The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-09-08

would they be affected by our adopt ing any other tone! 1t was essential that the peace offer should not impair the fighting quality of the army; and it did not do so, for it was only an episode and the morale of the troops was still good. If the entente had honestly desired a peace of justice and reconciliation it could and should have entered into ne- gotiations and brought forward it's de- mands. Had negotiations broken down on any demand for annexations on the part of the German representatives, it would have been easy for the en- tente in the light of such an atti- tude, to stir their peoples 10 renew the war, while we in such a position would have been quite unable to reconcile the German people, who were already longing for peace, to any further fight ing.
 Still less would our weary allies have continued to fight at our side. This simple reasoning shows convinc- ingly that. when we made our offer, we were genuinely ready for peace of justice and reconciliation.
 FAILURE OF WILSON'S EFFORT
 The attitude of the entente on this and on every subsequent occasion shows equally clear that she wanted
 
 the world our sincere desire for peace. She feared that this would lead to weakening in her own camp, and wished also that peace, when 1t came, should be definitely peace of defeat and emasculation for us.
 Meanwhile. President Wilson had at last, on December 20, addressed a note to all the belligerent powers, inviting an expression of their views to the
 
 brought to an end" The President ap- parently desired to find an agreement by means of a compromise between the demands of the two countries. He had in mind a peace without victor or van quished.
 The note was delivered on December 21. The German government had been informed of the Presidents intention in November. Presumably the government was by this time, after the long delay in doub; as to whether the President would in fact carry out his intention, but I am not aware in any detail of the govern ments then attitude.
 As early as December 26, the gov ernments of the quadruple appliance proposed an early meeting of repre- sentatives of the belligerents in some neutral country. They were at vari-
 
 extent that they preferred direct ne- gotiations with their opponents; this may well have been in part due to regard for the strong trend of public opinion in Germany against the Uni ted States. VOICE OF IRON LLOYD GEORGE The entente remained wholly hostile. Her answer of January 12 was con- firmation of her note of December 30, l being perhaps still more strongly inn bued with the intention of destroying us. The voice of the latter answe CT is the voice of the Iron Lloyd George, who at the beginning of December had assumed. in form well as in sub , stance, the reins of power in England | It is useful to reread the answers of the entente to our offers of peace and | to Wilson's note. The judgment of many people as to the possibility of | peace of understanding will then be- come clearer. Thus failed the two efforts to achieve peace. By the will of the entente the ! war had to continue, and to be de- cided by force of arms. It was to be victory or defeat The results were further preparations on a large scale, l the maintenance of our determination to fight-this our proposals were de- signed to achieve-and at the same time the employment of every weapon in Germany's arsenal
 The field marshal and myself, in our view of the whole situation and in our only too correct doubt as to the success of the peace proposals, had already had under consideration, as part of our military problems, the pos sibility of carrying on the submarine campaign in an intensified form.
 Unrestricted submarine warfare was now the only means left to secure in any reasonable time a victorious end to the war. If submarine warfare on this scale could have decisive effect | and the navy felt that it could then in the existing situation it was our plain military duty to the Germa nation to embark on this form of war fare.
 Published by special arrang ement i with the Mcclure Newspaper syndicate. l Copyri gh ted, 1919, by Harper and Brothers All rights reserved. Copy | righted in Great Britain by Hutchin- | son and company. and the London Times. in Spain by Messrs. Seix and Bariel in Italy by Fratell Treves, in Canada and Australia. All rights re- served for France. Belgium. Holland, 1 Russia and the Scandinavian coun- tries).