The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-09-16
EXCHANGE OF VIEWS OBJECT OF PROPOSAL,
 AUSTRIA H U N GARY
 TELLS BELLIGERENTS
Continued from Page one)

1 to bring the peace efforts nearer to realization and bridge the gap which at present still separates the belligerents l from one another.
 i "A more effective means must there
 fore be considered whereby the respon- sible factors of all the countries can be
 offered an opportunity to investigate the present possibilities of an understand l ing,
 l The first step which Austria-Hungary, l iil accord with her allies, undertook, on 1 December 12, 1916, for the bringing l about of peace did not lead to the end 1 hoped for
 | 'The grounds for this lay assuredly l in the situation at that time. In order I to maintain i'll their peoples the war spirit, winch was steadily declining, the allied governments had by the most 1 severe means suppressed even any dis cussion of the peace idea. And so it came about that the ground for a peace ! understanding was not properly prepar- ed. The natural transition from the widest war agitation to condition of conciiation was lacking.
 1t would, however, be wrong to be. lieve that the peace step we then took
 was entirely without result. It's fruits consist of something which is not to be
 erlooked-that the peace question has not since vanished from the order of the day The discussions which have been carried on before the tribunal of pup lie oEinon have disclosed proof of the no. slight differences which today still separate the warning powers in their conception of peace conditions. Nevertheless an atmosphere has been | created which no longer excludes the dis cussion of the peace problem. Without optimism, it at least assured | ly may be deducted from the utter ances of responsible statesmen that the | desire to reach an understanding and
 not to decide the war exclusively by 1 force of arms is also gradually begin
 ming to penetrate into allied states, save l for some exceptions in the case Of
 blinded war agitators, which are cer
 tainly not to be estimated lightly.
 "The Austro-Hungarian government is aware that after the deep reaching con
 vulsions which have been caused in the I life of the peoples by the devastating effects of the world war it will not be 1 possible to re-establish order in the tot I tering world at a single stroke. The path that leads to the restoration of peaceful relations between the peoples is cut by hatred and embitterment. It is l toilsome and wearisome, yet it is our duty to tread this path-the path of ne- gotiations-and if there are still such re- sponsible factors desire to overcome 1 the opponent by military means and to I force the will to victory upon him, there can nevertheless no longer be doubt that I this aim, even assuming that 1t is att l tsinable. would first necessitate further sanguinary and protracted struggle.
 DIRECT DISCUSSION But even later victorious peace will
 no longer be able to make good the con- sequences of such a policy-consequences which will be fatal to all the states and peoples of Europe. The only. peace which could righteously adjust the still divergent conceptions of the opponents would be a peace desired by all the beo- ples. With this consciousness. and in its upswerving endeavor to work in the in terests of peace, the Austro-Hungarian government now again comes forward with the object of bringing about di- rect discussion between the enemy pow ! ers
 "The earnest will to peace of wide classes of the population of all the states whc are jointly suffering through the war-the indisputable rapprochement in l individual controversial questions, as | well as the more conciliatory atmosphere 1 that is general--seems to the Austro- Hungarian government to give certain guarantee that fresh step in the in
 terests of peace which also takes ac-
 count of past experiences in this domain