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Wl OF PEACE 810. denied military events are) responsible for ac-> hon. ; ? Attempt to Make >it Appear Ger many Has Always Wanted a Jost -Peace. Amsterdam, Oct. 7.?An elucidation of the peace offer of the Central pow ers is < published by the Vienna news papers. The article, which is ex plained as emanating from "well in * "fCHrnied circles," reads as follows: "It is first to be emphasized that tfci3 step by Austria-Hungary, Tur key and Germany is not to be regard ed ?s' a decision taken suddenly un d$r stress of military events. It con stitutes rather in the history of our pp?ce policy the last link in the chain o? ? logical and continual evolution, regard being paid at the same time to H .'t?e J?test internal political develop ments in Germany. "'.,V'As 'is known the point of depar ture of' our peace policy was Baron * Birrian's note of December, 1916. The then taken was of a very vague character. The conditions were not described, but only indicated in broad lines! In the course of the develop ment the conditions, have become ^rystalized. During February, March and April, expressions regarding a general and just peace without an nexation or compensation came into currency. . "Subsequently the idea of estab l^^ing: an international court of ar l b'tration and a reduction of arma * nient was discussed and, further, t]ie_ principle of freedom of the seas was. proclaimed, and finally the prin r Ogle' was set forth that economic .^ars aid economic oppression after the~war must be prevented. Out of these guiding principles arose the present peace program. "All these points, it will be recall ed were accepted by Count Czernin. former Austrian foreign minister, in tea and interviews as a suitable for peace negotiations and final ly'.the approval also of the German reichstag, so that uniformity in the 7consumption of the Allies (Teutonic) ' t|ier^py found expression. * ; 4iiTnen followed the. peace note of . jp?jie. Benedict whose proposals and 1pm ideas were accepted by us as 'an acceptable basis. Only fdent Wilson in his note of Janu ;: 8,. 19.18, in his fourteen points xn&de proposals and proclaimed prin which subtly accorded with the program of the Central powers. ?^'^.Otmt Czernin and Count von j^erthng described President Wilson's proposals, apart from a reserve re garding. certain points, as a suitable b^ssis for peace. The Austro-Hungar Relegations and the German reich Sta^-"have described their attitude to ?wagr.d these proposals in a similar ipanner. It should be noted also that j tt'-.w?s^always President Wilson who] j^gtpied himself with a concrete %W(pe program, while the entente ad hered .to its intention of conquest T^en came Baron Burian's last pros pect for^a preliminary discussion byj the belligerent powers. t^PtiB proposal was rejected by Pres ident Wilson, not, however, with the; intention of cutting off peace discus sion, because in his speech, of Sep tember .27, he again reverted to it ?nd in an objective manner set forth tfce necessity of a just peace?a peace, tfeat would not be one-sided, but just | to both sides, and thus fulfill the prin ciple of high justice to alL moment of the proclama prlnciple of equal justice to it became clear that it was] jmer to come near to at because the principle the elimTWSijBB^tepy ^one-sided Perence provides forTfce solutij a group of difficult ques _ ?y.'fisk the consideration of "tlfl^fur t&er circumstances that owingv^the international political change n%?Oer many certain difficulties were cleared out of the way, it became clear that %. uniform decision of the Central powers regarding peace could be ef fected. On this day the new Ger nian governments are in a position to > undertake a step which reaches as far baek as the beginning of 1917. "This step was not born of the; events of the moment, but continual ly had won its way through in the course of a natural development. ."In the circumstances we expect our, step will lead to rapproachment arid discussion. At the same time in expressing: this hope we do not know how the entente and President Wil son will view this step. It is, how ever, politically justified on the ground; that President Wilson repre sents, sole power not politically bound to'tire entente. _ In a formal manner it is also pointed out that our step it not to be interpreted as a request for media tion/ This is out "of the question, as o*flfy a. neutral could act as mediator. ^^Wf approach President Wilson be cause the points formulated by him represent a basis on which we could negotiate. , "Our step will assuredly be regard ed generally as one of great historic moment. In the note it is pressed ? ^Ifb .full clearness that the much f calumniated Central powers are pur suing no imperialistic policy and, moreover, these conditions are in full accord with their program of defense. ." "Should our proposals not be ac cepted then our opponents will have to undertake full responsibility. The note is presented separately because the allies (Teutonic) are represented ili America by protecting States?we by "Sweden, Germany by Switzerland. /The note at this moment has al ready been handed to the American ministers at Stockholm and Berne.' only Absolute Victory. Italians Adopt Words of Wilson as Peace Slogan. ' Rome; Monday, Oct. 7.?"We must have absolute victory. Any other kind of negotiation now is more than inadmissible," these