Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1918-01-03

Hun TERMS OF
PEACE IMPOSSIBLE
New York Writer Says to Make
Peace Now Would be to Reject
Christ and Accept Judas
IscariOt
New York, Dec. 31.-The peace
terms proposed by Count Czernin al
the congress of Brest-Litovsk are in
admissible because they make nc
provision for the restoration of Bel
GUM and Northern France. A thou
sand other objections might be ad
vanced, many of them equally valid
but they would only serve to compli-
cate the discussion and obscure the
issue.
The German assault on Belgium
was an attack upon all international
law. The German method applied
to Belgium was q violation of all the
doctrines of civilization and common
humanity. Exactly the same is to be
said of German methods in France.
Today, having plundered France
and Belgium, murdered the helpless
and dishon0red the weak, having tax.
en- every detail Of national wealth
that could be transported, from the
machinery of the factories to the
bells Of the churches, having eRe,,
evicted the dead from their tOi4bs
to make room for German corpses,
Germany comes before the world
seeking peace without annexation
and without indemnity.
The purpose of the present gesture
IL plain. Germany IL not proposing
peace because she expects It; she ia
not making an offer in good faith.
How could the German government
act in good faith! She Is proposing
terms known by her to be impossible.
terms she would not offer were there
any chance that they would be &C
copied. solely to satisfy the peace
cries Of her own public and corrupt
the allegiance of the war weary in
enemy nations. III
The Imperial German government
has commissioned the bolsheviki, the
red-handed anarchists who have de-
molished Russia to German. profit,
to become her agents in allied coun-
tries and persuade them to make a
peace of betrayal, peace Of dis
honor. peace carrying with 1t the
seeds Of new wars.
And while the German delegates
at Bret-Livotsk utter fair words
covering foul purposes the kaiser
thunders forth the old familiar Ian.
guage: the German sword and the
German iron, backed by the "Old
German God" await those who
longer resist German might.
= There you have 1t ALL, an epitome
Of Germany in the world of today.
On the one hand the soft words
which beguiled US all for years. and
behind them the sword of the con-
queror and the torch of the essential
Huns. They threaten US with slaugh.
ter IL we do not meet their false pro-
fessions with suppliant humanity.
They who burned Louvain, massa'
cred Belgium, spread ruin-wanton
ruin-in France from Rheims to Ar
ras. they who have connived at Ar.
menian massacres and Serbian atroc-
titles, would make a peace of justice
with their victims, a peace Of justice
by which they would graciously spare
those they have not slain-against
the next time.
No; with Germany of the lying
tongue and the brutal sword this
world cannot make peace, will It
make peace. Such peace would be-
tray humanity, abandon those who
have died fighting for liberty, for
civilization, and justify all the Ger
man has said regarding the character
of his foes. We would be the deca,
dents and. the degenerates he has
charged US with being could we
strike hands with him-as he now
stands.
1t may be long before we can deal
with the German. The road to a
just peace may be filled with great
obtacles and demand of those who
follow 1t still heavier and more ter
rible sacrifices. But there is no
choice. All else would be madness,
all else would be ultimate cowardice.
To coudone that murder which we
took arms not to tsvenge but TO
make impossible Of repetition; to
make peace with the murderer. still
in possession of his blo0d-stained
profits. this would be to reject the
Christ-not for Barrabas, but fol
Judas Iscariot himself
The beginning of just peace Is
reparation, restoration, restitution
There ia no other way-while the
Belgian crime stands, while the
criminal remains, his gains still un
restored, there can be no peace. II
we now make new covenant It will
not be q covenant of peace. We shall
in fact, agree to and accept as fiRa
the Doctrine Of force. the gospel OF
blood and iron. We shall have Their
conQhered, and the German, In full
recognition Of the truth, will resume
his Preparations, collect his energies
for the new assault which shall com
plets the task Of making the Gernnax
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