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Show CTnrman pf-aro delonlion makes no ppe-f'llh- Kiiu-t;i'stitjnn as (o Hi.: allpviation wliicii they wnuUl i!'ojiose ("r.r the prisnn-ors prisnn-ors or war and interned civilians b' twenn the ciato of the signing of peace and their repatriation. Observe War's Laws. "The. allied and assor-ia tod powers are j not aware of what alleviation it is possible to make, scpins that thev have ' srm pilous! y cndeaorcd to observe both the i.Vwh of war and the dictates of humanity hu-manity in the trcatiVH-nt which thy have ' Lwn lo prisonera of war, and that, as j provided in the last section of article 21S, it Is essential that prisoners of war and : interned civilians should remain subject 1 to diy-ipline and control pending their" repatriation, re-patriation, in the interests of all con- cerned. ! "The fJernian peano delegation mav rest : assured that it Is the intention of the al- J lied and associated Kovernments to treat ; i their prisoners of war during the period j I between the sitfnlnjr of the peace and j their repatriation with full consideration I of their feelings and needs." j Restitution of Property. "The restitution of personal property to i prisoners of war constitutes a legal risht j which the allied and associated powers have every intention of respecting. As ' regards information about the missing, ; the allied and associated powers have always al-ways endeavored to supply the German government with all Information in their possession on this subject, and . they will certainly continue to do so after peace is signed. "Concerning- the care of graves, they would point out that articles 2:5 and L'26 would appear to assure to the German people that the graves of their fellow citizens citi-zens shall be both respected and properly maintained and that so far as is practicable prac-ticable under clause 225 the bodies of their soldiers and sailors may be transferred to their own country. "In regard to the German request for complete reciprocity, the representatives of the allied and associated powers have to state that they felt it necessary to include in-clude article 222, in view of the treatment which their own nationals have received while Interned in Germany during the war. As there was no parallel between the treatment whieVi .was accorded to prisoners of war by the German government govern-ment on the one side and the allied and associated powers on the other, no claim for reciprocity in this respect can arise. No Clothing Possible. "In regard to the third question, the representatives of the allied and associated asso-ciated powers are ready to do everything possible to repatriate German prisoners of war and interned civil in ns, properly fed and in pood condition, after the conclusion of peace. They regret, however, that .the present demands on them from the territories recently liberated from the German yoke, as well as from their own na tionals, will probabl v make it impossible impos-sible for them to supply the prisoners of war with clothing, etc., for which the German delegation asks. "Finally, in regard to the appointment of a commission to deal with the repatriation re-patriation of prisoners of war, the representatives repre-sentatives of the allied and associated powers will be glad to set up such commissions com-missions immediately upon the signature of peace. They regret, however, that they do not see their way to appoint them until un-til they are notified of the intention of the plenipotentiaries of the German .empire .em-pire to sign peace. "I avail myself, etc., etc. (Signed.) "G. CLEMENCEAU." ; jflEK FI , 1 1KB ,;ej Governments Will ot Consent to This, Germans Ger-mans Are Told. , . o,y 0f Allies to Teuton Appeals Handed Count j Rantzau. - Mav The following oovro- : :!bcl" lhe :MWd ,,C:u'! dU'" ' ' '"l.t the Cernun peace dclosatt is :-V; ' '.-j'ilic loJa': . , , V." ;V;,,frs of war. Letter from (ou.it '!i7-awt-I:antZilu 10 M cle"1L'n" PH; "--v P Je'Sation' Versailles. ; Sir-The German deleg.a- ri;": ' ,"- 'oted v.-ith s-uisfaeti.m that the -hfm Ibe repatriation ot merman " -' , i( war ami German mu-rned i- -'' :';s to be etfeetod iih the Broui- OTi, accordance with the opinion -J; ".bwii peace delegation that tne , ',),'., repatriation shonUl he m--: ' i; a special commission, lairect ''V;,ons"lelween the commissions . ai of the belligerent states m "p0 prisoners have been shown to ':: best niearns of solving the difticul-,,. difticul-,,. ,. . ai it ought to be all the easier at '' ' moment to clear up by enrly f9e, '':on in a commission any iliver-K:;-' of view or doubts in regard to h e ' puints. K;;: jjbmits German Wishes. Jj r-e German peace delegation, hearings I ".,1 tiie difference of .jurisdiclio.i in ; ' a-'OU' countries concerned, is ot the j ' -on tor instance, that it is hulls- ; w - -Ji for prisoners of war and interned . -ris who have been detained IV r of- ' ' other than those against discipline ; j 'I repatriated unconditionaiiy. Uer- i '"; -v rectignized this same principle as ; P' ''.js !he prisonera of war and interned t-i Tins of the allied and associated Ui Uti detained in Germany, ji in the view of the German peace dele-f dele-f ; iun, certain alleviations should, as a .ter of course and for reasons of f'-U i;y. be agreed to in favor of prison- . .ottiarand interned civilians tor the .i -,o which will elapse until their final J-yt arture. 