The Punta Gorda herald. [volume] (Punta Gorda, Fla.) 1893-1958, 1918-10-24
Third PEACE NOTE
Received MONDAY
From Germany is Given Unfavor-
able Comment
IN AMERICA AND ENGLAND
The Answer Seemingly Accepts
All Demands of President Will
son.-Denies Charges of Out
RACES on Land and Sea.


The unofficial text of Ger
many's answer to President Will
sons last note on the subject of
an armistice and peace, was re-
ceived in Washington Monday
and published in Tuesdays daily
papers. Both American and Brit
ish newspaper comment ON the
answer is very unfavorable. The
general sentiment continues to de-
mand unconditional surrender on
the part of Germany, whose arm
les are being rapidly driven out of
France and Belgium. The view
taken is that Germany, realizing
her defeat, is trying by cunning
diplomacy to save her armies and
navy and, also, save her territory
from invasion. Public sentiment
as reflected by the press in the
countries fighting Germany is,
that Germany, arch-criminal of
the ages, should be made to fully
atone for her countless and un-
paralleled crimes and should be
granted no peace until such a.
tonement has been guaranteed by
unconditional surrender. &
The following is the unofficial
text of the German answer:
In accepting the proposal for
an evacuation of occupied terri
tories the German government
has started from the assumption
that the procedure of this evacua-
tion and Of the conditions of an
armistice should be left to the
judgment of the military advisers
and that the actual standard on
both sides of the field is to form
the basis for arrangements safe
guarding and guaranteeing this
standard.
"The German government sug-
gests to the president that an OPP
portunity should be brought a.
bout for fixing the details. 1t
trusts that the president of the
United States will approve of no
demands which would be irrecon-
cilable with the honor of the
German people and with opening
a way to peace and justice.
"The German government pro-
tests against the reproach of il
legal and inhumane actions made
against the German land and sea
forces and thereby against the
German people. For the cover
ing of a retreat destruction will
always be necessary and they are
carried out insofar as is permitted
by international law. The Ger
man troops are under most strict
instructions to spare private prop
erty and exercise care for popula-
tion to the best of their ability. |
Where transgressions occur in
spite of these instructions the
guilty are being punished.
"The German government fur
ther denies that the German navy
in sinking ships has ever purpose
fully destroyed lifeboats with |
their passengers. The German
government proposes with regard |
to all those charges that the facts
be cleared up by neutral commits
sions.
"In order to avoid anything
that might hamper the work of
peace, the German government
has caused orders to be dispatch
ed to all submarine commanders
precluding the torpedoing of pas
senger steamers without, however,
for technical reasons, being able
to guarantee that these orders
will reach every single submarine
at sea before its return.
GAS a fundamental condition
for peace the president prescribes
the destruction of every arbitrary
power that can. separately, Sc u