The Abbeville press and banner. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, February 15, 1918, Page THREE, Image 3
NO TURNING ASIDE
SAYS 1
President Addresses Co
phere of Any Confusi
Teuton I
ANSWER TO VON HERTLING
Says Until Germany Meets Requirek
ments America Will Continue
Fight Which She Has Just
Begun
Washington, Feb. 11.?President
Wilson addressed Congress today to
-1 _ J 1 o /
ciear wie aunospnere oi any COniUSion
resulting from the recent speeches
on peace terms by the German
chancellor and the Austro-Hungarian
foreign minister, and to reiterate
that until the military masters of
(Germany are ready to consider
peace on principles of justice the|
United States will continue the fight:
it is just beginning for the safety
j a
Iui itseu axiu iiicmtviiiu.
In the speech of Count von Hert-;
lfng the German chancellor, the!
President found no approach to the j
path ?of peace, but rather a proposal
to end the war on German terms
and't# set up a league of nations
to maintain the balance of power so
established. Count Czernin, the
Austrian spokesman, the President
sjjid, employed a very friendly tone,
seemed to see the fundamental elements
of peace with clear eyes, and
probably would have gone much farther
if it had not been for Austria's
alliances and her. dependence upon
Germany.
No Compromising.
i Members of Congress accepted
the address not as a peace message,
but as a notice to the Central Powers
'that the United States cannot be
turned aside from the object for
which it is fighting and a warning
to Congress and the American people
that the task of sending the
nation's fighting men to the front
must not be interferred with by
equivocal and misleading utterances
of Teutonic statesmen. The Presi.
*'
dent was warmly received and cheered
he concluded, and leaders!
without respect to party, expressed
!y approval of his words,
e address had been prepared I
conferences dufing the past'
days with Col. E. ftk House,
headed the American mission
e great inter-Allied conference,
sual, the President announced
urpose only long enough in ad3
to permit of arrangement for
nt session in the House chamBack
to Fundamental*.
bile in official and diplomatic
ters today there was a disposito
let the President's address
Ic for itself without interpretathere
apparently was no divis>f
opinion on the point that his
e object was to bring the exfficial
negotiations as some ob>rs
have termed the speech
Iaxyig oi tne cniei statesmen of
le nations at war, back,to the funimental
isstfes, the settlement of
itch question on principles of jusce,
the cessation of the barter of
rovinces and peoples; the settletent
of territorial questions for the
snefit of the populations concerned,
nd finally the recognition of nation1
aspirations as a basis of permabnt
peace.
Reminder to Reichstag.
Another purpose served, it was
pinted out, is to remind the Geran
Reichstag of the great distance
tat Count von Hertling has travelL
1* 1 li .J 1 A. T._l .. i
Iirom us resolutions 01 last juiy
garding self determination of the
*hts of small nations and peoples,
? annexations, contributions, or
initive / damages. Responsible
hoes among the German Socialists
id Liberals may in the end bring,
lminative pressure to bear upon
b war lords at present controlling
e fate of Germany. Still another
Iject of the address, it is suggested
Ls to serve notice in advance that
y peace treaties resulting from
ta Rrflcf.T ifattoI/1 nnw-fornnna wnnM
vow-AJivvf iju 11W1 viivv nvuiu
H? of necessity be regarded as bindup
America or the Entente AlH
HH All Mutt Take Part.
^^ We cannot have general peace for
asking, or by the mere arrange-j
j^^Knts. of a peace conference," Mr.i
Bison said. "It cannot be pieced
N^Kether out of individual under- j
H^lndings between powerful .States. |
MB
PRESIDENT WILSON
ingress to Clear Atmoson
After Speeches of
'remiers.
All the parties to this war rfiust join
in the settlement of every issue anywhere
involved in it because what
we can all unite to guarantee and
maintain and every item of it must
be submitted to the common judgment
whether it be right and fair;
an act of justice rather than a bargain
between sovereigns."
The statement was made in high
official quarters that the Entente Allies
were not consulted by President
Wilson in preparation of his address
nor was it even made known to
them that it was to be delivered.
However, it was pointed out this fact
was not to be taken as indicating
any lack of unity of purpose and
aims between the belligerents, as
nowhere in his address did the President
depart from any of the principles
he has laid down in common
with the British, French and Italian
premiers in their preceding publiq.
utterances regarding war aims.
Diplomats Taking Note.