5 Hints at Discrimination. fy The German peace delegation has. reover, been compelled to note that :j arrangements contemplated are ta-' ta-' ib:e only to the allied and associated . tmmeiits, for instance, so far as con-::a con-::a tiie restoration of private prop-' prop-' i, the search for persons who have tipeared and the care to be taken of .ces. The German peace delegation -iimes that, for questions such tis ., complete reciprocity be required general reasons of humanity. Iie-atine of the great technical diffi culty of i-epatriaiin,; prisoners ot war m intein, , oivliKc,,, e.peeially ul vufw 'f ' ; "' ""!'" t.l the lack ,' greatest iniportnnce should v ., i I '"ding- a siutn of all V' 1 1 . ' Wtnra the dispatch :; "'l:''';:'. r;-'V,'l Prisoners and interne! i lyl .ms actually begins. For that rea-,!''n"a" rea-,!''n"a" leleg-ation PropoV,l,s at 11 e comin Issmn siioultl start its de- rrses Normal Condition. fi'Th" te,Mu n'',". ,f lhis r,rPs'al lies. ''-ll, in tho tact that thero are thou-.sands thou-.sands ot cerinan prisoners of war and j'ltvrned civilians In overseas coUStri", no tie (.eriiian deh-g-atlon is likewise h.nknn: ot the Germans who are in Siberia Si-beria and whoso dispatch seems to he a nuostlon not only of special urgency, but ol e.-ciraordlnary difficulty. " The German delegation, for reasons of nternal policy, regards it of the utmost importune,) that tho German prisoners "of war and interned civilians should be returned re-turned to their homes in as normal n condition as possible, in order that thev might he brought back as rapidly as ,10s- 1 stole into the economic life of the country. coun-try. That only appears possible the precise pre-cise settlement of transriovt problems apart it everything possible is done to improve iho mental and physical state of tnoso who nre returning home. Hun Resources Scant. "Having- regard to the present situation situa-tion in respect of economic existence in Germany, it must be admitted that Germany Ger-many is unable to do with her own resources re-sources everything' required in order to secure that end. This refers especially to food and clothing; therefore the Serinan delegation thinks it desirable that the deliberations of the commission should likewise Include an examination of the question of the manner in which the allied al-lied and assoeuited .governments might assist Germany in the solution of these problems. "The question arises, for instance, of supplying against repayment complete sets of clothing, underclothing- and civilian civil-ian clothing and footwear for the prisoners pris-oners before their dispatch. "I avail inysell, etc., etc., (Sig-uedl " BR OCKDORFF-RANTZAU." The Allied Reply. Text of the reply approved by the coun-all coun-all ol" the principal allied and associated powers to the letter from Count von Crockdoi-ff-Rantzau, dated May 10, 1010 ; 'Paris, Mav 22. 1919. "Sir: The representatives of the allied and associated powers have given con-sidcrtuion con-sidcrtuion to the repatriation of the German Ger-man prisoners of war. In reply, they wiyh to stale that they can not agree that prisoners of war and civilian prisoners who have been guilty of crimes or penal on'enses should be released. These crimes and ponab offenses have been committed on allied soil and have been dealt with by the legally constituted authorities without reference to the fact that the wrongdoer was a German rather than an allied citizen. "For instance, a certain German prisoner pris-oner broke at night into the house of a farmer, on whose estate he was set to work, and murdered the farmer and his wife in cold blood with a bill-hook. Justice Demands Death. "For this double murder the said prisoner pris-oner was sentenced to death on June 11. 191 S, by a regularly constituted court martial. Under the Berne convention, however, the execution of the sentence is 1 suspended until peace is signed. Justice : would certainly pot be satisfied if, as a ! consequence of the treaty, .this murderer was reprieved. "For these reasons the allied and associated asso-ciated powers can not asjree to alter the provisions of the draft treaty in respect of prisoners of war who have been guilty of crime or penal offenses. "In regard to the second question, the |
