The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-09-16

possibility of success.
 The Austro-H Hungarian government ha
 therefore resolved to point out to al
 the belligerents, friend and foe, a pati
 considered practicable by it and to pro
 pose to them jointly to examine. in z
 free exchange of views whether thos' prerequisites exist which would mak'
 the speedy inauguration Of peace nego
 tlatlons appear promising. To this enc the Austro-Hungarian government ha!
 belligerents to a confidential and unbind ing discussion at neutral meeting place and has addressed to them nott drawn up in this sense.
 POPE NOTIFIED
 l This step has been brought to the knowledge of the Holy See In a specia
 note and an appeal thereby made to the pope's interest in peace. Furthermore the governments of the neutral states have been acquainted with the steE taken.
 "The constant close accord which ex- l 1sts between the four allied powers war l rants the assumption that the allies oi l Austria hungary, to whom the proposa 1 is being sent Yn the same manner, share l the views developed in the note | The official telegram proceeds to say l that the note has been drawn up In 1 French and runs as follows:
 "The peace offer which the powers of
 the auadruple alliance addressed to their ! opponents on December 1z, 1916 and the 1 conciliatory basic ideas of which they 1 have never given up, signifies. despite l the rejection which it experienced, an 1 important stage in the history Of tnls war. In contrast to the first two and a 1 half war years the question of peace 1 has from that moment been the centre : of European, aye, of world discussion,
 and dominates 1t In ever increasing
 measure.
 I Almost all the belligerent states have | in turn again and again expressed them-
 selves on the question of peace, it's pre- requisites and conditions.
 s'The basic standpoint changed and on the influence of the military and poll 1 tical position, and hitherto. at any
 rate, it has not led to a tangible gen. eral result that could be utilized. 1 Tt is true that, independent of all these oscillations, it can he stated that
 the distance between the conceptions or l the two sides. has, on the whole, grown
 somewhat less; that despite the indls- puta b1e continuance of decided ana nun ! erto unbridged differences, a partlai turning from many of the mose :, | treme concrete war aims Is visible ana ] a certain element upon the relative gem 1 eral baslc principles of world peace l mapifests itself In both camps Ihere ] is undoubt edly observable Tn Wlde cidss-
 es of tho population growth of the Will | to peace and understanding. Moreovei' I comparison of the reception ot the ] peace proposal of the powers ol .ne 1 ltnladruple alliance on the part Of thelr l opponents with the later utterances ol ] Iesrons:ble statesmen of the latter, as well as of the nonresponsible .put, Ill a 1 noriticaI respect nowise uninfluentlai 1 personalities, confirms this impression.
 DEMANDS MODIFIED l While, for example. the reply of the l allies to President Wilson made de- mands which amounted to the dlsmem- berment of Austria Hungary, to dlmn- ! ution and a deep internal transforma- l tion of the German empire, ana the ae- l struction of Turkish European owner
 ship, these demands, the realzatioii .. M which was based on the suppostlon ot
 an overwhelming victory, were later modified in many declarations rom oill- ] cial entente quarters, or in part were dr opped. ,. 1 .1rhus in declaration made in the British House of Commons year aso,
 Secretary Balfour expressly recoghlzea
 that Austria Hungary must ltselI soise l ifs internal problems, and that no one conld impose constitution upon ter many from the outside. Premier Lloyd George declared at the beginning or thls year that it was not one or the aIies war aims to partition Austria II hungary 1 to rob the Ottoman empire or US lurh- | ish provinces, or to reform 0eiihahs Internally.
 4If may also be considered symptom atic fhat in December, 1917, MT. bal- 1 fo IT. categorically repudiated the as l su,nl.tion that British policy had ever engaged itself for the creation oi an independent state out of the territories or the left bank of the Khlne
 I "The central powers leave II m no doubt that they are only wag- ing n war of defenss for the fntes- r,tx ana the security of their terri tories.
 Far more outspoken than in the do- main of concrete war aims has tne rap- prochement of conceptions proceeueo ie- garding those guiding lines upon tue pa sis of which peace shall be cohcluueu and the future order or Europe a',u ,, sa.e world built up Ill this direction Presl- ldent Wilson, in his speeches of February 1 1e and July 1 of this year. has formuiat- ed p,ineip.es which have not encounter ed contradiction on the part oi Iis ai liss and the far-reaching application or which is likely to meet With no ooJee- ton on the par, of the powers o1 tue ouadruple alliance aiso' preSupp9'll' ss ana' that this application is general ana re- lohclIstuIt Niti t'iS '-~>~'
 states concerned.
 "rt is true. if must be remembered, that an aprc. nent on general principles IS insufficient. but that there remains tne further matter of reaching all accoru upcn their interpretation ana tneil ap plicaticn to individual concrete war anu anu peace questions. ,na,e csn ba no dotibt that in all the bellig ger ant states without exception, the uesiTe | for q peace of understandMg mas oeen enormously strengthened. that the con
 victian is increasing that the iurller
 continuance of the bloody struggle must { transform Europe into ruins ana into q | state of exhaustion that VIII mar ies development for decades 70 seoine-aiu | this without any guarantee or therepy hrinainr abo,lt that decision by arms which has been vainly striven aiter py l both sides in four years filled With ehor- nous sacrifices, sufferings anu eAei sio,a .,' 1 Tn what manner, however, can 'he
 way he paved for an understanding ana
 an understanding finally altalneu S i | there any serious prospect whatever ol
 reaching this aim by continuing ,ie Nis. cussion Of the peace problem III 'ne ""s
 hitherto followedg
 LACK COURAGE
 i We have not the courage 70 answer
 the latter question in the a. rmatiVe'
 The discussion from one public tribune
 to another, as has hitherto taken place 1 between statesmen of the various couh-
 tries. was really only a series or mono logues. It lacked, above everything, di- rectness. Speech and counter-speech did not fit into each other. The speakers spoke over one another's heads
 1 "On the other hand, was 1t the pup l licity and the ground of these dlscus-