The Morgan County press., January 25, 1918, Image 7

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In Message to Congress President Pre
sents Definite Peace Program of
the United States
FOURTEEN CONSIDERATIONS DEMANDED
American People Ready to Give Their Strength
and Highest Purpose In Final War
for Human Liberty, Declares
President Wilson
Washington. President Wilson ad
dressing Congress, delivered a restate
ment of war aims in agreement with
the recent declaration by the British
premier. David Lloyd George. The
President presented a definite pro
gram for world peace.
The President said:
"Gentlemen of the Congress
Once more, as repeatedly before, the
spokesmen of the. Central empires
have indicated their desire to discuss
the objects of the war and the possi
ble bases of a general peace. Parleys
have been in progress at Brest-Lftovsk
between Russian representatives and
representatives of the Central Powers
to which the attention of all the bel
ligerents' has been invited for the pur
pose of ascertaining whether it may be
possible to extend these parleys into a
general conference with regard to
terms of peace and settlement.
"The Russian representatives pre
sented not only a perfectly definite
tatement of the principle upon which
they would be willing to conclude
peace, but also an equally definite pro
gram of the concrete application of
those principles. The representatives
of the Central Powers, on their part,
presented ' an outline of settlement
which, if much 4ess definite, seemed
susceptible of liberal interpretation
until their program of practical terms
was added. T
"That program proposed no conces
sions at all either to sovereignty of
Russia or to the preferences of the
population " with whose fortunes it
dealt, but meant, in a word, that the
Central empires were to keep every
loot of territory their armed forces had
'occupied every province, every city,
every point of vantage as a perma
nent addition to their territories and
their power.
"It is a reasonable conjecture that
the general principles of settlement,
which they at first suggested, origi
nated with the more liberal statesmen
of Germany and Austria, the men who
have begun to feel the force of their
own people's thought and purpose,
while the concrete terms of actual set
tlement came from the military lead
ers who have no thought but to keep
wiiat thtv have erot. The negotiations
have been broken off. The Russian
representatives were sincere andin
earnest. Tney can noi emeruuu uuu
proposals of conquest and domina
tion. "The whole incident is full of sig
nificance. It is' also full of perplexity.
With whom are ihe Russian repre
sentatives dealing? For whom aro
the representatives of the Central
empires speaking? Are they speak
ing for the majorities of their re
spective parliaments or for the mi
nority parties, that military and im
perialistic minority which has so far
dominated their whole policy and
controlled the affairs of Turkey and
of the Balkan States which, have felt
obliged to become their associates In
this war? The Russian representa
tives have Insisted, very Justly, very
wisely, and in the true spirit of mod
ern democracy, that the conferences
they have been holding with the Teu
tonic and Turkish statesmen should
be held within open, not closed doors,
and all the world has been audience,
as was desired.
To whom have we been listening,
then? To those who speak the spirit
and Intention of the resolutions of
the German Reichstag of the ninth
of July, last, the spirit and Intention
of the liberal leaders and parties of
Germany, or to those who resist and
defy that spirit and intention and
Insist upon conquest and subjuga
tion? Or are we listening. la fact, to
both, unreconciled and In open and
hopeless contradiction? These are
?ry serious and pregnant questions.
Upon cue answer to them depends the
peace of the world.
"But whatever the results of the
parleys at Brest-Litovsk, whatever
the confusions of counsel and of pur
pose in the utterances of the spokes
men of the Central Powers, they have
again attempted to acquaint the
world with their objects in the war
and have again challenged their ad
versaries to say what their objects
are and what sort of settlement they
would deem just and satisfactory.
There is no good reason why that
challenge should not be responded to,
and responded to with the utmost can
dor. We did not wait for it Not once,
but again and again, we have laid our
whole thought and purpose before the
world, not in general terms only, but
each time with sufficient definition to
make it clear what sort of definitive
terms of settlement must necesarily
spring out of them.
"The moral climax of this, the cul
minating and final war for human lib
erty has come." said the President in
ending his address, "and they (peo
ple of the United States), are ready
tn nnt. their own strength, their own
highest purpose, their own integrity
and devotion to the test.'
"Within the last week Mr. Lloyd
George has spoken with admirable
candor and in admirable spirit' for
the people and government of Great
Britain. There is no confusion of
counsel among the adversaries of
the Central Powers, no uncertainty of
principle, no vagueness of detail.
The only secrecy of counsel, the only
lack of fearless frankness, the only
failure to make definite statement of
the objects of the war, lies with Ger
many and her allies.
