Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1918-01-08

the people and government OF Great
Britain. There Is no confusion OF
counsel among the adyersarles OF
the central powers. no uncertainty
OIL principle, no vaguenesS OF detall.
I Ihe only secrecy OF counsel, the oniy
iack oi lcatrISSS frankncSS, tie onIy
failure to make definite statement OF
the objects Oh the war, lies with Ter
many anu her allies.
| THE issues of life and death hang
upon these definitions. No States
man who has the least conception
OF his responsibility ought 1or u mo-
ment to permit ahimseif to continue
this traglcai and appalling outpour-
ing of blood ana treasure unless he
1 is sure beyond a perauventure that
The objects of the vital sacrifice are
part and parcel of the very life of
society and that the people for whom
he speaks think them right and i'm
peratiVe as he does.
I Russia Asks For Terms
| There is, moreover, voice calling
i for these definitions of principle and
4 OF purpose which is, it seems to me,
more thrilling and more compelling
than any of the many moving voices
with which the troubled air OF the
world is filed. 1t is. the voice of the
i Russian people They are PROSTATE
and al but helpless, it would seem,
/ before the grim power of Germany,
which has hitherto known no re-
lenting and no pity. Their power,
apparently is shattered. And yet
their soul is not subservient. They
will not yield either in principle or
in action. Their conception of what
is right, of what it is humane and
honorable for them to accept, has
been stated with a frankness, a large
ness of view, generosity of spirit
and universal human sympathy
| which must challenge the admiration
of every friend of mankind; and they
have refused to compound their
ideals or desert others that they
themselves may be safe. They call
to us to say what it is that we desire,
in what, If in anything our purpose
and our spirit differ from theirs, and
l believe that the people of the
United States would wish us to re-
spond with utter simplicity and
frankness. Whether their present
leaders believe it or not it is our
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 liberty 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 under
standings of any kind. The day of
conquest and ACKNOWLEDGMENT is gone
by; so is also the day of secret
covenants entered into in the inter-
est of particular governm and
likely at some unlooked-for mo-
ment to upset the peace of the
world. 1t is this happy fact, now
clear to the view of every public
man whose thoughts do not still
linger in an age that is dead and
gone, which makes it possible for
every nation whose purposes are
consistent with justice and the
peace of the world to avow now OF
at any. other time the objects it has
in view.
I'VE entered this war BECAUSE
violations of right bad occurred
which touched us to the quick and
made the life of our own people im-
possible unless they were corrected
and the world secured once for all
against their recurrence.
American Demands
What we demand in this war
therefore is nothing peculiar to our
selves. 1t is that the world be made
mt and safe to live in; and parti-
culafly that il be made safe for
every peace-loving nation which like
our own, wishes to live its own life
determine its own institutions: be
assured of justice and fair dealings
by the peoples of the world as
against force and selfish aggression.
All the peoples of the world are in
erect partners in this interest and
for our own part we see very clearly
! 1nlncC inc ha Il
1T will not be done to us. The pro-
gram of the worlds peace, therefore
is our program, and that program,
the only possible program, as we
see it, is this:
Open Covenants
l-Open covenants of peace,
openly arrived at, after which there
snail be no private international un-
derstandings of any kind but diplo-
macy shall proceed always frankly
and in the public view.
Freedom of the Seas
"2-Absolute freedom of nayiga-
ton upon the seas. outside terri
torial waters. 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 in
ternational covenants.
Equality of Trade
o. HS REMOVAL. so far as pOS-
slble of all economic barriers and
the establishment of an equality of
trade conditions among ali the ma
tions consenting to the peace and
associating themselves for its main
tenance.
, Reduction of Armaments
. adequate guarantees given
! and taken that national armament
, Will be reduced to the lowest point
consistent with the domestic safety.
. Colonial Claim
"a free, open minded and alb
solutely. impartial adjustment of all
coloniaf claims, based upon a. strict
: observance of the principle that in
determining all such questions of
sovereignty the interests of the non
ulations concerned must have equal
weight with the equitable claims of
the government whose title is to be
determined.
Russian Independence
6-The evacuation of all Rus
sian territory and such a settlem
, or all questions affecting Russia as
VIII secure the best and freest co.
operation of the other nations of the
world in obtaining for her an nm
hampered and unembarrassed on
portunity for the independent de-
, termination of her own political de-
: Velopment and national policy and
assure her of sincere welcome into
the society of free nations under
institutions of her own choosing.
and, more than welcome assist.
ance also of every kind that she NAV
need and NAV hersa1f daeira mi.