The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1918-04-04
Peace Ovcrtures From Central
Empires Out Of Question at
This Time
SPEECH OF CZERNIN
OF LITTLE MOMENT
is ATTITUDE TAKEN
Answer May Be Made in Bal
timore Saturday But Admin
istration May Decide to Ig-
more Incident

Ns@7~' I've N%A's ~ ~ n o. G@iIE6 u
Wilson Is expected TO answer on Sat
urday at Baltimore the half apology
and half threat with which Foreign
Minister Count Czernin, OF Austria.
mas explained the sudden ending OF
his recent peace protestations
III VIII be a warning that any
peace overtures from the central EN-
pires at this time should be reca led
as unworthy of consideration unless
II is decided to entirely ignore the
incident While Czernin il nov looked
upon as dangerous tool Of the Ger
man kaiser. and as a hypocrite the
policy OF the administration concern
ing a negotiated peace has not
changed one whit n was Unmarried
by President Wilson within the Last
ten days "a follows
1T il always our duty to find out
what the expression o. a desire for
peace from our opponents really
means. but unless il means com
p}ete and convincing program OF jus-
tice. uptn which a lasting peace can
really rest. It means nothing
In the face Of such policy Ger
nin's statement that the thread OF
peace spun between Washington and
Vienna In January WAS severed by
The enemies OF the central EN- ires, is
&NF4AFeA Ia pe absurd
The speech IS believed to have rep
resented a desperate effort 10 satisfy
a new demand from the Austrian PEG
pie for cessation of hostiiities or
f1cisls assert no other explanation for
discussing world ISSUES before the
Vienna municipal council Is plausi-
bic.
Supervising Bread Riots
A vast amount of information has
accumula ted N Washington showing
the great dissatisfaction among the
Austro- Hungarian peoples with the
terms of the peace Russia was forced
70 accept Revolution which threat
ened to develop from bread riots
throughout the dual empire was only
prevented by exaggerated prom iseg
ot new food supplies from the Tx,
aine.
These promises have not been pos
sthle OF fulfllmeut The resulttng
situation ia believed to have forced
the foreign minister 10 make the hes,
defense he could invent
The statement that Premier Gle
menceau, OF France. addressed Count
czernin with an Inquiry whether and
upon what basis Austria was ready &c
negotiate. and was told that the
French desire for Aisace- j 4orraine was
the only obstacle to peace with that
country. In not credited here.
Al the state department and White
House II was said that knowledge ot
any exchange between Count Ger
min and the French premier had
never been comuunica ted TO this gov
eminent French diplomatic authori-
ties resented any suggestion that the
Austrian officials assertion might
have been other thsn a suhterfuge TO
shift responsibility for his own short
comfngx.
The state department had not re-
retvcd the full text OF the Czernin
staten snt at late hour. but officials
said the excerpts which had become
available were highly interesting =
Want Complete Text.
From the white House an order
was sent to the committee on public
Information to procure the fun speech
with as little delay an possible. Thi:
gave color 10 the unofficial informa-
ton that Count Czernin's statement,
would be given careful consideration
before the speech the president plans
10 deliver In Baltimore on Saturday
IL completed.
Colonel E. NJ. House IN stiil cues,
at the executive mansion, He is un.
derstood to be in entire accord with
the views which have been attributed
to the president.
Count Cxernin's failure to explain
why he never answered the statement
by President Wilson delivered before
congress- on February s. liz regarded
al the White House as substantial
evidence OF his insincerity at this time
In an address before the reichratf
on January Is. the Austrian premier
after comparing views with the presi
dent, extended the following invita-
ton:
I'VE agree not only on great prin.
ciples. in general. according to whict
the world Il to be newly regulated
after the end of this war, but oul
views also approach each other or
several concrete principles"
This situation, which probabl,
arises from the fact that Austria Hun
gary and the United States OF Amer
lea are the two great powers among
two groups of enemy states whose
interest least conflict. suggests thu
thought that an exchange of idea
between these two powers might b'
the starting point for conciliatorl
discussions between all states which
have not entered into peace CONVEX
sations."
I'm an early statement of policies
president Wilson had enumerated
l fourtsen points as essential to- peace
lContinued on Paxs Two.l