words of Presi dent Wilson immediately after the re jection of the Austrian peace pro #$al> are reproduced by the Epoca in large type as summarizing the atti tude of Italians toward the new peace movement. ALLIES' PEACE .ANSWER. ADVANCING ALLIES CONTINUE BLOWS WITHOUT PAUSE AGAINST HUN. French and Americans Driving Ene my Steadily Northward in Spite of Great Resistance on Positions of High Strategic Value?Gains Made on An Sides. Although peace talk is still in the air there is no peace for the German and Austro-Hungarian armies in the field. While attempts are being made in "well informed circles" in Ger many and Austria-Hungary to show that the latest peace proposals of the central powers are honest expres sions of a desire for a "just peace," Marshal Foch's armies are proceeding without pause in their task of clear ing Belgium and France of the invad ers, and they are continuing to meet with great success. Likewise in Ser bia and Albania the Serbs and Ital ians are fast reclaiming enemy occu pied territory, while at last reports the British general, Allenby, in Pal estine, still was hard after the retreat ing Turks. While further good gains have been made by the British -east of Arras, where the operations have in view the capture of the highly im portant town of Douai, arid other ad vances have been recorded between Cambrai and St. Quentin, chief inter est for the present centers in the , fighting in Champagne and between the Argonne forest and the Meuse where the French and Arnericans are driving the enemy steadily northward, despite great resistance on positions of high strategic value. All along the front from Rheims to the Meuse, a distance of more than 50 miles, the enemy everywhere has met with serious reverses and is falli?g back at some places in disorder, un der the heavy pressure that is being imposed against him. Where the en emy is trying to resist, the French and Americans are making their counter thrusts with splendid stamina and gradually forcing them to give ground step by step. East of the Argonne forest be tween that great wooded bastion and the Meuse the Americans have fur ther advanced thejr line, notwith standing the fact that the enemy has thrown in large reinforcements to hinder the blotting out of the forest and the forming of a junction by way of the Aire valley between the Americans and the French troops on its western side. In the latest fight ing the Americans drove the Germans out of Chatel Chehery northwest of Apremc'-t and obtained command of the heiguts .west of the Aire. The la test German official communication reports that the Americans Monday evening began a new attack in this region: Taken altogether, the entire south ern front of the Germans seems to be in a rather serious situation from La Fere to the north of Verdun. Laon. the great storehouse of the Germans northeast of Soissons, is reported to be on fire, indicating the possibility of an early falling back: the Chemin des-Dames defenses are outflanked at both ends; Rheims has been restored and the Germans pushed back more than ten miles north of it. while eastward General Gouraud's armies and the American first army are brilliantly carrying out their part or the great converging movement that seemingly at no far distant date will force the enemy materially to rend just his line. Another indication of the troublous times in the German army is the re port that Field Marshal von Hinden bu|?- has resigned, after a stormy in terview with Emperor William, during Lwhich Von Hindenburg informed the j emperc r that a German retreat on a j large scale was necessary. . BULGARIANS GIVE TERMS. Sentf-Official Newspaper Tells How Peace Was Secured for War Weary Bulgars. Amsterdam, Oct. 7.?The Bulgar ina semi-official newspaper Proporetz is quoted 'in a Sofia dispatch as giv ing the following as the terms of the armistice entered into between Bul garia and the entente allies: The evacuation of the territories occupied by the Bulgarians in 1916 which belonged to Serbia or Greece The reestablishment of Bulgarian rule in the portion of the former'Bul garian territory occupied by troops of the entente, for Instance Stru mitza. Demobilization of the Bulgarian army except three divisions of in fantry and four regiments of cavalry. Consignment to the allied army of the arms, munitions and war mater ials of the demobilized troops. Capitulation by Bulgarian units sta tioned westward of Uskub when the armistice is signed, the troops to re main guarded by the entente until further orders. Departure within a month of Ger man and Austro-Hungarian troops, military agencies, diplomatic and con sular representatives and persons of those nationalities. The Turks'were not mentioned in the armistice, according to the dis patch. WITHDRAWING FROM BELGIUM. Germane Preparing to Leave Coast? Are Destroying Everything in Sight. Amsterdam, Oct. 8.?The evacua tion of the Belgian coast region by the Germans is continuing, according to the frontier correspondent of The Telegraph. Lines between frontier, near the coast, five miles from the Dutch border are being set afire. The report states that many factories have been undermined, preparatory to destruction. FRENCH ENTER BEIRUT. Naval Division Brings Joy to Popu lace. Paris, Oct. 7.?A French naval di vision operating off the coast of Syria entered Beirut this morning. The en thusiasm of the populace was inde- J AMERICA