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About The Oregon daily journal. (Portland, Or.) 1902-1972 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 29, 1918)
GERMANY TALKS : PEACE TO DISARM ENEMY FORCES Thne to Parley With Hun Is When He Is Beaten and That Time Is ,N6t Yet Arrived. PREVIOUS EFFORT IS MADE Collapse of Russia and Resump L tion of Field Activities Foj ' lowed First' Peace Offensive. 1' : ' "' V (CooCnnad from Par One) la -shaken only as It applies to tho ex neoted cooiDlste victory by 7 arroa. De feat In th sens of Invasion, of .. sur rsadsr. has not yet been established as a possibility In the minds of the massespf we uirmin people. . - Ha We ltd Barfiia The only notion of peace which now exists in the minds of the O arm an people is a peace by bargain. Germany will pay .back some of her stolen profits provided she can keep other. The Oerman peo ple demand of the sovernment that It shall, show Its moderation ahd generosity by of ferine terms of this sort: the koy ernment is entrenching Itself against criticism at home by putting Austria up to offer such terms and then Indorsing .the propose, 1 of the subordinate. It Is an utterly false view to hold that Germany IS exhausted, believes herself beaten and has offered peace proposals In a panic to escape defeat. This Is not the case. On the contrary, the Oerman has had recourse again to the peace offensive, be cause his. military operations have tem porarily turned ut badly. This is ex actly what he did In 1916, and now as 'then, his peace offensive is a war of fensive, It Is a method of winning the war on his own terms, it is a preparation for military operations later, Just ai the loosing of poison g;aa and the dellv ery of an artillery bombardment are preparations for an Infantry attack. ' Looking Backward , The very best way In which to under stand the present German offensive Is to go back for a moment and examine the first peace offensive.' Then.it will be realised how completely the peace agi tation Is subordinate to the sreneral and central Idea, which is to win the war. If the American people are to un derstand the German campaign they must at once dismiss two apprehensions. One, that a beaten Germany Is seeking peace by surrender to escape defeat and disaster : two, that when the German talks about peace he means peace in our sense, or means anything but the use of. peace talk to disarm his enemy, that he may fall upon him again and destroy him. ' t Six days after the fall of Bucharest in 1916 the Germans made a peace proposal. They did It on the morrow of a. great victory, but at the close of a campaign In which they had been defeated both at Verdun and . at the Somme. This pro posal was at once hailed In allr allied countries as an evidence of, weakness and despair and was rejected by allied states men with little thought ss to J&e real purposes or the actual danger! TWTilch had been created by the- Qerman'resture". Now, after two years, we can see clearly what the Overmans had In mind In De cember, 1916. Bosmaala Betrayed In the first place, they knew thai Russia was at the end of her rope, ex hausted and Incapable of a new military effort. They knew that the Sturmer ministry, realising that revolution was at hand, had betrayed Roumania to them in order that the defeat of Rou mania might demonstrate that victory was Impossible and peace by negotiation Inevitable. Only thus could the bureau cracy in Russia hoperito save itself and turn against the . revolutionists the THE FOUNDATIONS OF PEACE Uvea, but ' almost " fatal tr their own country's cause. Such. then, was the German eeue of fensive of 1916-17. It was never a move for peace; It was always a variation of th manner In which Germany still sougnt tne same objective, military vic tory, and when Its possibilities had boon exhausted the Gorman returned to the military method once mors and won the battles of Flcardy, Flaaders and the Alsne. ' - v .- '.a- ' Hera! Initiative Besgkt . By rrlnr. bv nroooslnr a' nearotlatlon ho did. not desire, i.tur -: Oxnloitlnsr the ersduBty of the liberals, the war weari ness if the masses. " the) selfishness t of tne classes,' the Gorman ' gained In 1916 the" same sort of-advantage .he had ae quired la- 1914 y invading Belgium. -He secured the moral Initiative and he used this until he regained the military inl uatrve, at which point4 he dropped the mask and became the Prussian, and not the angel of .