"The issues of life and death hang
upon these definitions. No statesman
who has the least conception of his re
sponsibility ought for a moment to
permit himself to continue this trag
ical and appalling outpouring of brood
and treasure, unless he is sure beyond
a peradventure that the objects of the
vital sacrifice are part and parcel of
the very life of society and that the
people for whom he speaks think them
right and imperative as he does.
"There is, moreover, a voice call
ing for these definitions of principle
and of purpose which is, it seems to
me, more thrilling and more compell
ing than any of the many moving
voices with which the troubled air of
the world is filled. It is the voice of
the Russian people. They are pros
trate and all but helpless, it would
seem, before the grim power of Ger
many, which has hitherto known no
relenting and no pity. Their power,
apparently, Is shattered. And yet
their soul is not subservient. They
will not yield either In principle or in
action. Their conception of what is
right, of what it Is humane and honor
able for them to accept, has been
stated with a frankness, a largeness
of view, a generosity of spirit and a
universal human sympathy which
must challenge the admiration of ev
ery friend of mankind; and they have
refused to compound their Ideals or
desert others that they themselves
may be safe.
"They call to us to say what it is
that we desire. In what, if in any
thing, our purpose and our spirit differ
from theirs; and I believe that the
people of the United States would
wish me to respond with utter simplic
ity and frankness. Whether their
present leaders believe it or not, it is
our heartfelt desire and hope that
some way may be opened whereby we
may be privileged to assist the people
of Russia to attain their utmost hope
of liberty and ordered peace.
"It will be our wish and purpose
that the processes of peace, when
they are begun, shall be absolutely
open and that they shall involve and
permit henceforth no secret unaer
RtAndinrs of any kind. The day of
conquest and aggrandizement is gone
by; so is also the day cf secret cove
nants entered into in the Interest of
particular governments and likely at
some unlooked-for moment to upset
the peace of the world. It is this
happy fact, now clear to the view of
every public man whose thoughts do
not still linger in an age. that is dead
and gone, which makes iT possible for
every nation whose purposes are con
sistent with justice and the peace of
the world to avow now or at any other
time the objects it has In view.
"We entered this war because vio
lations of right had occurred which
touched us to the quick and made the
life of our own people Impossible un
less they were corrected and tne worm
secured once for all against their re
currence. What we demana in tnia
war, therefore, Is nothing peculiar to
ourselves. It is that the world be maae
fit and safe to live in; and mainly, that
it be -made safe for every peace-loving
nation, which, like our own, wishes to
live its own life, determine its own in
stitutions, be assured of Justice and
ffl'r rtealine bv the other peoples of
the world, as against force and selfish
flgereasion. All the peoples of tne
world are in effect partners in this in
terest and for our own part we see
very clearly that unless justice De
ritn a to others, it will not be done to
us. The program 01 me wuuu yca,
therefore, is our program, ana tnat pro
gram, the only possible program, as
we see it. is this:
"I. 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.
"II. Absolute freedom of navigation
upon the seas, outside territorial wa
ters, alike in peace and in war, except
as the seas may be closed in whole or
in part by international action for the
enforcement of international cove
nants. "III. The removal, so far as pos
sible, of all economic barriers and the
establishment of an equality of trade
conditions among all the nations con
senting to the peace and associating
themselves for its maintenance.
"IV. Adequate guarantees given and
taken that national armaments will be
reduced to the lowest point consistent
with domestic safety.
"V. "A free, open-minded and abso
lutely impartial adjustment of all co
lnniai claims, basedupoir a -strict ob
servajjge of the principle that in deter
mining a 11 sucn quesnviiB ui u''6
t v the interests of the populations con
cerned must have equal weight with
the equitable claims of the Govern
tnent. whose title is to be determined.
"VI. The evacuation of all Russian
territory and such a settlement of all
questions affecting Russia as will se
cure the best and freest co-operation
of the other nations of the world in
obtaining for her an unhampered and
unembarrassed opportunity for the in
dependent determination of her own
political development and national pol
icy and assure her of a sincere wel
come into the society of free nations
under institutions of her own choos
ing; and, more than a welcome, assist
ance also of every kind that she may
need and may herself desire. The
treatment accorded Russia by her sis
ter nations in the months to come will
be the acid test of their good will, or
their comprehension of her needs as
distinguished from their own interests,
and of their Intelligent and unselfish
sympathy.
"VII. Belgium, the whole world will
agree, must be evacuated and restored,
without any attempt to limit the sov
ereignty which she enjoys in common
with all other free nations. No other
single act will serve as this will serve
to restore confidence among the na
tions in the laws which they have
themselves set and determined for the
overnment of their relations with one
another. Without this healing act tne
whol structure and validity of inter
national law is forever Impaired.
