English Translation

19 Message to the Congress on January 8, 1918. After the issue of the Reiehspost, dated January 1, 1918. President Wilson gave the Congress a message in which, among other things, he says: Once again, as has been said before, the speakers of the Middle East have expressed the desire to discuss the goals of war and a possible basis for a general peace. In Brest-Litovsk there have been discussions between representatives of the Central Powers and Russia, to which the attention of all the warring leaders has been drawn for the purpose of determining whether it is possible to extend these discussions to a general peace conference. The representatives of Russia have not only presented a well-described statement of the bases for which they would be willing to make peace, but also presented an equally clear programme for the effective application of these principles. For their part, the representatives of the Mittelmitcht presented the basic lines for an agreement which, although less clear, would be capable of interpretation in the liberal sense until they gave the more in-depth progranm positive conditions. This programme did not make any concessions, neither for the sovereignty of Russia nor for the benefit of the peoples, whose fate it was. It meant, in short, that the Central Powers intended to keep every foot-and-mouth country occupying its armed masses, every province, every city and every beneficial point as a dangling increase in their countries and their power. It is a legitimate presumption that the general principles of a general agreement, which they first proposed, were brought forth by the liberal statesmen of Germany and Austria-Hungary, those men who had to feel the power of their own people, their thoughts and aspirations, while the koucret conditions for the actual agreement came from the military leaders who had no other thought than to retain what they possessed. The negotiations were concluded (!). The representatives of Russia were sincere and could not seriously consider such proposals of conquest and supremacy. The whole incident is very significant, but also very confusing. Who are the representatives of the Russians actually dealing with? On whose behalf do the representatives from the middle classes speak? They speak for the majorities of the people's representatives or for the minority parties, for the militant imperialist minority, who have so far been listening to all their policies, as well as the affairs of Turkey and the Balkans.