The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1918-10-24
President Refers Question
of An A1mistice to
Military Leaders
NOTE NOW In
GERMAN HANDS
German Armies Must Be
Left Powerless to Re
new Hostilities

washington, Oct. 24-No arnnis-
tice except under conditions Of sur
render.
No peace with the kaiser and his
war lords, now or later.
Thus President Wilson has given
in advance his own final decision in
informing the new spokesmen of
their request that he take up with
the allies their plea for an armistice
and peace negotiations. s
The Presidents reply to the latest
German note has gone on it's way
to Berlin. 1t was delivered to Fred
erick Oederlin. the Swiss charge
here, last night at 9 o'clock and
soon afterwards was on the cables in
plain English, no time being lost to
convert the Presidents uncompro-
missing sentences into code. APP
parently the exchanges which had
been in progress between Washing
ton and the allied capitols since the
wireless version of the German COM
munication was picked up Monday
terminated late In the afternoon: en-
abling the President to reply just
eleven hours after the official text
had been delivered.
Assurances of the present authori-
ties at Berlin that they represent
+
the conditions of peace he has laid
down and that the German armed
forces on land and sea will observe
the rules of CIVILIZED warfare, are
accepted by the President only as
changing the situation sufficiently
to- warrant him in formally submit
ting the questions involved to the
nations with which the United
States is associated in the war.
Must Be Left Powerless
In doing this, without mincing
words, he tells these authorities and
through them the German people,
that the only acceptable guarantee
of their words must be submission
to terms of an armistice that will
make it impossible for Germany to
renew hostilities. that the Kaiser
still holds the power to control the
empire and that until he and his ali
focrats are out. surrender and not
peace negQtfations must be demand
Sd.
while this uitimatum, is sinking
home in Germany, the allied gov
ernments will be preparing for the
next move. which lies with them
acting in harmony with the United
States, First. there is to be deter
mined, as the President asks, wheth-
er the allies are willing to effect
peace on the conditions enunciated
by him and accepted by Germany
If they do. the question of an armis-
tice will be submitted to the mill :
tary advisers Of all the co-belliger-
ents and when the necessary condf-
tions to render the German military
machine powerless for harm have
been formulated. the program will
be forwarded to Berlin.
One point that those in the con-
fidence of the President emphasized
today lis that the President and the
United States government are now
through with separate dealing with
the German authorities. The whole
situation is before the co-belliger-
ents governments and the future
announcements viii be of the United
States and the allied governments
acting in concert.
President Wilson's reply was sent
broadcast to the world from the Ar
lington naval radio station last
night after the official text had been
put on the cables. If not picked up
directly by the great German station
at Nauen, it undoubtedly was relay
ed from other points in Europe in
time to reach Berlin this morning.