The Fargo forum and daily republican., 1918-01-02
General Peace Is
Great Russian Aim
Correspondent Predicts That Present
Government Will NeUer Sign A
Separate Peace Treaty
Central PoWerS Expected To Make
NeW Declarations On Peace
Conditions Within Ten Days

members OF opposition political
| parties"
The Daily News correspondent
says further that considerable num-
bers Of Red Guards are being sent
/ TO reinforce the front and that other
preparations for defense are be.ne
made,
/ 1t is not clear from the dispatch
or The Daily News correspondent
when the meeting which is said to
nave resulted in the breaking Of of
peace negotiations was held and
there is a possibility that the report
refers TO an alleged rupture OF
negotiations several days ago when
! the discussions were adjourned.
German Demands.
Il have private and reliable in
formation with regard to the break
ing off OF the peace negotiations.
which establishes beyond doubt the
/ honesty OF purpose of the BoIsh-
eviki," says the correspondent.
whose dispatch is dated TUESDAY.
The central powers proceeded to
make more detailed statement of
terms, from which IL appeared that
| they consider Poland, Lithuanla.
Courland, ETC., had already defined
themselves They further based
their demand on the statement of
Ukraine that 1t would not recognize
| peace negotiations at which ID was
not represented officially. The
demanded that they should keep
garrisons at Riga. Libau and other
strategic points.
The Russian delegation. acting on
unequtvOcal instructions from the
BolesheVtk authorities, took an un-
compromising attitude. They said
selt-dehnition was impossible until
the last German soldier had left the
country. Further. they jeered the
Germans asking what they proposed
to do. They asked whether they in
tended TO take Petrograd and feed
S,O0O,OOO starving folk, or TO disarm
revolutionary country in which
every workman had a rife They
also asked what the Germans
proposed to say to their own democ-
racy which protested a couple OF
months ago against the proposed an
nexatiOn Of Poland and Lithuania.
They remarked that they were sur
prised that even the Prussian junk
ers had such audacity.
The Germans asked time for con-
sideration and begged that this stage
of the negotiations should not be
published. The Russians refused TO
allow this and left Brest -Litovsk."
Negotiations for a general peace
at Brest-Litovsk were adjourned
Dec. rs until Jan. 4. Since then at
Brest-Litovsk and i'm Petrograd rep
resentatives of Russia and the cen
tral powers have been discussing
informally points to be settled in
the event Of a peace agreement be.
ing reached. Provisional agreement
has been reached on some points but
the Russian proposals regarding oc-
cupted territories we're not received
with favor apparently by tho Ger
mans. A report from Amsterdam on
Dec. 81 said that DR.. Won Kuehl-
mann, the German foreign secretary,
would appear before the foreign
committee Of the German bundsrath
on Wednesday to explain the status
Of the Russian negotiations.
Petrograd, Tuesday, Jan. 1.-Ths
Russian peace delegation returned to
Petrograd today and reported TO q
joint session of the central executive
committee of soldiers and workmen's
delegates and the Petrograd council
OF soldiers and workmeR's deputies
the progress of the negotiations with
the Austro- Germans at Brest-
Litovsk.
M. Kameneff. a member OF the
Russian delegation, read the German
terms, which he characterized as
showing the positive annexatios plans
Of the central powers and he declared
they were unacceptable in their pres
ent form. He added that the terms
had not been discussed.
If. after the resumption of nego-
tiations," the delegate said, "the Ger
mans insist upon the terms Russia
viii conclude peace not with the aer-
man imperialfsts but with the repre-
sentatives Of the people, the socialists
OF Germany"
Will Make New Statement.
London, Jan 2.-The central