es-
| tablishment of autonomous govern
ment for the different nationalities Of
| Austria Hungary.
Promise Must Come from People.
! And il Germany says she will do all
| these things. her promise must come
| from one other than a person speak
| ing for the Hohenzollerns and the
military autocracy that plunged the
| world into war. This is why the Pres
ident asks Prince Max for whom he is
speaking, and in reality it is the crux
Of the entire situation.
Should the chancellor's reply indi-
cate that he talks for the "consti.
tuted authorities" his words on this
point alone would end the entire ,epi.
Sode, for, as the President said. we
cannot accept the words of those wha
forced this war upon us And to
which he added:
We do not think the same thoughts
or speak the same language of agree
! ment."
The Presidents unusual departure
in sending a note of inquiry TO the
German government has been the
most surprising feature OF the EN-
trail Powers peace offensive. Every
one believed he would make an al.
swer, which would be a sharp IejeC'
ton, especially I'm view OF the stand
taken on the matter yesterday in The