ANSWERS fiEMW. PRESIDENT CALLS OX MAX TO | EXPLAIN POSITION. "Basis of Negotiation" Not Plan for j i Procedure?Talk of Armistice Out of Question?Way Left Open to; Peace if Germany Really Desires It j on Terms of Allies and at Saiuej Time Militarists are Placed in True) * Light. Washington, Oct. S.?President Wil- j son has met Germany's peace note j with a move which will, at one stroke, j develop whether her proposal is sin-1 cere or merely a pretension, and if a j pretension it be, fully justify for all J time before the world the prolonging) of the war with force to the utmost, j fore* without stint or limit. At the | same time the president has left wide open the door to peace. Declining to propose an armistice while the armies of the central pow ers remain on invaded soil, the pres ident today called on the German chancellor .to state, as an absolutely necessary preliminary to a reply from the entente allies and the United States, whether Germany accepts the principles of peace as repeatedly laid down, or merely proposes to accept them "as the basis of negotiation" and 'whether the chancellor merely speaks for the German military mas ters conducting the war or the whole German people. As the full significance of the president's diplomacy is disclosed it becames evident that he has left open the way to peace and at the same time left the military leaders of the central powers with a question they must necessarily answer in a way that will lead to peace or confront them with an embarrassing situation in their own country. Among diplomats here the presi dent's commt i ication is regarded as one of his master strokes. It is pointed out that upon cursory exami nation it may not show such strong terms as some may have desired. All the president's advisers, however, are confident that as a close considera tion reveals its full import, it will be apparent that it is a long step for ward if Germany really means peace and that if she does not it will strip bare another hypocrisy of German diplomacy so completely that the re-! sponeibility for prolonging the wai never can be charged to the allies even by the German peopile them selves. , The text of the president's com munication was made public today b> Secretary Lansing, together with the official text of Prince Maximilian'? note now published in America for the first time. At the same time offi cials let it be known that there' would be no reply at present to the Aus trian note, similar to that of the Ger man chancellor. It is not considered necessary to deal with Austria until the time comes for a reply to hei dominating ally. The following correspondence wa* given out at the State department: "Department of State, Oct. $,'1918 "The secretary of State makes pub lic the following communications: From the charge d'affaires ad interim of Switzerland in charge of German interests in the United States: "Legation of Switzerland, Washing ton, D. C, October 6, 1918. "Department of German interests "Mr. President: < "I have the honor to transmit here with, upon instructions from my gov ernment the original text of a com munication from the German govern ment received by this legation late this afternoon from the Swiss foreign office. "An English translation of this communication is also inclosed. The German original text, however, i* alone to be considered as authorita tive. Please accept, Mr. President the assurances of my highest consid eration. ?.Signed) "F. Olderlin, "Charge d'affaires A. I. of Switzer land. "In charge of German interests in the United States. "Mr. Woodrow Wilson, "President of the United States. "Washington." (Inclose). Translation of communication from German government to the president of the United States as transmitted by the charge d'affaires A. I. oi Switzerland on October 6, 1918: "The German government requests the president of the United States oi America to take steps for the restora tion of peace, to notify all belliger ents of this request and to invite them to delegate plenipotentiaries for the purpose of taking up negotiations The German government accepts, as a basis for the peace negotiations, the program laid down by the presi dent of the United States in message to congress of January 8, 1918, and m his subsequent pronouncements particularly in his address of Septem ber 27, 1918. In order to avoid fur ther bloodshed the German govern ment requests to bring about the im mediate conclusion of a general ar mistice on land, on water and in the air. (Signed) "Max. Prince of Baden, "Imperial Chancellor." I From the secretary of State to I charge d'affaires of Switzerland: "Department of State, Oct. S, 191S. "Sir: I have the honor to ac knowledge, on behalf of the presi dent, your note of October 6, inclos ing the communication from the Ger man government to the president: and I am instructed by the president to request you to make the follow ing communication to the imperial German chancellor: " 'Before making reply to the re quest of the imperial German govern ment, and in order that that reply shall be as candid and straightforward as the momentous interests involved require, the president deems it neces sary to assure himself of the exact! meaning of the note of the imper ial chancellor. Does the imperial j chancellor mean that the imperial j German government accepts the terms! laid down by the president in his ad/ dress to the congress of the United States