President Wilson, in a speech to Congreas -on Monday, replied
to Count Hertling and Count Czernin. He recognized the very friendly tonaof the Austriarespeeoh, which had not been submitted to him beforehand, as a lying German report stated. Count Czernin, he thought, saw the fundamental elements of peace with clear eyes and did not seek to obscure them, though he was unable to enter into questions which affected his allies' interests. But the President found the German Chancellor's speech very vague and confusing, accepting general principles but refusing to apply them. Count Hertling's proposal to settle each question by separate negotiation with one or the other belligerent, and then to enter into a League of Nations, would not bring any general peace that was worth having. His method would be the method of the Congress of Vienna, and we could not and would not return to that. Count Hertling seemed to forget or ignore the Reichstag resolutions in favour of a general peace. Each of the problems at issue concerned the whole world. " Whatever affects the peace affects mankind, end nothing settled by military force, if settled wrong, is settled at all."
Previous page
