The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1918-09-16

Nachrichten OF Berlin The Boersen
| Ieitung places no great hope in the
offer. and The Berlin Post fears the
| offer will be again interpreted by
entente countries as weakness and a
| sign of impending collapse, as well
as a begging for peace on the part
| of the Central Powers.
"A discussion of the timeliness of
the Austrian step is useless, says
| The VorWaerts. "Once 1t was made
without the German government
taking a similar step, there Is moth
ing for Germany to do but to give
it adhesion. This is the only way
of preventing harmful effects and
permitting the good effects to be
fully developed. Austria's peace ten
tatiyes will be welcomed by the
widest circles Of the German people
and many hopes will be placed in it
but 1t is necessary to utter warning
over hasty optimism"
Through tho fault of both sides
obstacles to peace have been piled
mountain high, according to Kreuz
Zeitung. which fears that the Aus
trian note wifi be futile and may even
lead to a result opposite to that in
tended.
"All the iIl-success which similar
steps by the Central Powers have
has not taught the Austro- Hungar-
ian cabinet anything" says the
Taeglische Rundschau. eft is abso-
lutely inconceivable what motive in
duced the Austro- Hungarian gov
eminent now officially to repeat the
step taken in the letter to Prince
Sixtus."
The Deutsche Zeitung says:-
THE i'll success which has hither-
to attended our peace offers does
not encourage us to hope for much
from Count Burian's proposals for
the promotion for the peace idea.
the German government from SFarn-
lining the Austro- Hungarian note
benevolently and thoroughly"
The Peace Offer.
Amsterdam, Sept. 15.-The Aus
in an official communication tele-
graphed here from Vienna, suggest
ed that there be no interruption Of
the war, and that the discussions
would go only so far as considered
by the participants to offer prospects
Of success"
The proposal calls for all the bel
ligerents to send delegates for a
confidential and unbinding discus
sion on the basic principles for the
conclusion of peace, in a place in
a neutral country and at a near date
that would yet have to be agreed
upon.
The proposal says the conference
would be one of delegates who
would be charged to make known to
one another the conception of their
governments regarding those prin-
ciples and to receive analogous COM
munications, as well as to request
and give frank, candid explanations
on all those points which, need to
be precisely defined"
The government announces that
note embodying it's suggestions had
been addressed to the various bellig-
erent powers and that the Holy See
had been appraised Of the proposal
in a special note. The governments
of the neutral states also had been
made acquainted with the proposal.
Text of Note.
The text of the official cornmuni-
cation reads:
Without optimism it at least as
suredly may be deduced from the ut
terances of responsible statesmen
that the desire to reach an under
standing and not to decide the war
exclusively by force Of arms is also
gradually beginning to penetrate in
to allied states, save for some ex-
ceptions in the case Of blinded war
agitators, which are certainly not to
be estimated lightly.
1.-THE Austro- Hungarian govern
ment is aware that after the deep
reaching commissions which have
been caused in the life of the peo-
pes by the devastating effects Of
the world war it will not be possible
to establish order in the totter-
ing world at a single stroke. The
path that leads to the restoration Of
peaceful relations between the peo-.
ples is cut by hatred and embitter-
ment. It is toilsome and wearisOme,
vet it is our duty to tread this path
the path of negotiations-and il
there are still such responsible fac
tors as desire to overcome the oppo-
nent by military means and to force