The only words heard anywhere in
Germany are 'Peace at last'."
The President however, had been struck by the news coming in from day to
day of new atrocities in France, and of new cases of submarine murders,
and in his reply of October 14th, he declared that while he was ready to
refer the question of an armistice to the judgment and advice of
military advisers of the government of the United States and the Allied
governments, he felt sure that none of those governments would consent
to consider an armistice as long as the armed forces of Germany
continued the illegal and inhuman practices which they were persisting
in. He also emphasized the fact that no armistice would be accepted that
would not provide absolutely satisfactory safeguards and guarantees of
the maintenance of the military supremacy of the armies of the United
States and of the Allies in the field. The President also called the
attention of the Government of Germany to that clause of his address on
the Fourth of July in which he had demanded "the destruction of every
arbitrary power that can separately, secretly and of its single choice
disturb the peace of the world, or, if it cannot be presently destroyed,
at least its reduction to virtual impotency." He declared that the power
which had hitherto controlled the German nation was of the sort thus
described, and that its alteration actually constituted a condition
precedent to peace.
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