-peace, once more.' ri Bepetitlon Is Osvloas ' It seems to m nothing Is 'mora ob vious,-, now' then, ' that the Oerman Is again maneuvering for tho moral Initia tive. J I do not believe his peace gesture is any more unrelated to his war plans than vwas that of December 1916. ' I do hot believe that the German people Are defeated in their own opinion- and eager lor peace cat .any -price, un uie con trary, 1 believe they "Will fight long and desperately to escape the only kind of settlement the western nations' can or will accept I do not believe that the peace proposal is a sign of weakness, any more than the shifting of an attack from one flank to another, in battle, is aS. evfdence of panic or the collapse of the will to win the battle- On the contrary, there Is every , rea son to believe that this German maneu ver is a war device, a method for win ning the war on Oerman terms, a de liberate effort to exploit war weariness once more, to get our "liberals and idealists to talking again about the In iquity of allied purposes and the need for a restatement of allied war alms. It is an effort to exploit the fears of both capital and labor for the future, it is a desperate attempt to break down allied morale behind the firing lines, in the hope that this collapse " 111 be felt at the front, as a similar c. lapse was felt in 1917, that the German may have a chance to return to the offensive as Ludendorff returned teethe offensive last spring. And believing these things I confess to a very great apprehension at this time lest blindness or Ignorance on the part of the allied leadership, allied publics and allied press may en able the German to repeat his achieve ment of 1916, and escape from 'the evil military situation in which he now stands by exploitation of the advantages derived from regaining the moral in itiative. Allied Bllndnesi From the very outset of this war we Black Indicates territory to be taken from Germany sad Austria to create: (1) Poland, (2) Greater Rou mania, (3) Bohemia (Czecho-SIovaks), (4) Greater Roumania, (5) Jugo-Slavia, to be united with Serbia . and Montenegro; also to give Italy her Irredenta and France Alsace-Lorraine. on the allied aide' have been cursed by an ever-ready willingness to see things in Germany aa we wanted them to be and on this ridiculous form of optimism to build a solemn edifice of early victory. This Is our peril now, when new suc cesses in the field have given rise to new and in part unreasoning optimism. -We have stopped the German advance, we have driven the German hack to the lines from which he emerged last March to seek victory. We have-Inflicted a ter rible loss in men upon him and we have a reasonable ground for hope that we shall drive him to the-Belgian frontier before snow flies.- Moreover the arrival of America has given Foch an advant age -which la considerable and ..wUX be enormous. - ; - The'; danger of. lostnr - the vEuropean phase of the war, which was acuta last March,; has passed, the opportunity -to win tne war is beginning to develop. But it is only beginning' to develop,- Wa are excited -because our tons; range guns are firing. upon the forts- of Metx. but the German armies are still only 70 miles from Paris, and the Germans still occupy ground along the Alsne from which they bad been driven four long : years ago. Losing battles the German Is losing ground, losing men and guns, but in .this situation he turns to the strategy which he used with complete success two years agoAfter he had been defeated at Ver- aun ana artven backward at tne Bomme. The Asttrlaa Proposal The Austrian proposal is only the open ing move of the German peace offensive, Just as the bote addressed to the allied governments by 'Germany in December two yeara ago, was only the first move in that earlier operation. There seemed to be then the same unanimous rejection of the proposal on the part of the allied peoples that we perceive now. But out of the maneuver there developed there after the greatest peril to the allied cause, now become our cause, which had existed since the first battle of the Marne. We have, then, every reason for fearing that there may be great dan gers resulting from a new maneuver. It Is essential at all times to put aside the delusion that a beaten Germany Is seeking peace by surrender or peac by negotiation which must mean the sacri fice of what Germany has acquired In this war, the release of subject peoples enslaved aa the result of other wars, and the payment of indemnities for crimes committed in the present struggle. There is no escape for Germany from approximate economic ruin, no deliver ance, of the dynasty and the ruling ele ments fsom impending ruin on the polit ical side, apart from military victory. Therefore, by all means, military and otherwise, all Germans are bound to seek that military