Diplomats of the older school are
watching with -keen interest the "extra
official negotiations" which depart
so radically from all of the ancient
and accepted practices of diplomacy.
They point out that peace
negotiations on ' a great scale actually
are going- on only instead of being
conducted in the secrecy of the
round table conference, which was
the aim of the Central Powers in
the early stages of the war, the
great issues now are being expounded
and critically analyzed in the
light of publicity and the world's
forum.
President Wilson himself today
seemed to recognize and call attention
to the fact when he inquired,
"Is Count von Hertling not aware
that he is speaking in the court of
mankind, that all the awakened nations
of the world now sit in judgment
on what every public man of
whatever nation may say on the issue
of the conflict which has spread
every region of the world?"
As has been done in the past the
President's speech today was prompt
ly cabled to all the principal capitals
of the world for telegraphic distribution.
President's Address.
President Wilson spoke as follows:
Gentlemen of the Congress:
One the eighth of January I had
the honor of addressing you on the
objects of the war as our people
conceive them. The prime minister
of Great Britain had spoken in similar
terms on the fifth of January.
To these addresses the Germn chancellor
replied on the 24th and Count
Czernin-for Austria on the same day
It is gratifying to have our desire
so promptly realized that all exchanges
of view on this great matter
should be made in the hearing of all
the world.
Count Czemin's reply, which is
directed chiefly to my own address
of the eigth of January, is uttered
in a very friendly tone. He finds in
my statement a sufficiently encouraging
approach to the views of his
own government to justify him in
believing that it furnishes a basis
for a more detailed discussion of
purposes by the two governments.
He is reported to have intimated that
the views he was expressing had
been communicated to me before
hand and that I was aware of them
at the time he was uttering them;
but in this I am sure he was misunderstood.
I had received no intimaf
Jam nf nrliof Vi n f a cnw
nvii vi rv lie* 1/ lit 111 i/^uuvu i/u ouj
There was, of course, no reason why
he should communicate privately
with me. I am quite content to be
one of his public audience.
German Reply Vgue.
Count von Hertling's reply is, T
must say, very vague and very confusing.
It is full of equivocal phrases
and is not clear at any point. But
it is certainly in a different tone
from that of Count Czernin, and
/
apparently of an opposite purpose.
It confirms, I am sorry to say. rather
than removes, the unfortunate
impression made by what we had
learned of the conferences at BrestLitovsk.
His discussion and acceptance
of our general principles lead
him to no practical conclusions. He
I
refuses to apply them to the substantive
items which must constitute
the body of any final settlement
. He is jealous of international
action and of international counsel.
! He accepts, he says, the principle
of public diplomacy, but he appoars
to insist that it be confined, at any
rate^in this case, to generalities and
j that the several questions upon
l whose settlement must depend the
j acceptance of peace by the twenty .
three States now engaged in the
j war, must be discussed and settled,
I not in general counsel, but severally
by the nations most immediately
concerned - by interest or neighborhood.
Freedom of Seas.
He agrees that the seas should be
free, but looks askance at any limitation
to that freedom by international
action in the interest of the
common ordei*. He would without
reserve be glad to see economic barriers
removed between nation and
nation, for that could in no way
impede the ambitions of the military
party with# whom he seems constrained
to keep on terms. Neither
does he raise objection to a limitation
of arguments. 'That matter will
be settled of itself he thinks, by the
economic conditions which must follow
the war. But the German colonies,
he demands, must be returned
without debate. He will discuss
with no one but the representatives
of Russia what disposition shall be
made of the peoples and the lands
of the Baltic provinces; with no one
but the Government of France the
"conditions" under which French
territory shall be evacuated, and onAiipfvio
+ . eUnll Ko ^r\-r\o
iv W1LI1 xiuouia ?nmi? onaii wv viwuv
with Poland.
\
Individual Bargains.
In the determination of ail questions
affecting the Balkan States he
defers, as I understand him, to Austria
and Turke^; and ,with regard to
the agreements to be entered into
concerning the non-Turkish peoples
of the present Ottoman Empire, to
the Turkish authorities themselves.
After a settlement all around, effected
in this fashion, by individual
barter and concession', he would
have no objection, if I correctly interpret
his statement, to a league of
nations which would undertake to
hold the new balance of power
steady against external disturbance.
Von Hertling's Method.
It must be evident to everyone
who understands what' this war has
wrought in the opinion and temper
of the world that no general peace,
no pece worth the' infinite sacrifices
of these years of tragical suffering,
can possibly be arrived at in any
such fashion. The method the German
chancellor proposes is the method
of the Congress of Vienna. We
cannot and will not return to that.
