“Responsible statesmen must now everywhere see, if they never saw before, that no peace can rest securely upon political or economic restrictions meant to benefit some nations and cripple or embarrass others, upon vindictive action of any sort, or any kind of revenge or deliberate injury.  The American people have suffered intolerable wrongs at the hands of the Imperial German Government, but they desire no reprisal upon the German people, who have themselves suffered all things in this war, which they did not choose.  They believe that peace should rest upon the rights of peoples, not the rights of governments—­the rights of peoples great or small, weak or powerful—­their equal right to freedom and security and self government and to a participation upon fair terms in the economic opportunities of the world, the German people, of course, included, if they will accept equality and not seek domination.”

About five weeks prior to the Pope’s proposition, the Germans had again put forth a peace feeler.  On July 19, the German reichstag adopted resolutions in favor of peace on the basis of mutual understanding and lasting reconciliation among the nations.  The resolutions sounded well but they were accompanied by expressions to the effect that Germany in the war was the victim of aggression and that it approved the acts of its government.  They referred to the “men who are defending the Fatherland,” to the necessity of assuring the freedom of the seas, and to the impossibility of conquering a united German nation.  There was no doubt in the mind of any neutral or any belligerent opposing Germany that the German government was the real aggressor and that the freedom of the seas had never been restricted except by Germany herself, hence there was no tendency to accept this as a serious bid for peace.  The resolutions figured largely in German internal politics but were without effect elsewhere.

Stockholm, Sweden was the scene of a number of peace conferences but as they were engineered by socialists of an extreme type and others holding views usually classed as anarchistic, no serious attention was paid to them.  The “pacifists” in the Allied and neutral countries were more or less active, but received little encouragement.  Their arguments did not appeal to patriotism.

Going back to the beginning of the year, within a week after the President’s “peace without victory” speech before the senate, Germany replied to it by announcing that beginning February 1, it would begin unrestricted submarine warfare in certain extensive zones around the British Isles, France and Italy.  It would, however, out of the kindness of its heart, permit the United States to use a narrow track across the sea with a landing at Falmouth, one ship a week, provided the American ships were painted red and white and carried various kinds of distinguishing marks.