victory, and there is not the smallest chance that we hall be able to accomplish those things, to which we have dedicated our youth and our material resources until we have broken the military .. power of Germany by decisive defeats of the German army and the ooeupatloh of German territory. The apparent agitation now going 'for ward in Germany for "liberal" reforms was carried on by the same men and for the same purpose in the summer of 1117. We heard about reichstas; reforms and "peace without annexation or Indemnity" all through the period when our own morale was being undermined by these same devices. But we Had a sudden end to all this "revolution in Germany when there was a new chance to attain a mil itary victory, when:, the '-maneuver had achieved Its desired end In allied coun tries. We have to face .now, as then, an attack upon the ham front., It Is a mat ter of life and death for us to perceive this, fact and -not again to fall th vic tim, of a German campaign - which swept-into Its course the Idealism and tha, selfishness of the- enemy nations allkav which renewed tne "alliance "be tween the "Puritan and the blackleg." which almost broke our home front, our firing" line and our, power of morale' and. militar(y resistance to tho enemy. , ' - JTo-.Yletory sy VegeUattsn ' Victory wilt not be! won by, negotia tion or by the discussion of peace terms. We had an ultimate demonstration of. what the German really means by peace at Brest-Litovsk and again at Bucha rest. The great German military teacher, Clausewits. once said that "war was only an extension of policy." A German orator, Herr David, a Socialist member of tho reichstas:. said last year: "Ger many must squeese her enemies with a pair of pinchers. The German armies must continue to fight vigorously, while German Socialists encourage and stimu late pacifism among Germany's ene mies." The two utterances comprehend the present and the past peace offensives of the German government. They will niso exnlaln anv future maneuver. Ger many Is still seeking to win the war. all the civilised Instincts In enemy countries are to be turned to her advantages ; she talks pes.ee to disarm her enemies, but while she talks she sharpens her own weapons. We are at the beginning of a new campaign, more dangerous than that nthr Oerman offensive which Foch broke at the Marne. Hundreds Wire President tn-sw Tork. Sept. 28. (L K. S.) Hundreds of congratulatory messages were received here today by President Wlfson concerning his "peaoe based on equal Justice for all peoples" speech last nlsht. The president was up early today and was highly pleased with the man ner in which hla utterances were re ceived in this country. He appeared anxious to get the state department advices regarding the manner in which the BDeech was received abroad and WILSON'S SPEECH i ' FLATTENS KAISER Completely Demolishes Elaborate; ' Complaints of Unfairness, by Hun Rulers. ' - SI??'. ' By John Edwta .5ria '." Washington, Sept. 11. (L N. 8.V- , President Wilson's New Tork speech of ; lsst night must have a powerful effecffi.; on the whole war outlook. The presi dent last night again doclared Germany ; : outlawed before the world. He reiter ated that her military power must be . crushed. But in doing so be opens " far wider the doorway to an early peace, - in the opinion of diplomats here, -who say that if the Bulgarian crista can oe handled along the lines suggested by .. the chief executive, the early collapse of Austria and Turkey can be looked for and powerful inroads made on the w control of the German Junkers. ' '' The most significant paragraph of the -; president's address was his. explanation : that the United States must stand op - -posed to "special, selfish eoonomlo com? binatlons" within the league of nations -that will enforce peace, and to the "em ployment of any form of economic boy oott or exclusion except aa the power of economic penalty by exclusion from : the markets of the world may be vested in the league of nations itself as.a -means of discipline and con trek In his clear, decisive manner the presi ¬ dent, with the use of a single paragraph has completely demolished the defense of WUhelm of Oermsny and Baron -s Burlan of Austria, who have Just flushed ' v telling the peoples of the two great cn- tral powers that their enemies wanted to destroy them and that this was the only reason why' they are fighting on. Tike president has made it plain, diplomats) pointed out today, that d spits their foul crimes against humanity, the oea ' tral powers can savs their eoonomlo structures and start anew, free and ua . trammeled by acoepting a peaoe based