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President Wilson Sets Forth Peace
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Program
" Oil1 January 8, Prcaidont Wilson delivered the
following address aP a Joint session of the house
'and senate, sotting forth arrangements for the
poacd of the world, for which ho said, 'wo are
willing to fight until they are achieved."
'Gontlomon of the congress:
"Onco moro, as repeatedly boforo, the spokes
men of tho central empires have Indicated their
.deslro to discuss tho objects of tho war and the
poBslblo basos of a general peace. Parleys have
.boon in progress at Iirest-Litovsk between Rus
sian ronrospntativea and ropresontatlves of tho
..central powers to which tho attention of all tho
.bolligorcnts have been Invited for tho purpose
Eof ascertaining whether it may bo possible to
oxtond thoso parloys Into a general conference
with regard to terms of peace and settlement.
.The Russian ropresontatlves presented not only
a porfectly definite statement of tho principles
.upon which they would bo willing to conclude
poaco but also an equally definite program of
tho concroto application of thoso principles. The
.ropresontatlves of tho central powers, on their
part, presented an outlino of settlement which,
if much less deflnito seemed susceptible of lib
oral interpretation until their specific program
of practical terms was added. That program pro
posed no concessions at all either to the sov
oignty of Russia or to the preferences of tho
populations with whoso fortunes it dealt, but
meant in a word that tho contral empires were
to lcoop ovory foot of territory their armed forces
had occupied every province, every city, every
point of vantago as a permanent addtion to
tholr territories and their powor. It is a reason
ablo conjecture that tho general principles of
' settlement which they at first suggested, origin
ated .with the moro liberal statesmen of Gor
many and Austria, tho rao" who have begun to
fool tho force of their own people's thought and
purposo, while tho concrete terms of actual set
tloraont came- from tho military leaders who
have no thought but to l.eop what they have got.
Tho negotiations have been broken off. The
Russian representatives were sincere and in
oarnost. They can not entertain such proposals
of conquest, and domination.
'The whole incident is full of significance. It
Is also full of perplexity. With whom are the
Russian representatives dealing? For whom are
tho representatives of tho contral empires speak
ing? Are they speaking for tho majorities of
thoir respective parliaments or for tho minority
parties, that military and imperialistic 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 repre
, sontatives havo Insisted, very justly, very wisely
and in tho true spirit of modern democracy that
the conferences they have been holding with the
Teutonic and Turkish statesmen should be held
within open not closed doors, and all the world
has been audience as was desired. To whom
havo we beon listening, then? To those who
.speak tho'splrit and intention of the resolutions
of tho German relchstag of tho ninth of July
last, the spirit and intention of tho liberal lead
ers and parties of Germany or to those who re
sist and defy that spirit and intention and insist
upon conquest and subjugation? Or are we
listening in fact to -both unreconciled and in
(,ppon and hopeless contradiction? These are
very serious and pregnant questions. Upon the
answer to them depends the peace of the world.
INCIDENT FULL OF SIGNIFICANCE
' ' "But whatever tho results of the parleys at
. Brest-Litovsk, whatever the confusions of coun--sej
and of purpose in the utterances of the
spokesmen of the contral empires, they have
again attempted to acquaint the world with thoir
objects in tho war and have again challenged
tholr adversaries to say what their objects are
jmd 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 candor We
didnotwiilt for it. Not once, but again and
-again wo have laid our whole thought and pur
pose 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 necessarily spring out of them. Within
the last week Mr. Lloyd-George has spoken with
admirable candor and in admirable spirit for the?
people and goyernment of Great Britain. There
is no confusion of counsel among the adversaries
of the central powers, no uncertainty of prin
ciple, no vagueness of detail. The only secrecy
of counsel, the only lack of fearless frankness,
tho only failure to make definite statements of
tho objects of the war lies with Germany and
her allies. The issues of life and death hang
upon theso definitions. No statesman who has
tho least conception of his responsibility ought
for a moment to permit himself to continue this
tragical and appalling outpouring of blood and
treasure unless ho is sure beyond a peradventure
that the objects of tho 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.