on the 8th of January, lpfst, and, in subsequent addressefirand that its object in entering int*Tcliscus sions would be only to agree/upon GAMBRAI HAS F?LLEN. ENGLISH AND AMERICANS CAP TRE CITY AND 8,02)0 PRISONERS. \ttack Was Resumed This Morning and Rapid Progress is Being Made ?Several Towns Captured. London, Oct. 9.?The city of Cam brai has been captured by the Brit ish, with eight thousand prisoners, it is officially announced by Gen. Haig. The Anglo-American attack was re sumed this morning, and rapid pro gress is being made. I.ast night ad ditional progress was being made east of Sequesart and towards Bohain and Maritz. South of Canibrai the British cap tured Forenville and reached the western outskirts of Walincourt. The attack this morning was on the front of the third and fourth armies, and began at 5.30 o'clock. practical details of their application'/ " "The president feels Bound to say with regard to the suggestion of an armistice that he would not feel at liberty to propose a cessation of arms to the governments with which the government of the United States is associated against the central powers so long as the armies of those powers are upon their soil. The good faith of any discussion would mani festly depend upon the consent of the centra] powers immediately to with draw their forces everywhere from invaded territoy. " 'The president also feels that he is justified in asking whether the im perial chancellor is speaking freely for the constituted authorities of the empire who have so far conducted the war. He deems the answer to these questions vital from every point of view.' "Accept, sir, the renewed assur ances of my high consideration. (Signed) "Robert Lansing." Associated Press dispatches last night announced that the president would not make a curt and peremp tory rejection of the offer nor blunt ly demand an unconditional surren der now because the American gov ernment did not propose to fali into the trap of supplying the German mil itarists with a means of bolstering up their argument that the German are fighting a "defensive war" and that the announced objects of the al lies are only to "destroy" them. This is precisely what President Wilson has avoided. He has met what the allied diplomats regard as a trick with a move which will expose it, it a trick it be. He has called upon the German government for an evidence ? of its good faith and should it not be forthcoming he has left with the German leaders the problem of ex [ plaining to their own people, already ! clamoring for peace, wfty they are not willing to accept it. From that point the president pass es to another which will develop, at the exchange proceeds, whether the United States and the allies will deal ; except on the battlefield with the German government as at present constituted. The president tells the ,chancellor that he feels he is "justi fied in asking whether the imperial chancellor is speaking merely for the constituted authorities of the empire who have, so far, conducted the war." This will develop whether Maximilian speaks for the German militarists whom the president has denounced a.s unworthy of any trust and who re garded treaties as a "scrap of paper' or whether he speaks with the force of the people of a nation. This is re garded as probably the most import ant part of the president's communi cation, fraught with potent possibili ties of the most far reaching effect in Germany where an active allied pro paganda has been making rapid head way in awakening the German people to the necessity of assuming the re sponsibilities of their own govern ment and making their own peace. To appreciate its meaning, this part of the president's answer must be considered in * connection with a portion of his speech of September 27 in New York in which he declar ed: "We are all agreed that there can be no peaco obtained by any kind of bargain or compromise with the gov ernments of the central empires, be cause we have dealt with them al ready and have seen them deal with other governments that were parties to this struggle, at Brest-Litovsk and Bucharest. They have convinced us that they are without honor and do not intend justice. They observe no covenants, accept no principle but force and their own interest. We can not come to terms with them. They have made it impossible. The Ger man people must by this time be fully aware that we can not accept the word of those who have forced this war upon us. We do not think th? same thoughts or speak the same lan guage of agreement." It can be authoritatively stated that this pronouncement will be the answer to Prince Maximilian if he replies that he speaks for the kaiser. It is regarded as possible, if not indeed likely, that the German mil itarist leaders hoped for a curt and defiant answer with which they could rally their people to give their last drops of blood "for the protection of the fatherland" and with other roll ing phrases in which the German of ficial pronouncements abound. The unanimous opinion among diplomats I is that the president by a carefully I studied, most skillful reply has rob I bed them of that opportunity, if they desired it and has sent to the Ger man people themselves a new message that the Unied States and the allies desire nothing more than "a reign of law, based upon the consent of the governed and sustained by the or ganizo/o\ppinion of mankind." iyfaras freely