solely on impartial Justice to all nations and peoples. for that reason he left for Washing- ton this morning. A few of the eon gratulatory messages from Europe were forwarded to him here and he) , read them with pleasure before his departure for the national capital. iiiiiiiiiiimiHiimtiiiniiiiiiiiiHiiiiniiiHiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiHiiiiiiiiiiHiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiu troops recalled from the war. The Sturmer ministry had fallen,, but the Russian conditions remained, - and hav ing dealt with the cabinet the Ger mans were now operating through the gutter; having exploited the minister ial fear of the revolutionists It was now making use of the revolutionists. - Bustle's Plight Diagnosed Accurately the Germans diagnosed the Russian situation.' They foresaw the revolution, which they manufac tured ; they understood that ' the mass of the Russian people-were exhausted and conquered .and desired peace at any priced. They calculated that' If Ger many offered peace and Russia refused It, together with her allies, then the Russian monarchy would fall and', the people; . mad for peace, would - destroy i their rulers ana reject their -alliances In' a word, the Germans calculated. quite correctly, . that a peace - proposal would complete the work of Hlnden burg and Mackensen and jmt Russia out of the war. Then they could have their way in the east. The treaty of Brest-Litovsk was the final proof of their correctness of vision. Eve of Ssbmarlso Campaign Again, the Germans were on the point of launching their submarine cam paign, and there was deadly danger lest this should Involve them In war with the United States. But they hoped that if they assumed the attitude of seeking peace, affirmed a willingness to end the war, adopted 'the-tone -of reasonableness without giving any awk ward guarantees of good faith, the en emy nations would at once reject their proposals and the Jesuit would be the creation of a public, sentiment in Amer ica against allied obstinacy i and that thla sentiment would lead to an accept ance of the uW submarine regulations. Believing that the; ' American people would see the war prolonged by allied obstinacy, the Germans hoped to escape conflict with America. In this . they miscalculated, .hut what is .Important la that they : were calculating. -1 - . , ; " Even nrwrefrrixrrtant 'were--the cal culations with respect f ee the-'-' British and Frehchrpedple. i-BOth were KwaT weary. In Britain, the- DaclflstsC tho Idealigis, - the humanitarians Were ise n3mis t.f, reassert themselves and their criticism of 1 their own government was undermining, public confidence. At the other end" tft -the line selfishness was making itself heard ! labor, fearful lest its recently won victories should be lost in the war; capital, apprehen sive lest a prolongation of the war should lead to the destruction of cap ital and the eJijmlnation of all ancient privileges, was becoming nervous and looking eagerly toward a settlement. England Divided In addition, there was in Britain dis appointment wtjh the government which had Just led to the fall of Asqulth and the coming- of Uoyd George, and upon Lloyd George the pacifists and tne UNIVERSAL . t Mechanical Engineers and Designers ' ' I '" " - ' " i . We take pleasure in announcing the addition of a MODERN PATTERN department, fully equipped to make all kinds of patterns, '. - .. - Your requirements, large or small; will receive our prompt and courteous attention. " ':- ' .-y - Our WORKMEN are specialists in the business and are con versant with foundry technic and machinery desigriing; therefore, we submit ourselves as being fully competent to handle any pattern making you may have to of fer. ..- As a patriotic duty we will give "Orders" of an essential Inrlustrv priority over lesser essentials. . S. First step toward the largest and most efficient pattern plant on the Pacific Coast. Universal Nui-ojck? Company 1215 Northwestern Bank Bldg., PORTLAND, OREGON . : 'Plant Xoeated at - . i ' East Tire and ,:' -. V"'Hawthore Ave. i" ' EMtoryrlm Zhst Mil. . v- :' ifr.