Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1918-12-11
Count Czernin Points
to Ludendorff as the
Obstacle of Germany
By Associated Press

vienna, Dec. Il.-COuHl NDCl NH
the former Austro- Hungarian For
eign Minister. accuses General Lud-
endorff, the Quartermaster General
of the German army and virtual
dictator of the empires military pol
icy in the last days of the conflict, as
the man who stood between the Cen
| trail Empires and peace on numer-
Gus occasions. Ludendorff was
adamant throughout efforts to in
duce the German government to
make concessions of an important
nature that would have gone far to-
ward ending the war. Count Czernin
saws. He outlined what in his esti-
nation were the problems to be set
tied before peace can be made Sc
cure, and expressed hope for an
agreement among the nations of the
world to disarm.
Recounting the desperate efforts
on the part of Austria to reach some
sortL of peace before the final and
absolute collapse of both the Ausz
trian and German empires, Count
Czernin said:
England in Way of Peace
THE German people wanted peace
long ago, and even Emperor William
wanted to see the end of the war,
but the attitude of England prevent
ed steps being taken. Emperor Will
liam said to me on one occasion:
How can we get peace with England
declaring we must be destroyed"
Nothing is more dangerous in pol
itics than to see things as you wish
to see them; not as they are. We un-
derstood that the only way to arrange
matters was to get England and Ger
many to agree.
with the knowledge of Emperor
Charles, | proposed to Emperor Will
liam that Austria would give Ger
many the province of Galicia and
permit her to have her way in Rus
sian Poland, provided, Alsace and
Lorraine were ceded back to France.
l went. to Kreizenach and presented
tht plan to DIR. -Hollweg,
then German Imperial Chancellor.
Later he informed me that he was
forced to decline to enter into the
scheme. l do not know whether or
not Ludendorff had a hand in the
matter, but l was informed that it
was impossible to give up Alsace and
Lorraine because thelGerman people
never would understand. the giving
up of land which had cost so much
blood.
CZcTnin Tries Other Way
THE situation of Germany was
dangerous, but nothing could be
done. Our conversations were pleas
ant and friendly, and our sacrifices
were appreciated by officials. saw,
however, that l could not arrange
the matter because Germany was
obliged to obey the military party. |
then tried another way. Unknown
to the Germans, sent Herr Nassilko,
a Socialist member of Parliament, to
Berlin to talk with Matthias Erzber-
ger, the Clerical leader, and DIR. AL
bert Q. w. Suederkum, Social mem
ber of the Reichstag. He was to tell
them why the war must end and give
them both to understand that an
other peace resolution should be in
troduced in the Reichstag, directed
against both the military party and
the pan-G Germans.
Reichstag Fails to Act
"At this juncture, however, the
German armies began to win VIC
tories once more and the Reicbstag
did nothing. Thus we We're badly
situated. When our chances were
bad and the Entente nations were
tldltnI lllCy WOulu nOl ldih p6dCe.
When we were winning, Ludendorff
would not consent to permit peace
negotiations. l always wanted to use
victory as an opportunity to bring
about peace, and several times had
an impression that l might succeed.
II sent Count Mensdorfr to Switzer-
land to see General j. C. Smuts, (who
was in Switzerland last March in the
interests of the British government).
He succeeded, but 1 was unable to
tell just what terms Germany would
make. l do not recall that Mr. Lloyd
George the British premier, men
toned any conditions last Febr-
uary. Germany assured me that no
definite offers were received from
England. and 1 believe this was true
Mistrusted England and France
England appeared to intend to
crush Germany. and France showed a
similar attitude. President Wilson
was the only head of an Allied power
who did not appear to have this in
mind. Emperor Wilson could not
bring himself to yield Alsace and
Lorraine.
Regarding Emperor William feel
that he did not want the war, but
he did not know how to get out OF
it. In this, I believe. the heads of the
Entente powers are wrong. for they
probably believe he caused the strug-
gle. l was minister to Rumania when