New-York tribune., 1918-01-26
Clever, but Insincere

certain amount of astuteness in his reply
to the recent American and British state
ments of peace terms. He had two pur
poses in view. The first was to allay
insistent peace clamor at home by declar,
ing that the German government found
some of President Wilson's fourteen peace
conditions acceptable and was willing to
go on discussing the others. This mani.
festation of interest in the statements of
the Allies was also intended to reawaken
pacitist agitation in Great Britain, France
Italy and the United States, where it had
been almost stilled by the speeches of
President Wilson and Premier Lloyd
George.
The Chancellor's second purpose was to
forward the scheme of the German mill
tary party, now in complete control of the
government, to bring about a settlement
of all embarrassing questions of territorial
readjustment by q give-and-take negotia-
ton around the green table. Germany
has always been willing and anxious to
make peace on the basis of the war map
The peace the Hindenburg party wants is
one which will enable Germany to retain
generous share of her present conquests
Berlin is therefore willing to concede in
advance the application of general princi-
ples-like mo annexations and no indem-
mites" and the "self-determination of peo-
ples," if only it can entice the Allied pow
ers into a general peace conference. at
which not general principles but the war
map will form the actual basis Of settle
ment.
This purpose was ingenuously disclosed
in the negotiations with Russia. With the
Austro- Hungarian Foreign Minister, Count
Czernin, as spokesman, the Teutonic pow
ers announced willingness to accept the
Russian formula of mo annexations and
no indemnities," and later subscribed, in
appearance, to the programme of "self-
determination" But when the other AL
lied nations declined to be represented in
the Russo-Teutonic conference the German
mask was dropped, and Lenine and Trotz,
ky soon discovered that Germany meant to
retain control of Poland, Lithuania and all
the Baltic territory which her armies had
occupied and to decide for herself the fut-
Empire.
1t is true that Count Czernn has
not yet acquiesced entirely in this bald
Reputation of principle which would be
very useful to the Dual Monarchy in the
way of guaranteeing its own territorial in
tegrity in general peace settlement But
Germany is the controlling factor in the
in the end determine it's peace policy. 1t
would be foolish for the Allied powers to
assume that she would not pursue her Rus
sian tactics in the West, in the Balkans
and in Asia If allowed to enter general
peace conference with all the prestige to
which the present war map entities her.
What Chancellor Won Hertling aims at
is to open the way for separate territorial
bargains with the various Allied powers.
Of those of President Wilson's fourteen
peace specifications which affect all coun-
tries and relate to international agree
ments for the freedom Of the seas, the
abolition of secret diplomacy, equal trade
conditions, general disarmament and a
league Of nations, the Chancellor accents
SouiC anu uciIuIS W OtHcrS only to de-
tails. But when it comes to the rearrange
ments of territory which the Allies hold
to be necessary in order to guarantee
future peace and to do away with the dis
content of submerged and oppressed peo-
pies, he adroitiy suggests that such oues-
tions concern only the nations whose terri
torlal holdings or conquests are directly
involved. Thus, although refusing abso
lutely to consider the return to France of
Alsace-Lorraine, he says that the restora-
ton of the occupied parts of Northern
France is a question to be settled between
France and Germany; the evacuation of
Russian territory is a matter between the
Central Powers and Russia; the status of
Poland is to be determined by Germany
and Austria-Hungary; the cession to italy
of the Trentino and Trieste and other ter
ritory on the Adriatic, race autonomy
within the Dual Monarchy and reaGiust-
ments in the Balkans in order to give Ser
bia "a window on the sea-" are issues
which must be dealt with primarily by
Austria Hungary, Italy and the Balkan
States, and the partitioning of Turkey
must be taken up first of all with the
Turkish government
This is a clever manpuvre, exactly in
line with the German policy of dividing the