The Colorado statesman. [volume] (Denver, Colo.) 1895-1961, 1918-02-16

communicated to me beforehand and
that l was aware of them at the time
he was uttering them, but In this l am
sure he was misunderstood. / had re-
celved no intlmation of what he in
tended to say. There was, of course,
no reason why he should communicate
privately with me. am quite content
to be one of his public audience.
Hertlino's Reply Is Vague.
count Won Hertllng's reply is,
must say, very vague and very confus-
ing. 1t is full of equivocal phrases
and leads, 1t Is not clear, where. But
1t is certainly in n very different tone
from that of Count Czernin and appar-
emily of an opposite purpose. 1t con-
firms, am sorry to say, rather than
removes, the unfortunate impression
made by what we had learned of the
conference at Brest-Litovsk. His dis
cusslon and acceptance of our general
principles lead him to no practical
conclusion.
''He refuses to apply them to the
substantive items which must consu-
tute the body of any final settlement.
He is Jealous of international action
and of international counsel. He nc-
cepts, he says, the principle of public
diplomacy, but he appears to insist
that 1t be confined, at any rate in this
case, to generalities, and that the sew
eral particular questions of territory
and sovereignty, the several questions
upon whose settlement must depend
the acceptance of peace by the %
states now engaged in the war, must
be discussed and settled, not in gen
eral council, but severally by the ma
tons most Immediately concerned by
interest or neighborhood.
Military Party Favored.
"He agreed that the seas should be
free, but looks askance at any limita-
ton to that freedom by international
action in the interest of the common
order. He would without reserve be
glad to see economic barriers removed
between nation and nation, for that
could in no way impede the ambitions
of the military party with whom he
seems constrained to keep on terms.
Neither does he raise objection to
limitation of ornaments. That mat
ter will be settled of itself, he thinks,
by the economic conditions which must
follow the war. But the German col
onies, he demands, must be returned
without debate. He will discuss with
no one but the representative of Rus
STA what dispositions shall be made
nf hn hn nf
Baltic provinces; with no one but the
government of France the conditions"
under which French territory shall be
evacuated; and only with Austria
what shall be done with Poland.
Cannot Accept Vienna Peace.
"In the determination of all ques-
tons affecting the Balkan states he
defers as I understand him to Aus
tria and Turkey; and with regard to
the agreements to be entered into con-
corning the non-Turkish peoples of the
present Ottoman empire to the Turk
lsh authorities themselves. After n
settlement all around, effected in this
fashion, by individual barter and con-
cession, he would have no objection, If
I correctly interpret his statement, to
n league of nations which would I'M
dertake to hold the new balance of
power steady against external disturb
ances.
at must be evident to everyone
who understands what this war has
wrought in the opinion and temper of
the world that no general peace, no
To- Ill
these years of tragical suffering, can
possibly be arrived at in any such
fashion.
Refers to the Reichstag.
"The method the German chancel-
lor proposes is the method of the con-
gress of Vienna. We cannot and will
not return to that. What Is at stake
now is the peace of the world. What
we are striving for is a new interna-
tional order based upon broad and uni
versal principles of right and justice
no mere peace of shreds and patches.
Is 1t possible that Count Won Hertling
does not see that, does not grasp 1t, is,
in fact, living in his thought in a world
dead and gone? Has he utterly for
6otteh 'ho iSS'"6 AeSoiutiohS VI tire
10Th of July, or does he deliberately
ignore them? They spoke of the con-
ditions of general peace, not of ma
tional ACKNOWLEDGMENT or of arrange
ments between state and state. The
peace of the world depends upon the
just settlement Of each of the several
problems to which I adverted in my
recent address to the congress- L of
course, do not mean that the peace of
the world depends upon the accept
ance of any particular set of sugges-
lions as to the way in which those
problems are to be dealt with. I mean
only that these problems, each and
all, affect the whole world ; that unless
they are dealt with in a spirit of I'M