The Washington herald., 1918-06-02

is what the leader OF the Centrum
said, at a time when the chancellor
, himself was still occupied with Presi-
dent Wilson in order to throw no OBJ
stacles in the way of an understand
ing.
Not only did the Centrum then
take the view that IL the enemy con-
tinued in his will to destroy us we
should reserve for ourselves complete
freedom of decision, despite the July
resolution, but it previously had an
nounced t would take up this same
attitude at a definite date. Deputy
Fehrenbach. one OF the warmest and
most convinced supporters of the July
resolution. defined its sense and mean
ing in these words: The foundation
of the peace resolution is based on
the military and worldwide POLITICAL
situation: its goal is an honorable
peace in the course of the year 1917.
But II our enemies will not have this.
they will be the ones who give us
| back again the freedom of our de-
cision.' This. too. was in the Reich
stag. October 9. 1917.
Every intelligent Individual must
admit that the present attitude OF the
| party has grown clearly and delIb-
SAdNSiy OuS VI III 494is am
| rightly so. From the beginning the
Centrum mas taken the standpoint of
the government. whose three chancel-
lors have agreed with the July reso-
luton; with them IL has always main
tanned that the July resolution, like
! the German answer OF August to the
| Papal note. was to be nonlicense to
our opponents to prolong the war at
| their pleasure.
Socialists Plead Weakness.
So the Center party proudly declares
itself for a free hand in the vest
| but the Socialist Majority party.
while doing the same thing. hangs its
head and tries to pretend that it is
sorry. but can't do anything to stop
! rest of the world. I'm all parties"
drawn up by the leaders. there are
probably men who are convinced that
an annexation peace in the west as a
supplement to the annexation peace
in the east would not be for Ger
many's good. but there is no solid ma
| jority will in the .Reichstag to act
| consistently on this conviction. II the
action in the west closes with a COM
plete military success, II France and
England can really be forced to sub
nit to the conditions imposed upon
| them by the conqueror. then it is
improbable that the Reichstag will
appear as a deciding factor.
"Minorities are powerless and can
do nothing more than protest A
| Reichstag majority determined to i'm
press its will upon the coming peace
does not exist. Social democracy will
do its duty to the end, and will utter
warnings agaisnt what it considers
unsalutary. 1t will maintain its con-
| ception of the coming peace even
against the opinion of the greatest
military leaders, and not weaken its
| efforts to make its convictions felt.
How far this will be possible depends
upon the judgment and energy of the
bourgeois parties. therefore there is
no reason to look into the future too
optimistically as far as this matter is
! concerned"
! The spirit Of this declaration is well
/ summed up in a remark by an ironi-
cal Socialist deputy: Even if a
! strong peace is obtained in. the west,
Social democracy will know how to
put up with it."
| There remains one small party, the
| Progressives, who have professed
themselves ready for a just peace
without annexations. Their spokes-
man, DR.. Ablass. explained in public
the Progressive attitude now as fol-
lows: THE much attacked peace
resolution was at that time an abso-
lutte necessity. to prove to the people
that Il was no desire for annexations
that was prolonging the war. The
peace concluded in the east and the
results gained there were vindica-
ton Of the Reichstag and its foreign
policy. But the peace resolution Of
July 10 was not an unalterable pro-
gram. 1t was not an offer to the en-
emy by which the Reichstag had
bound itself for all time. Because oi
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