What is at stake now is the peace of
the world. What we are striving
for is a new international order
based upon broad and universal principles
of right and justice?no mere
- * j- i ?
peace 01 aureus anu patcuca. it
possible that Count von Hertling
does not see that, does not grasp it,
is in fact living in his thought in a
world dead and gone? Has he utterly
forgotten the Reichstag resolutions
of the nineteenth of July, or
does he deliberately ignore them?
They spoke of the conditions of a
general peace, not of national aggrandizement
or of arrangement between
State and State.
Peace of the World.
'
| The peace of the world depends
. upon the just settlement of each of
; the several problems to which I adI
i-j A. ? ,1 ? ?
verteu in my reccni uuuicss i.v> uic
Congress. I, of course, do not mean
that the peace of the world depends
upon the acceptance of any particular
set of suggestions as to the way
in which these problems are to be
dealt with. I mean only that those
j problems ?ach and all affect the
whole world; that unless they are
dealt with in a spirit of unselfish
and unbiased justice, with a view to
i the wishes, the natural connections,
the racial aspirations, the security,
and the peace of mind of the peoples
involved, no permanent peace
will have been attained. They cannot
be discussed separately or in
corners. None of them constitutes
a private or separate interest from
I ...1. r\ -P fl^A TtrAvl/1 m O\T
j wmcn tlitr upjiiiuii v/i ?wiiu
be shut out. Whatever affects the
peace affects mankind, and nothing
settled by military force, if settled
wrong, is settled at all. It will presently
.have to be. reopened.
Is Count von Hertling not aware:
! that he is speaking in the court of'
| mankind, that all the awakened na
tions of the world now sit in judg-1
j ment on what every public man, of!
1 whatever nation, may say on the is-1
j sues of a conflict which has spread;
i to every region of the world? The
j Reichstag resolutions of July themj
selves frankly accepted the decisions
| of that court. There shall be no annexations,
no contributions, no punJ
itive damages. Peoples are not to be
! handed about from one sovereignty
| to another by an international con|
ference or an understanding between
rivals and antagonists. National
aspirations must be respected
peoples may now be dominated and
governed only by their own consent.
"Self determination" is not a mere
nlirase. It is an imnerative nrinei
pie of action, which statesmen will'
;j henceforth ignore at their peril. We
, cannot have general peace for the
asking, or by the mere arrangements
of a peace conference. It cannot
be placed together out of individual
undertakings between power- j
ful States. All the parties to the;
war must-join in the settlement of
every issue anywhere involved in it;j
because what we are seeking is a j
peace that we can all unite to guar-|
antee and maintain and every item
of it must be submitted to the com-!
mon judgment whether it be right
and fair, an act'of justice, rather'
than a bargain between sovereigns, j
No Desire to Interfere.
The United States has no desire j
to interfere in European affair:; or to i
act as arbiter in European territor-j
ial disputes. She would disdain to J
take advantage of any internal
weakness cr disorder to impose her
own will upon another people. Sh4
is quite ready to be shown that the
settlements she has suggested are not;
the best or the most enduring. They
are only ner own prpvisionai sKcu;nj
<of principles and" of the way in'
i which they should be applied. But J
she entered this war because she!
was made a partner, whether ohei
would or not, in the sufferings and'
; indignities inflicted by the military!
j masters of Germany, against the j
peace and security of mankind; and
i the conditions of peace will touch i
; her as nearly as they will touch any '
j other nation to which is entrusted a
leading part in the maintenance of j
civilization. She cannot see her way
to peace until the causes of this)
war are removed, its renewal ren-j
dered as nearly as may be impossi-j
ble.
Roots of War. '
This war had its roots in the dis-l
regard of the rights of small na- j
tions and of nationalities which lack- [
ed the union and the force to make!
good their claim to determine their
] own allegiances and their own forms
| of political life. Covenants must
I now be entered into which will ren|
der such things impossible for the
j future; and those covenants must be
j backed by the united force of all the
| natinos that love justice and are j
i willing to maintain it at any cost. If i
! territorial settlements and the politi-j
! cal relations of great" populations!
j which have not the organized power!
to resist are to be determined by the'
contracts of the powerful governments
which consider themselves
most directly affected, as Count von;
Hertling proposes, why may not eco-i
nomio concessions? It has ?ome:
about in the altered world in which j
we now find ourselves that iustice
land the rights of peoples affect the|
j whole field of international dealing!
j as much as access to raw materials
land fair and equal conditions of
; trade. .
