Salt Lake Tribune | 1918-10-20 | Page 36 | Too Late

" - , . . - belligerency exists between the Czechoslovaks Czecho-slovaks and the German and Austro-Hungarian Austro-Hungarian empires, and that the Czechoslovaks' Czecho-slovaks' national council is a de facto belligerent government clothed with proper authority to direct the military and political affairs of the Czechoslovaks. Czecho-slovaks. Tt has alto recognized in the fullest manner the justice of the nationalistic na-tionalistic aspirations of the Jugoslavs Jugo-slavs for freedom. 1 ' This is final and should put an end to the attempts of the Vienna government govern-ment to camouflage the existing situation situa-tion and to fool the president of the United States and the entente nations into believing that the chiefs of the dual monarchy honestly intend to carry out reforms of their own volition. If the emperor and the military leaders are to remain in control the coming winter will Vie a hard one for the various va-rious races In Austria, for they may not be liberated by the allied armies for many weary months. TOO LATE. Emperor Charles of Austria has pro-claimsd pro-claimsd steps for the organization of the empire on a 'federalized basis. The plan wall fail because it does not meet the desires of the various people long held subject to the dual monarchy who now see an opportunity to regain their ancient independence. If the step had been taken years ago by the emperoT who reigned over the country for several sev-eral decades, the manifesto might have carried some weight. Now it will riot oven be considered. The defeat of the central powers being certain and independence inde-pendence assured all the oppressed races -submerged by Prussia and Austria Aus-tria in the course of centuries, there is absolutely no chance that those victims vic-tims of imperialism' will accept anything any-thing less, and they would not take the vord of either the kaiser or Emperor Charles een if they were promised full freedom. Centuries of misrule, treachery treach-ery and cruelty have taught those poor people what such promises are worth. As a result, there will not be much left of the Austrian empire after the nest treaty of peace is signed, sealed and delivered. Tt flourished for many cen- . : turies and was once supreme in central Europe. Prussia finally became the dominant Germanic power, and now both of the tyrannical autocracies are going to pot together. Pretended democratization democ-ratization will not have tha least effect uDOn President Wilson, and those who 'liract the affairs of the entente countries coun-tries and the two emperors might as well abdicate. They precipitated the war to gain power and territory, and now that they have ignominiously failed there is no use trying to avoid merited punishment. Envperor Karl 's manifesto is "a mere scrap of paper. ' ' On the heals of the autonomy proclamation procla-mation of the Austrian monarch comes a. reoly from President Wilson to the resent peace note of the dual monarchy. The rjresident's verdict is that conditions condi-tions are so altered since January S that he cannot accept the autonomy plan as a basis of peace, and he insists that the peoples affected "shall be the uidger, of what action upon the pat ?f the Aus'-ro-Hungarian government will satisfy their aspirations." Num-ter Num-ter ten of the fourteen terms of peace, which the Austrians tardily adopted as Jheir own, provided that "the peoples j Austria-Hungary, whose place among ;' the nations we wish to see safeguard-3d safeguard-3d and assured, should be accorded the fullest opportunity of autonomous de-elapmeotr." de-elapmeotr." "ow the emperor is informed that "nince that sentence was written and uttered to tho congress of the United States, the government of the United States has recognized that a state of