The President went on to say, in just wrath, that
neither America nor the Allies would " consent to consider an armistice so long as the armed forces of Germany continue the illegal and inhuman practices which they still persist in." While Germany was seeking peace, her submarines were sinking passenger-ships at sea, and " not the ships alone, but the very boats in which their passengers and crews seek to make their way to safety." Moreover, the retreating German armies were " pursuing a course of wanton destruction which has always been regarded as in direct violation of the rules and practices of civilized warfare," pillaging the cities and villages that were not destroyed and driving the inhabitants into exile. " The nations associated against Germany cannot be expected to agree to a cessation of arms while acts of inhumanity, spoliation, and desolation are being continued, which they justly look upon with horror and with burning hearts." To any but the Germans thin would seem a truism, but to that cruel and barbarous race it will come as a revelation.