Must Be Handled Alike.
! i
! Count von Hertling wants the esI
sential bases of commercial and in- i
| dustrial life to be safeguarded by,
j common agreement and guarantee',,
i but ho cannot expect that to be coni
ceded him if the other matters to l>e
; determined by the articles of peace
| are not handled in the same way as |
| items in the final at counting. Flo,
'cannot ask the benefit of common'
| agreement in the one field without'
! according it in the other. I take it
j for granted that he s< es that separ;
ate and selfish compacts with regard j
| to trade and the essential materials
of manufacture \v*?ulri afford no
| foundation, for peace. Neither, hd
may rest assured, will separate and
! seifi."h compacts with regard to pro- .
( vinces and peoples.
I - Czernin's View.
1 Count Czernin seems- to see the;
| fundamental, elements of peace with
I I
clear eyes and does not seek to obscure
them. He sees that an independent
Poland, made up of all the
indisputably Polish peoples who lie
contiguous to one another, is a matter
of European concern and must
of course be conceded; that Belgium
must be evacuated and restored, no
matter what sacrifices and concessions
that may involve; and that national
aspirations must be satisfied,
even within his own empire, in the
common interest of ^Europe and
mankind. If he is silent about questions
which touch the interest and
purpose of his Allies more nearly
than they touch those of Austria only,
it must of course be because he
feels constrained, I suppose, to defer
to Germany and Turkey in the
circumstances. Seeintr and conced
ing, as he does, the essential principles
involved and the necessity of
candidly applying them, ' he naturally
feels that Austria can respond
to the purpose of, peace as expressed
by the United States with less
ft
embarrassment than could Germany.
Pic would probably have gone much
farther had it not been for the embarrassments
of Austria's alliances
and of her dependence upon Germany.
Principles to be Applied.
After all the test of whether it is
possible for either government to go
any further in this comparison of
views is simple and obvious. The
principles to be applied are these:
First, that each part of the final
settlement ^nust be based upon the
essential justice of that particular
WILSON'S ODDRESS-.Galley 5_
case and upon sOch adjustments as
are most likely to bring a ppace that
will be permanent.
Second, thiat peoples and provinces
are not to be barted about from
sovereignty to sovereignty as if they
were mere chattels and pawns in a
<?a?r.e, even the great game, now forever
discredited, of the balance of
power; but that, y \
Third, every territorial settlement
involved in this war must be made in
the interest and for the benefit of
the populations concerned, and not
as a part of any mere adjustment or
compromise of claims amongst rival
States; and, , .
Fourth, that all well defined na7
^
tional aspirations shall be accorded
the utmost satisfaction that can be
accorded them without introducing
now or perpetuating old elements of
discord and anatgonism that would
be likely in times to break the peace
of Europe and consequently of the
world.
f
A Peace to1 be Discussed.
A general pence erected upon such
foundations can be discussed. Until
such a peace can be secured wc have
no choice but to go. So far as we
can judge, these principles that we
regard as fundamental are already
everywhere accepted as imperative
except among the spokesmen of the
militai-y and annexationist party in
Germany. If they have anywhere
else been rejected, the objectors
have not been sufficiently numerous
or influential to maKe tneir voices
audible. The tragical circumstances
is that this one party in Germany is
apparently willing and able to send
millions of men to their death to
prevent what all the world now sees
to be just.
Can't Turn Back.
I would not be a true spokesman
of the people of the United States
if I did not say once more that we
entered this war upon no small occasion,
and that we can never turn
back from a course chosen upon
principle. Our resources are in part
mobilised now, and wei shall .not
pause until they are mobilized in
their entirety, Our armies are rapidly
going to the fighting front, and
will go more and more rapidly. Our
whole strength will be put into this
war of emancipation?emancipation
from the threat i^nd attempted mastery
or selfish groups of autocratic
rulers?whatever the difficulties and
present partial delays. We are indomitable
in our power of independent
action and can in no circumI
stances consent to live in a world
governed by intrigue and force. We
believe that our own desire for a
new international order under whicn
reason and just and the common interests
of mankind shall prevail is
tho desire of enlightened men everywhere.
Without that new order the
world will he without peace and human
life will lack tolerable conditijiiS
of existence and development.
Having set our hand to the task of
J achieving it, w* shall not turn back.