"VII. All French territory Bhould
be fresd and the invaded portions re
stored, and the wrong done to France
by Pnnsia in 1871 in the matter of Al-eace-Ldrralne,
which has unsettled the
peace cf the world for nearly fifty
years, should be righted, In order that
peace may once more be made secure
in the Interest of all.
"IX. A readjustment of the frontiers
of Italy hould be effected along clear
ly recognizable lines of nationality.
"X. The peoples of Austria-Hungary,
whose pitce among the nations we
wish to tee safeguarded and assured,
should bt accorded the freest opportu
nity of afitonomous. development.
"XI. Romania, Serbia nd Montene
gro should be evacuated; occupied ter
ritories restored; Serbia accorded free
and securff access to the sea; and the
relations cf the several Balkan States
to one another determined by friendly
counsel among historically established
Hnes of sllcclance and nationality;
and international guarantees of the
political pnd economic Independence
and territorial Integrity of the several ,
Balkan States should be entered intoJ
"XII. The Turkish portions of the
nresent Ottoman empire shouia oe
assuied a secure sovereignty, but the
other nationalities which are now
under Turkish rule should be as-
ijured an undoubted security of life
and an absolutely unmolested oppor
tunity of autonomous development, and
the Dardanelles should be permanent
ly opened as a free passage to tr
ships and commerce of all nations un
der international guarantees.
"XIII. An independent Polish State
should be erected, which should in
clude the territories inhabited by in
disputably Polish populations, which
Bhould 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.
"XIV. A general association of na
tions must be formed under speciflo
covenants for the purpose of afford
ing mutual guarantee of political in
dependence and territorial integrity to
great and Bmall states alike.
"In regard to these essential recti
fications of wrong and assertions of
right we feel ourselves to be intimate
partners of all the governments and
peoples associated together against
the imperialists. We can not be sepa
rated in interest or divided in purpose.
We stand together until the end.
"For such arrangements and cove
nants we are willing to fight and to
continue to fight until they are
achieved; but only because we wish
the right to prevail and desire a just
and stable peace, such as can be se
cured only by removing tne cniei
provocations to war, which this pro
gram does remove. We have no jeal
ousy of German greatness, and there
is nothing in this program that im
nairs it. We grudge her no achieve
ment or distinction of learning or of
pacific enterprise such as have maae
her record very bright and very envia
ble. We do not wish to injure her or
to block in any way her legitimate in
fluence or power. We do not wish to
fight her either with arms or with hos
tile arrangements of trade, if she is
willine to associate herself with us
and the other peace loving nations of
the world in covenants of justice ana
law and fair dealing. We wish her
only to accept a place of equality
among the peoples of the world the
new world in which we now live in
stead of a nlace of mastery.
"Neither do we presume to suggest
to her any alteration or moditication
of her institutions. But it Is neces
sary, we must frankly say, and neces
sary as a preliminary to any Intent
cent dealings with her on our part,
that we should know whom her
spokesmen speak for when they speak
to us whether for the Reichstag ma
jority or for- the military party, and
the men whose creed is imperial domi
nation.
"We have spoken now, surely, in
terms too concrete to admit of any
further doubt or question. An evi
dent DrinciDle runs through the whole
program I have outlined. It is the
nrincinle of justice to all peoples ana
nationalities and their right to live
on equal terms of liberty and safety
with one another, whether tney ne
strong or weak. Unless this principle
be made its foundation no part of the
structure of international justice can
Rtnnif.
"The DeoDle of the United States
could act upon no other principle, and
to the vindication of this principle
thev are ready to devote their lives,
their honor, and everything that they
possess. The moral climax of this,
the culminating and final war for hu
man liberty has come, and they are
ready to put their own strength, their
own highest purpose, their own integ
rity and devotion to the test."
i 1 1
GERMANY FACES BIG CRISIS
Gap Between Political Parties Be
comes a Chasm Too Wide
to Be Bridged.
Amsterdam. The German throne
itself may be haneing in the balance.
The German government is confronted
by one of the greatest crises in us
history as a result of the conflict be
tween the political government and
the high command of the army, and
the necessity of making a decision
that will solve the gigantic problem
rests with the kaiser himself.
If the German papers correctly mir
ror the situation, the test which the
ftnlsheviki have made of Germany s
attituda toward the principle of no
annexations has thrown Germany into
political turmoil.
