THE PEACE MOVE (II)
BERLIN, DECEMBER 14, 1916
(The Berlin papers related that, after the German peace proposal had been announced, hundreds of thousands waited in the streets during the night for the answers from the Allies.)
Soldiers: In agreement with the sovereigns of my allies, and with the consciousness of victory, I have made an offer of peace to the enemy. Whether it will be accepted is still uncertain. Until that moment arrives you will fight on.
The Kaiser to the Army, December, 1916.
Fully conscious of the gravity of this moment, but equally conscious of its requirements, the allied Governments, closely united to one another and in perfect sympathy with their peoples, refuse to consider a proposal which is empty and insincere.
Once again the Allies declare that no peace is possible so long as they have not secured reparation for violated rights and liberties, the recognition of the principle of nationality and of the free existence of small States, so long as they have not brought about a settlement calculated to end once and for all forces which have constituted a perpetual menace to the nations, and to afford the only effective guarantee for the future security of the world.