No .Threat Meant.
I hope that Tt ifc'-not necessary for
me to add that no word of what I y
have said is intended as a threat.
That is not the ten^per of our people.
I have spoken thus only that
the whole world may know the true,
spirit of America?the men everywhere
may know that our passion
for justice and for self government
is no mere passion of words,' but a . j
passion which, once set in action,
must be satisfied. The power of the
United States is a menace to no nation
or people. It will neyer be used
in aggression or for the aggrandi- <
zement of any selfish interest of our
own. It springs out of freedom and
is for the service of freedom.
....... . . . *
i . -"
^ -V
V 7 ANTREVILLE. V
v ; v ,
Antr^rille, Feb. 14.?Rev. Martip.?, v
preached at Shiloh Sunday morning ,
for the first time in a month. A
large crowd were present and were
glad to have the opportunity'if go'
ing to church agpin.
Mr. and Mrs. Furman Bowen and
M'ss Erin Crowther spent Saturday
in Abbeville. ' *
;i! *
Mr. George Mann of near Abbeville,
spent Su Jay with Mr. W. J.
Bowen.
> . ' -f
Mrs. Rozella Branyon of Ander\
- "Jf1 I
son, is visiting her sister, Mrs. Norris
Wakefield.
Mrs. Ralph Ballentine of Wash
i r\ /i flAkia.Jl*: i - ?
mgton, u. l,., is visiting ner iatner, /
Mr. S. J. Wakefieicl. y
Miss Marie Black of Anderson
College, spent the week-end with
home folks.
Mrs. W. J/Bo wen and daughter,
Miss Mayme Efdwen and Mrs. H. P.
Prince spent Tuesday with Mrs. R.
A. Keaton.
Miss Margaret Bradley spent last V i
Tuesday night with Mr. and Mrs.
Roger Williams and family.
George Gray and Henry Erwin of
Erskine College, spent the jyeek-end
with homefolks.
I .
Born?to Mr. and Mrs. Norris
Wakefield, Feb. 7, 1918, a daughter,
Mary Minerva.
The Antreville Literary Society
will give a Washington program on
Feb.'22nd in the evening, beginning ? '.
at 7:30 o'clock. Everyone is invited
to attend.
.
UVVVVVVSVUUU
V V
V MONTEREY. V
V ' V Y*
vvvvvvvvuuvvvv
' r
Monterey, Feb. 14.?Mr. and Mrs
F. E. Patterson and children spent
Sunday in the Nation with Mr. Calvin
Campbell.
Mr. and Mrs. W. T. Cunningham
were guests of Mrs. Love and Miss
Mamie Baskin of Abbeville Saturday
night.
Mr. R. H. Sutherland of Iva, was
the guest of his brother, Mr. J. A.
Sutherland for the week-end.
Mr. Marshall Clinkscales spent
Friday and Saturday in Greenwood
with his uncle, Mr. Baker.
Mr. and Mrs. W. A. McClain and
children were the guests of Mr and
Mrs. M. E. McClain ofFlatwoods.
Miss Elise Hipp was the guest of
Miss,Alberta Clinkscales Sunday.
Miss~ Ethna Patterson and brother,
spent Saturday with Miss Lu- >
-il- O..J.1 1 J /
cue OUUICritlliu auu uiuuibioi /
Corporai R. C. Price of Camp
Jackson, Columbia, is at home for
a few days.
Mr. J. F. Clinkscales spent Saturday
in Anderson.
The young people of this community
enjoyed a dnce given by f
Mr. and Mrs. Roscoe Speer of Latit
mer, Monday night.
Messrs. Bennie and Monnie Napier
and sister, Miss Ruby, Mr. and
; Mrs. Gordon Sutherland spent the
week-end very pleasantly with Mr.
and Mrs. Sutherland.
Mr. John T. Stokes was a business
visitor to the city Saturday.
A AKKowJllo
mr. /\1VII1 lam \Ji. v -*-w,
was the guest of Mr: Arthur Sutherland
Saturday night.
Mr. Alton Nance was a visitor to
the city Saturday.
Miss Salliki '- Sutherland returned
home SUhday^&ftef ;a :weeks visit to
Miss Maud# 'Tabled*
Miss 'Mykifti "Sutherland is the
suest 6f->het't'?ifiiStei>;)i:i.Mrs. Gordon
Sutherland' ef^AlibBViite, this week.
1 Sfjj esiJcci jjri:: .