conceded that a hasty >>g of the president's answer t not at first satisfy some who ed for a flat rejection of anv s but unconditional surrender. But the government is confident that as the president's communication is carefully digested. its full import grasped, its almost inevitable effect realized and its possibilities for weak ening the German military party on its home grounds comprehended, it HUN BATTERIES CAPT?BED. AMERICANS MARE CLEAN SWEEP NEAR ST. QUENTIN. Tuesday Was a Great Day Witb Americans in St. Qucntin Sector? They Had Heavy Fighting: But Won a Great Victory. With Anglo-American Armies Near St. Quentin, Oct. 9.?Heavy fighting continued throughout the night on the Cambrai-St. Quentin front and the British and Americans continued the progress of Tuesday under a heavy protective fire from the Brit ish artillery. The defeated enemy were almost smothered under a great deluge of steel and explosives. A large number of guns have been captured in addition to great batches of prison ers, which continue to arrive at the cages. The Americans alone captured two complete field batteries and a battery of heavy artillery. The Americans captured their guns Tuesday after noon when they suddenly outflanked both ends of the valley south of Fre mont, capturing all the German guns there. WILEAT HARVEST IN FRANCE. Two Million Bushels Will be Gather ed from the Ground Recovered From Germans. j With the French Army in France, Sept. 6 (Correspondence of The As sociated Press)?Two million bush els of wheat, which the German army intended to send across the Rhine, is now being garnered along the battle front by the harvesting battalions of the French army. From the land wrested from the Teutons since the middle of July 1,500,000 bushels al ready have been gathered, and half a million more remain to be cut. Fur thermore, each backward step by the invaders adds to the wheat acreage which will feed the fighters of France this winter. As the"tanks and the infantry bat ter their way onward the artillery comes up behind them, and with the guns corne the reapers. Alongside po sitions where the French cannon were hurling death into the enemy's ranks in the battles of the Avre. Aisne. and Oise. American harvesters were hard at work. Around Montdidier where grain fields were part of the battleground, self-binders were gathering a rich harvest. Where the big machines cculd not reach the grain because of wire entanglements, shell-holes, and trenches, soldiers armed with scythes and sickles cut the stalks and recov ered every kernel that could be saved. North of the Aisne the advancing French found acres where the Ger mans had worked hard to reap the wheat they had sown, but had found that time too short. East of the Avre. near Moreuil, the poilus found a threshing machine almost intact? evidence that the harvesting had been carried on almost up to the last minute. Ail the other farm imple ments had been taken away or de st roved. GALLANT TWO HUNDRED. American Soldiers Who Had Ten Day Furloughs Went Back to Battle. Paris, Sept. 25 (Correspondence of ; The Associated Press)?General Man . gin's army was engaged in the most terrific battle of the war; for three . days no progress could be made against the desperate resistance of . th*- Prussian Guards and Bavarian shock troops. In the vicinity of Coucy-le-Chateau and on the edges L of the Saint Gobain forest the battle raged. German counterattacks had driven back the attacking Franco , American army at various points. A division of the American army . after three weeks of stubborn fight ing had just been relieved and rested i in comparative safety behind the Ailette River. Two hundred of the American soldiers proudly exhibited . passes entitling them to ten days leave in Paris and otherwhere to the rear. At four in the morning the "alert" was sounded. A violent German coun etr attack had just been launched threatening the allied positions north of the Ailette. The division was to return to the firing line at once. As they mustered out, heavy with sleep, the officers told the boys that those in possession of passes, for the rear might remain behind. They could take advantage of the brief furlough. Not one man remained behind. FORMER PREMIER SHOT. Alexander Trepoff Executed in Pella gra d. Stockholm, Oct. 9.?Alexander F. Trepoff, the former Kussian premier, has been shot, according to Petrograd advices. Trepoff resigned as premier in Jan uary, 1917, after serving less than three months. CLEVER AND LOGICAL. Diplomatic Circles Approve of Pres ident Wilson's Reply. London. Oct. 9.?In diplomatic cir cles President Wilson's reply to the German chancellor is regarded as clever and logical. will be seen that the president chose a very deep but direct method of de veloping an answer for all time to the question: Do the German people want peace? An armistice while the invaders remain on violated soil is al ready rejected. Germany may now state whether she accepts "a reign of law based on the consent of the governed" or whether she wants to negotiate about one: she must say whether the appeal for peace comes from the beaten militarists who be gan a war for world domination or from a war ridden people ready to make a peace lasting. A reading of the 14 points of the president's speech before congress on January 8, 191S makes clear the terms on which peace can be made. TBE BASIS OF PEACE. >ROGIlAM OF PRESIDENT WIL SON IN