Tt is reDorted generally tnat gen
eral von Ludendorff, as leader of the
fnrmr rrouD. has gone so far as to
threaten the resignation of himself
and Field Marshal von Hindenburg if
further countenance Is given even to
mirh Tiews as those advanced by men
of the type of Dr. von Kuehlmann and
Count Czernin, the German ana Aus
trian foreign ministers.
At the same time, the views or von
Kuehlmann and Czernin fail to satisfy
th fiprman Socialists, who regard
their miJdle-of-the-road psJtlcy as
trickery, and who are determined that
tha sDirit of the Reichstag resolution
must be followed sincerely and with
out qualification or reserve.
FOOD
DEPARTMENT
1
CHS
DECEMBER ACTIVE MONTH FOR
STATE FOOD INSPECTORS, WHO
VISITED MANY PLACES.
PROSECUTE LAW VIOLATORS
Grocers, Hotels, Restaurants, Meat
Shops, Bakeries', Drug Stores and
Fruit Stands Are Among the List
Most Frequently Prosecuted.
Nashville. The report of the Ten
nessee department of food and drugs
shows that during the month of De
cember, 55 days were devoted to in
spection work by the department,
equivalent to an average of 3.2 men
in the field for each of the seventeen
working days. The inspectors visited
fourteen towns, distributed over
twelve counties. Eighteen concerns
were prosecuted for violating various
laws administered by this department.
Food handling establishments visit
ed numbered 1,028, and hotels visited
were eight, making a total of 1,036. Of
the food handling establishments in
spected 286 were groceries, 198 res
taurants, 274 soft drink stands, 119
meat shops, 16 fruit stands, 25 bak
eries, 23 confectioneries, 17 candy
factories and 44 drug stores; the re
mainder were lunch stands, produce
houses, ice cream stands and other
miscellaneous food handling estab
lishments. Sanitary orders were is
sued in 331 places; 697 establishments
were passed as o. k.
In the course of these inspections
four lots of food were condemned as
unfit for use. Ot this there were
44,912 pounds of flour, 90,000 pounds
of Irish potatoes and ten pounds of
canned sauce.
Under the drug store liquor law six
investigations were made and under
the anti-narcotic law two investiga
tions were made.
Prosecutions under the sanitary
food law were: Chattanooga, three
guilty, each fined $10 and costs;
Nashville, eleven guilty, seven fined
each $10 and costs and four cases
compromised.
Prosecutions under the food and
drug law were: Chattanooga, one
guilty, fined $10 and costs; Nashville,
one guilty, fined $10 and costs.
Two were prosecuted and found
guilty under the drug store law at
Pulaski, and each was bound over to
the grand jury.
Correction notices were issued at
five, of the eight hotels visited, the
other three being passed as o. k.
The food and drug laboratory re
ported twenty food samples and four
drug samples tested during the month.
Thirteen food samples and two drug
samples were recorded as illegal.
Insurance Revenue Increases.
The comparative statement of re
ceipts of the department cf insurance
from 1911 to 1917, inclusive, issued
by Insurance Commissioner L. K. Ar
rington, shows an increase over 1916
in the gross income of that depart
ment of $51,429.27. Mr. Arrington's
report also shows a decrease in ex
penses for the year of $43.77.
All sources of income for- the de
partment show material increases
with the exception of interests de
posits, which show a decrease. This,
however, is due to the fact that the
insurance commissioner now remits
the treasury all funds on hand at the
end of each month, with the exception
of department expense funds; where
as, formerly all funds were held for a
longer period of time, thus increasing
the interest earnings to the credit of
the department.
The financial condition of the de
partment of insurance as compared
with former years reflects much
credit, on the administration of Com
missioner Arrington. Mr. Arrington
succeeded W. F. Dunbar as insurance
commissioner in 1915; previous to
that time he was a deputy in the in
surance commissioner's office.
State Has 184 Coal Mines.
The Bon Air Coal Company reports
to Fuel Administrator W. E. Myer
that following several days of idle
ness, owing to a lack of cars, its mines
are again in operation, having re
ceived a supply of cars from the N.
C. & St. L. Railway.
He also received a report from
Chief Mine Inspector Shiflett. in
which he states that 1S4 coal mines
are in operation in Tennessee, with
the miners working four days a week.
The report sets out that in 1916 the
number ot mines in operation in the
Mate was 126. or 7S less than 1917.
These 126 mines produce about 6,
nnnnoft tons of coal in 1916. whereas
the 1S4 mines operated la 1917 pro
duced 7X00.000 tons.