Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1919-02-01
GERMANY INSISTS
ON WILSON TERMS
AS PEACE BASIS
BernstorH Stresses Sclf-Determins
tIon Condition and Would Have
il Apply 70 Alsace.
is WILLING TO IND MNIFY
FRANCE AND BELGIUM
Protests Against Colonies Populst-
cd by Germany Going Under
Foreign Sovereignty.
uy Asyocia.o,i rross ~ Ersry gv,5iinz


Berlin. Fuday, Ian 3I-Count yOr
Beruai0rff has given Tho Asso<i sted Press
a statement written by him after cor
suliatiDn With Foreign Minister Brock
dorff Ranizau and other high officials N
the German Foreign OHicr SinrC ihc
Count IS one ~ the mon cutnnted with
the working Olft ~ thr details f0r Ger
many'g participation IN the g,cscc confer.
euce and sill With The Foreign Minister
be n German delegate the stateroent NAV
bc regarded ss official II uqr written
N Englirh aa fpllpuv
Tho question Rha' you'd C,eynauv
consider peacc ~ right and Justice ra-'
briefly b. answered. p tins wsy. Ths'
we vo'ild regard ~ such soFflemcn'.
by whlch the terms y pearc laid Jo~-
in President Wilson address ~ Congress
January ) 1917. snd Tho prin~i ,les u
settlement in his Subsequent qddrasses
are carried pnt wlih trlc acrordsnre
With tho high minded md fsr-FerinE
spirit In which 'hcy vrrr rnncc1vra
rtvoRe LrsGrr - sATTo~a
Among the fourteen I,ointe 'he do'7'.
mating notr IN yir opinion Z" ~ be ~
tributed - point nrmber "a providing
for the constitution ~ league ~ nefrors
which as Nr Wilson said m Scpfrrnh~T
27. must ~ h part md IN sense 'he rooS'
essential part a the peace settlement ~
self
~ the great suceczs ~ thr recently
founded German league ~ nations socie'v
proves German leading mon clearly rscor-
nize. that nothing hut IN International
league of free and e1ual peoples can do
away with imperialism and bring forth
4 nevy world ,,f order. The German peonie
gwen s,sch = league and compulsory arhi-
tration, peace negotiations would offer
M particular difficulties while v1iho,It
its constitution IN the peace settlement
peace of right and Iustire would be -eil-
nigh Impossible
~ accord WITH Wilson.
with regard 70 the first, second and
third points IN Mr.. Wilson's program v~
are n perfect accord with him. ia con-
nectior w1th point number four Il may be
mentioned that Germany IL shout ~
abolish obligatory military service. which
thus far has been considered the corner
stone II her exposesi position in Europe.
As for point number five. we welcome:
free, op,erlninded and absolutely irapart Al
adjustment of al cofonisi claims, pro
posed '1v MIR Wilson ana accepted by the
entente governments, and we are looking
forward - a discussion Of those claims m
the peace conference in the spirit outlined
by the American President.
Regarding point number SIX, -e are
completely dlsinterested concerning OH
questions relative 10 Russia except IN 50
far Is they concern our own frontier
Naturally. however. We do not desTe.
q spread uf 3 ,lShcvlsm over Gernany.
and other countries.
WILLING 10 PAy BELGTUM AID YRAECE-
AS Tor point number seven. no are
prepared to pay for All famagP done 20
the Belgian civil population and tneIr
property 4- far as viii sp proven - havE
been perpetrated by German aggression
The same applies 10 point number eight
relative 20 damage done civilians and
their prup.rtv IN northern France. A.
for Alsacr-Lorralne. we could not consider
II 'riehtlng a wrong. # through ? n peace
/ settlement q new wrong should be per-
/ mtt4d That. however, would be the
( r4s.- II Germans wvrc compelled 70 heC@nc
/ French against their will likewise,
! il must be emphasized in connection with
] point number nine that Justice would
I forbid forcing Germans &c become Italian
/ subjects without their free consent.
STICKS FoR SELF DIFFERENTIATION.
! POINT number ten. treating on the
I question OF Austria- Hungary has nesn
subsequently, enlarged nv the American
I government. ii the sense that h' Siav
na;IOnalities Of the former dual mOEsriuy
must be granted uot only autonomy
but absolute seis-daterulnation Justice
VIII demand that he same privilege be
accorded - Austran-Cierma1s.
In the same manner, Ne CONSIDER polnt5
eleven and twelve merely the 5emand Of
justice that various peoples Of the Balkan
peninsula and The Ottoman Empir- sbou,t
j b. gwen their rights without distinction
and the freest opportunity for seli-deter-
mInation.
sPURNs FOREIGN soyEREIGNTy.
AS regards point thirteen, justice
Compels us 70 consent that present Ger
man territories inhabited BY lndlsputabis
Polish populations should form part
Of new Poland, but justice likewise conpes
us not 10 tolerate that territories BE- placed
under foreign sovereignty which are m
habited By indisputably German popula-
ton. Moreover. VIC would consider u
a wrong az the gravest character, II. 70
satisfy Polish ambitions, East Prussia
should be cut of from the rest Of the
empire.
.iconcerning all territorial changes "a
be considered by the peace conference,
we absolutely rely on point two of MIR
Wilson's address at Mount Vernon in
which he emphasized The fact that settle
ment Of an such questions must be made
.upon i basis OF free acceptance Of settle
ment by the peoples immediately concern
ed. Indeed, peace of right and Justice
presuppOses that under guarantee Of Tho
league Of natnns the principle OF nationa
self determination viii DC made suPerfol
70 all territorial questions.
QUILT FOR WAR TO NEUTRAIs.
"As to the question Of guilt for the war
the German government has proposed that
this question should be submitted 70 :
neutral commission. This seems TO De ths
only lllst solution. The German people
in the vast majority, do not feel guilty
although they do not deny that mistakes
were made