FOURTEEN TERMS. tosition of President Set Forth ? fn Detail in Address to Congress Last January?German Chancellor Now Asked If He Accepts Them With out Qualification. Washington, Oct. 8.?President -Vilson's program of world peace stat id in 14 terms in his address ? to congress last January 8 and which :he German now is asked to say vhether he accepts without Qualifica tion before the president replies td" the latest peace proposal is. as fol- - lows: 1. Open covenants of peace, open ly arrived at, after which there, shall be no private international under standings of any kind but diplomacy shall proceed always frankly and in the public view. 2. Absolute freedom of navigation upon the seas, outside territorial waters, alike in peace and in war, except as the seas may be closed in] whole or in part by international ac tion for the enforcement of inter national covenants. 3. The removal, so far as possible ?of- all economic barriers and the es tablishment of an equality of. trade conditions among all nations con-, senting to the peace and associating themselves for its maintenance. 4. Adequate guarantees given and taken that national armaments will be reduced to the lowest point con sistent with domestic safety. 5. A free openminded and abso lutely impartial adjustment of co lonial claims, based upon a strict observance of the principle that in determining all such questions of sovereignty the interests of the popu lations concerned must have equal weight with the equitable claims of the government whose title is to be" determined. 6. The evacuation of all Russian territory and such a settlement of all questions affecting Russia as will se cure the best and freest cooperation of the other nations of the world in obtaining for her an unhampered and unembarrassed opportunity for the independent determination of her own political development and nat ional policy and assure *her of a sin cere welcome into the society of free' nations under institutions of her own choosing; and more than welcome as sistance also of every kind that she may need and may herself desire. The treatment accorded Russia by her sister nations in the months to come will be the acid test of their good will, of their comprehension of her deeds as distinguished from their own in terest and of their intelligent and. un selfish sympathy. . 7. Belgium, the whole world will agree, must be evacuated and re stored, without any attempt to limit the sovereignty whieh she enjoys in common with all other free nations. No other single act will serve as this to restore confidence among the na tions in the laws which they them selves have set and determined for the government of their' relations with one another. Without this heal ing act the whole structure and valid-, ity of international law is .forever im paired. ~*?~!_ 8. All French territory should be freed and the invaded portions re stored, and the wrong done to France by Prussia in 1871 in the matter of Alsace-Lorraine, which has unsettled the peace of the world for nearly 50 years, should be righted, in order that peace may once more be made secure in the interest of all. 9. A readjustment of the frontiers of Italy should be effected along clearly recognizable lines of national ity. 10. The people of Austria-Hun gary, whose place among nations we wish to see safeguarded and assum ed, should be accorded the freest op portunity of autonomous develop ment. 11. Roumania, Serbia, and Monter negro should be evacuated; occupied territories restored; Serbia accorded free and secure access to the sea and the relations of the several Balkan States to one another determined by friendly counsel along historically es tablished lines of allegiance and na tionality and international guaran tees of the political and economical independence and territorial integrity., of the several Balkan States should be entered into. 12. The Balkan portions of the present Ottoman empire should be as sured a secure sovereignty, but the other nationalities which are now un der Turkish rule should be assured an undoubted security of life and ab solutely unmolested opportunity for autonomous developments and the Dardanelles should be permanently opened as a free passage to the ships and commerce of all nations under international guarantees. 13. An independent Polish state should be erected which should in clude the territories inhabited by in disputably Polish populations which should be assured a free and secure access to the sea, and whose political and economic independence and ter ritorial integrity should be guaran teed by international covenant. 14. A general association of na tions must be formed under specific j covenants for the purpose of affbrd ! ing mutual guarantec-s of political in i dependence and territorial integrity i to groat and small states alike. I AMERICANS DRIVING FORWARD. I Taking Towns, Prisoners and Austrian Field Guns. j With Americans Northwest of Ver ; dun Tuesday night. Oct. 8.?Ameri j cans drove forward today on the east ! side of the Meuse and occupied Char i noy. In company with the French j they captured the villages of Con j senvoye, Brabant, Haumont and Beau I mont. They drove the enemy well 't beyond these towns and are pushing him northward in a desperate fight, j In today's operations more than three thousand prisoners were taken. : American units captured four hun I dred prisoners and four Austrian field I guns.