DEFINITIONS OF PRINCIPLE
"There is, moreover, a voice calling for these
definitions of principle and of purpose which is,
it seems to me, more thrilling and more com
pelling 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
prostrate and all but helpless, it would seem,
before the grim power of Germany, 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 honorable for
them to accept, has been stated with a frank
ness, a largeness of view, a generosity of spirit
and a universal human sympathy which must
challenge the admiration of every friend of
mankind; and they have refused to compound
thoir ideals or desert others that they themselves
may be. safe. They call to us to say what it is
that wo desire, in what, if in anything our pur
pose and our spirit differ from theirs; and I
believe that the people of the United States
would wish me to respond with utter simplicity
and frankness. Whether their present leaders
believe it or not it is our heartfelt de'sire "and
hope that some way may be opened whereby we
'may be privileged to assist the people of Russia
to obtain their utmost hope of liberty and or
dered 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 understandings, of
any kind. The day of conquest and aggrandize
ment is gone by; so is also the day ,of secret
covenants entered into in the interest of partic
ular governments and likely at. some unlooked
for moment to upset the peace of he 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 pur
poses are consistent with justice and the peace
of the world to avow now or at any other time
the objects it has in view.
VIOLATIONS OF RIGHT
' "We entered this war because violations of
right had occurred which touched us to tie quick
and made tho life of our own people impossible
unless they were corrected and the world se
cured once for all against their recurrence.
What we demand in this war, therefore, is noth
ing peculiar to ourselves. It is that the world
be made fit and safe to live in; and particularly
that it be made safe for every peace loving na
tion which, like our own, wishes to live Its own
life, determine its own institutions, be assured
of justice and fair dealing by the other peoples"
of the world as against force and selfish aggres
sion. All the peoples of the world are in effect
partners in this interest and for our own Dart
we see very clearly that unless justice be done to
others it will not be done to us. The program
0ti h ?orldB peace therefore, is our program,
and that program, the only possible program as
we see it, is this: '
PROGRAM FOR PEACE
1- Open covenants of peacet openly arrived
at after which there shall be no private inter
national understandings of any kind but dip
lomacy shall proceed always fratfkly'ahd In the
public view. ' ' -t '
"2 Absolute freedom of navigatiori'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 action for the
enforcement of international covenants.
"3 The removal, so far as possible, of all
economic barriers and the establishment of an
equality of trade conditions among all the na
tions consenting to the. jreace and associating
themselves for its maintenance.
"4 Adequate guarantees given and taken that
national armaments will be reduced to the low
est point consistent with domestic safety..
"5 A free, open minded and absolutely im
partial adjustment of all colonial claims, based
upon a strict observance of the principle that in
determining all such questions of sovereignty
the interests of the populations concerned must
have equal weight with the equitable claims of
tho government whose title is to be determined.
6 The evaluation of all 'Russian territory
and such a settlement of all questions affecting
Russia as will secure the best and freest co-operation
of the other nations of the world in ob
taining for her an unhampered and unembar
rassed" opportunity for the independent deter
mination of her own political development and
national policy and assure her of a sincere "wel
come into the society of free nations under in
stitutions of her own choosing; and, more than
a welcome, assistance also of every kind that
she may need arfd 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
needs as distinguished from their own interests
and of their intelligent and unselfish sympathy.
"7 Belgium, the whole world will agree, must
be evacuated and restored without any attempt
to limit the sovereignty 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 nations in the laws which
they have themselves set and determined for the
government of their relations "with, one another.
Without this healing act, the wh'ole structure
and validity of international law is forever im
paired. "8 All French territory should be freed and
the invaded portions restored and the wrong
done to -Prance by Prussia in 1871 in the mat
ter of Alsace-Lorraine, which has unsettled the
peace of the world for nearly fifty years, Bhould
be righted, in order that peace mayonce 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 nationality.
"10 The peoples of AustrlaHungary, whose
place among the nations we wish to see safe
guarded and assured, should be accorded the
freest opportunity of autonomous development.
"11 Rumania, Serbia and Montenegro should
be evacuated; occupied territories restored; Ser
bia 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 established lines of allegiance
and nationality; and international guarantees of
the political ind economic independence and. ter
ritorial integrity of the Several Balkan states
should be entered into. .
"12 The Turkish portions of the present Otto
man empire should be assured a secure "sover
eignty, but the other natioriaiities which are
now, under Turkish rule should be assured an
undoubted security of life and an absolutely un
molested opportunity of autonomous develop
ment and the Dardanelles should be permanently
opened as a free passage to the ships and com
merce of all nations under international guar
antees. "13 An independent Polish state should be
erected which should include the territories in
habited by undisputably Polish populations,
which should be assured a free and secure ac
cess to the sea and whobe political and economic
independence and territorial integrity should be
guaranteed by international covenant.
"14 A general association .of nations must be
formed under .specific covenants for the purpose
of affording mutual guarantees, of political inde
pendence and territorial Integrityt to great and
small states alike.
"In regard to these eaten tiaf . rectifications of
wrong and assertions of-right we feel ourselves
to be Intimate partners of 'all the 'governments
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