- ekertoa , . . V ,..... - - " 1 l'U........ll,.,UU,....U,,,,,UHUIIHI.Il.UHII.UIlllUI.IHH.IillMiJMUI idealists were centering a dangerous at tack. Instead of assailing the enemy; for his -great ime, these pacifists and so-called "liberals" were denouncing al lied war alms, alleging that these alms were German in character and respon sible for the prolongation of the 'Strug gle. And this continual assault was weakening public confidence. to France a monstrous ''.defeatist" campaign was getting Under way. skill fully engineered by German agents end supported by German money. Invaded. bleeding-, Franco was suddenly attacked behind -rtne tlrutw line am the attack was directed at war weariness: after Verdun y and the Somme the war- -was still going oh.' and -GermsA . agenU . as serted that it was ; continued hot in French, Interests, hut to serve . British ends; the French government could have peace. " honorable and" profitable to France Germany offered"-it, but the French government was bound to the British chariot. International finance in London and In Paris lifted Its head again.- Bnstla Eliminated Now, the leaders of the allied nations. in rejecting tho German peace pro posal, did not thereafter take the nec essary steps to abolish the consequent danger. . They had their eyes fixed upon the Oerman public and were sat isfied that German morale was break ing down at tho very moment when German morale was unshaken and the morale of their own peoples was be coming seriously affected. Once more they had been surprised ; they had tailed to gather the drift of the new attack; they had imagined that in mak ing the' proposal Germany was confess ing; weakness and in rejecting It they were revealing strength; the truth was just the opposite. All. of this is revealed in the course of events in 1917. Russia fell, the Bolahe vikl rising to power turned to Germany, accepting German -peace gestures as made In good faith . and broke with their old allies. Russia was eliminated from the war. and the Germans at last reached a - situation where they could concentrate their energies on a single front. The defeat of the French army at the Alsne. rave a new enerrv to the defeatist campaign' in- France, and the morale of the army, affected by that of the people, sunk to the lowest level In three years of war. - In Britain there was a disorder among tne various ele ments which was fatal to national unity. of purpose and action. In Italy the sit uation was : still worse, and out of this situation came the disaster of Caporetto to tne autumn. Military Offensive Bevlved In sum. twelve months after she had opened' her peace offensive, Germany had . by it eliminated Russia from the war, brought Italy to the edge. of ruin, almost broken tho' nerve: of France, pro duced a situation in Britain out of which ho leader- could have improvised victory. But for the failure in America the peace offensive might have won the war, but the failure had been followed by the en trance Of the TJirited- States into the war, bringing: new hopes and new resources. Now. It not too much to say that no German military campaign In the four which , has occurred between August. 1914, ajhd'peeember, 1917, had achieved any such results as this peace -offensive. But by tne opening oi wo new year the peace offensive had completed Its work and we saw Germany resume her military offensive. The "liberals" In the retchstag, who had been making loud demands for peace without annexation or Indemnity., lapsed into silence; the movement for democratising German In stitutions was overtaken by paralysis; the German general staff went to Brest Litovsk and had its way with Russia, and then Ludendorff launched, his great offensive on the western front , which began with great victories and narrowly escaped reaching Fans. Allies Awaken. Fortunately for mankind, allied pub lics woke up In time. Clemen ceau came to power in Paris and saved France, despite" the outcry of so-called "liberals" in : all western -nations ; Lloyd George stuck: to his guns In Britain, and a com mon peril at last became patent to all men. To save their lives and to pre serve their country front destruction, the very people who had, been playing with the peace idea to the utter demoralisa tion of their -own- nation's will to live and to the complete benefit erf Germany suddenly began to see the drift of events and rave ever their suoort of the enemv due"riff Bisjly'cMew.to the, highest mo- Watch for the Announcement of Demonstration of Duplex Alcazar Ranges Limited No. of Souvenirs Te Home of Good Furniture IENNING' Henry Jenning & Sons Washington Street at Fifth $22350 $30 Down $5 W William and Mary Quar tered Oak Dining Suite ekly U-anl, , X A handsome, massive suite, in rich Jacobean finish, consisting of the following pieces Extension Table $49 Buffet $7425 Serving Table $3750 Five Dining Chairs $48.75 Carver $14 Nine Floors of Merchandise A Rug Sale! $55 and $60 Body Brus sels Rugs, 9x12 Size" $38.75 On account of the scarcity of fine wools, the great rug fac tories are discontinuing the manufacture of these splen did rugs. 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