The Benson signal., 1918-01-19
which has hitherto known no relenting
Power Apparently Is Shattered.

Power Apparently Is Shattered.
Their power apparently is shattered
and yet their soul is not subservient.
They will not yield either in principle
or in action. The conception of wnat
is right, of what it is humane and
honorable for them to accept, has been
stated with frankness, a largeness Of
view, generosity of spirit and uni
versal human sympathy which must
challenge the admiration of every
friend of mankind; and they have re-
sert others that they themselves may
be safe.
"They call to us to say whether it is
that we desire, in what, if in anything
theirs; and l believe that the people
of the United States would wish me to
respond with utter simplicity anC
frankness. Whether their. present
heartfelt desire and hope that some
way may be opened whereby we may
be privileged to assist the people of
Russia to attain their utmost hope of
nb. rty and ordered peace.
1T will be our wish and purpose
that the processes of peace, when they
are begun, shall be absolutely open and
that they shall involve and permit
henceforth no secret understandings
of any kind. The day of conquest and
aggrandizement is gone by; so is also
the day of secret covenants entered
into in the interest of particular gov
ernments and likely at some unlocked
for moment to upset the peace of the
world.
'It is this happy fact, now clear to
thoughts do not still linger in an age
that is dead and gone, which makes it
possible for every nation whose pur-
poses are consistent with justice and
the peace of the world to aVow now or
at any other time the objects it has in
view.
Demands That World Be Safe.
eve entered this war because viola
tlons of right had occurred which
touched us to the quick and made the
life of our own people impossible un-
secured once for all against their re-
currence. What we demand in this
war, therefore, is nothing peculiar to
made fit and safe to live in; and par
ticularly that it be made safe for every
peace-loving nation which, like our
own, wishes to live it's. own life, deter
mine it's own institutions, be assured
of. justice and fair dealings by the
other peoples of the world as against
force and selfish aggression.
All the peoples of the world are in
effect partners in this interest and for
our own part we see very clearly that
unless justice be done to others it will
not be done to us. The program of
program, and that program, the only
possible program, as we see it, is this:
81. Open covenants of peace, orenly
arrived at, after which there shall be
no private international understand
ings of any kind but diplomacy shall
proceed always frankly and in the pub
lie view.
"2. Absolute freedom of navigation
upon the seas, outside territorial wa
ters, alike in peace and in war; except
as the seas may be closed in whole or
in part by international action for the
enforcement of international covenants.
3. The removal, so far as possible,
of economic barriers and the establish
ment Of an equality of trade condi-
tions among all the nations cOnsenting
to the peace and associating them
selves for it's maintenance.
"A. Adequate. guarantees given and
taken that national armaments will be
reduced to the lowest point consistent
with domestic safety.
Adjustment of Colonial Claims.
IS. free open-minded and abso-
lutely impartial adjustment Of all colo
NAL claims, based upon strict OBJ
mining all such questions of SOW
ereignty the interests of the popula-
tions concerned must have equal
weight with the equitable claims of
the government whose title is to be
determined.
"6. The evacuation of all Russian
territory and such a settlement of all
questions affecting Russia as will Sc
the other nations of the world in OBJ
tanning for her an unhampered and un-
embarrassed opportunity for the inde-
pendent determination of her own
political development and national pol
icy and assure her of sincere well
come into the society of free nations
under institutions of her own choos
ing; and, more than welcome, as
sistance also of every kind that she
may need and may herself desire The
treatment accorded Russia by her sis
be the acid test of their good will, of
their comprehension of her needs as
distinguished from their own interests
and of their intelligent and unselfish
sympathy.
81 Belgium, the whole world will
agree, must be evacuated and restored
without any attempt to limit the SOW
ereignty which she enjoys in common
with all other free nations. No other
to restore confidence - among the ma
tions in the laws which they have
themselves set and determined for the
government of their relations with one
another Without this healing act, the
whole structure and validity of inter
national law is forever impaired.
Alsace-LOrraine Must Be Settled.
"8. All French territory should be
freed and the invaded portions re-
stored and the wrong done to France
by Prussia in 1871 in the matter of
A1S A1SdC0-LOFrdlu0, WnlCn mas unsettled
the peace of the world for nearly fifty
years, should be righted, in order that
peace may once more be made secure
in the interest of ALL
"9. readjustment of the frontiers
of Italy should be effected along clear
ly recognizable lines of nationality.
40. The peoples of Austria Hungary
whose place among the nations we
wish to see safeguarded and assured,
should be accorded the freest opportu-
nifty of autonomous development.
I'll. Rumania, Montenegro and Ser
bia should be evacuated; occupied ter
ritories restored; Serbia accorded free
and secure access to the sea; and the
relations of the several Balkan states
to one another determined by friendly
counsel along historically established
lines of allegiance and nationality, and
international guarantees of the polit-
ical and economic independence and
territorial integrity Of the several Bal
kan states should be entered into.
"12. The Turkish portions of the
present Ottoman empire should be as
sured a secure sovereignty, but the
other nationalities which are now un-
der Turkish rule should be assured an
undoubted security of life and an alb
solutely unmoleSted opportunity Of au-
tOnomous development, and the Dar-
danelles should be permanently opened
as free passage to the ships and
commerce of all nations under inter-