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Show EARL GREY TALKS ON WAR0UTL00K Reviews Cause of Conflict and Favors a League to Prevent Pre-vent War. London, OcL 23, 8:15 p. m. Another An-other important contribution to the discussions on peace was made by Viscount Grey, secretary for foreign affairs, at a luncheon given today by the foreign press association, at which the diplomatic representatives of all the allied countries were present. pres-ent. The foreign secretary made it plain that the allies were not prepared pre-pared to discuss peace terms and gave no indication of what their terms might be, but welcomed any efforts by neutral countries for a combination to prevent future wars. Some of the most important passages pass-ages of tho secretary's speech follow: fol-low: "I would like to talk, not indeed, about actual conditions of peace, which can only be stated and formulated formu-lated by the allies together and not by any one of them separately, but about tho general objects which the allies must secure In this war. And to do that I would ask you to recall that wo must never forget how the war came abouL If wo are to approach ap-proach peace in a proper spirit, it can only be by recollecting and recalling, re-calling, and nevor for a moment forgetting, for-getting, what was the real cause of the war. "Some peoplo say: 'Oh, wo need not go back over the old ground, when everybody knows It.' War Forced by Germans. "You cannot go back to it too often. It affects tho conditions of peace. Germany talks of peace; her statesmen talk of peace today. Thoy say: 'Germany must have guarantees against being attacked again.' If this war had been forced upon Germany that would be a logical statement. It forced by Germany upon Europe that it is tho allies who must have guarantees guar-antees for future peace. "In July, 1914, no one thought of attacking Germany. It is said that Russia was the first to mobilize. That, I understand, is what Is represented repre-sented in Germany as justification for the statement that the war was not an aggressive war on Germany's part, but was forced upon her. HDiiooln novor mrwln the innhill7fi- tion of which Germany has complain-conference, complain-conference, and never made It until after tho report appeared in Germany that Germany had ordered mobilization mobiliza-tion and that report had been telegraphed tele-graphed to Petrograd. "The whole plan of campaign of the German staff was to attack through Belgium because other peoplo peo-plo had planned to attack through Belgium. I would like nothing bettor bet-tor than to see those statements that Russia's mobilization was an aggressive aggres-sive one and one that other powers any other power, had trafficked In tho neutrality of Belgium or planned an attack through Belgium I would like to see those statements Investigated Investi-gated before any independent, Impartial Im-partial tribunal, Prevent Truth Reaching People. "German organization is very successful suc-cessful in sonio things, but In nothing noth-ing more nuccesaful than. In prevent ing the truth from reaching thoir people and in presenting to them a point of view which Is not that of truth. "When England proposed a conference, confer-ence, Russia, France and Italy accepted accept-ed the conference. And one power refused It, is it the powers which offer of-fer the conference who are forcing the war or is It the power that is refusing It? "The omperor of Russia offered The, Hague tribunal. When one sovereign sov-ereign offers Tho Hague tribunal and another refuses It, is tho sovereign who offers the conference to Tho Hague which is forcing the war?" "On the very eve of war Franco gave her pledges to respect tho neutrality neu-trality of Belgium if Germany would not violate it. And we asked for such pledges. Was it the power which asked for a pledgo and the power which gave a pledgo which was responsible re-sponsible for the violation of tho neutrality neu-trality of Belgium or the power that refused to give the guarantee "Never at any time was there a suggestion that a French or an English Eng-lish soldier should enter Belgium, unless un-less to prevent the abolition of "her neutrality which had been undertaken by Germany. "All efforts to avoid war In 1914 failed, because you cannot havo peace without good will and because In Germany there was a will to war and not the will to peace. But latoly the crown prince deplored the loss of life caused by this war. YeB, it was because we knew what the sufferings of war must be and how terrible a war in Europe would be that we tried to avoid war, and because we have this experience of what war does mean we are determined that the war shall not end until we can be sure at any rate that tho generations and the nations in the future shall not be subjected to such a terrible trial again. "We were asked by Germany to remain re-main neutral on certain conditions. Wo were asked to condone violations of tho neutrality of Belgium and to give Germany a free hand to tako whatever French colonies she liked. That was the plan not only to isolato us, but to discredit us. "I ask any neutral what would have been the future of this country if the British government had accepted such an offer. There would be no morale, no spirit, no nation. We should have incurred the contempt of the whole world. Happily, tactics so gross did not succeed. "I take it on the word of the prime minister that we shall fight until we havo established the supremacy and j right of free development under equal conditions, each In accordance with its genius, of all states, great and small, as a family of civilized mankind. man-kind. "In this struggle we have put all our resources, our wealth, our material, mate-rial, our labor, and now we have had time to equip and train a large army. We have put all the best life blood of the nation, shedding ii side by side with our allies, stimulated by the energy thoy are showing in defense of thoir countries, and shedding it because we know our cause is theirs and that for the tuture we shall stand and fall together, without separation of one from the other, feeling that' unity is essential not merely to victory but to our future life and success. "Germany Is trying the separate one from the other in order to realize her aim. Not a week passes that docs not confirm our resolution to go through with our allies, and after the war I trust tho memory of the suffering suffer-ing wo have undergone together, the memory of the Joint courage which is carrying us through will be a perpetual perpet-ual bond of alliance and sympathy be- pies." Passing to the position of tho neutral neu-tral countries, Viscount Grey said in answer to a question as to what they could: "I believe the best work neutrals can do for tho moment Is to try to prevent a war Hko this from happening happen-ing again. If tho nations had been united In such an agreement and prompt resolution to insist in 1911 that tho dispute must be reforred to a conference of The Hague, that tho Belgian treaty must bo observed, there would have been no war. "Nations fighting for their existence, exist-ence, with daily increasing prospocts of seeing victory brought nearer, still knowing thai if they stop short of victory they stop short of everything for which they are struggling, cannot be expected to spend much time thinking about what might happen after aft-er victory is secured. But the neutrals neu-trals can do It. I observe that not only President Wilson, but Mr. Hughes is supporting a league started, start-ed, not with the object of interfering interfer-ing with the belligerents in this war, but which will do its part in making peace secure in tho futuro, "It Is a work of neutral countries to which we should all look with favor fav-or and hope. Only wo must bear this In mind, If tho nations after the war are able to do something effective by binding themselves with tho common object of preserving peace, they must be prepared to undertake not more tahn they are able to uphold by force and to see.Nwhen the time of crisis comes, that it is upheld by force. "The question we must aak them is: "Will you play up when the Umo comes?" It Is not merely tho sign manual of presidents and sovereigns that is really to make that worth while; it must also have behind it parliaments par-liaments and national sentiments. "Supposing the conditions of 191-1 occur again and there is a such a leaguo in existence. Everything will depend upon whether national sentiment senti-ment behind it is so permeated by the lessons of this war as to compel each nation, as a matter ot vital Interest, to i keep peace other than by force." Should Agree On Laws of War. The foreign secretary insisted upon up-on the necessity after the war of ar-riving ar-riving at some agreement with r,e-spect r,e-spect to the laws of war, arguing that the mere indiscriminate employment of all the resources of science is the prospect which threatens civilization and the existence of the race itself. I Hp characterized "the employment of poisonous gas and other horrors by Germany" as having "lot loose on tho world more terrible anarchy than any individual anarchist," and referred especially to the "agonized attempt" to exterminate Christians in Turkey, since Turkey became a vassal of Ger-many. Ger-many. Such horrors, ho declared, wore only possible with Germany's toleration. tol-eration. Perhaps, he said, some day a neutral nation which knows the full story will publish It to the world. Ho contended that this matter of keeping tho horrors of war within bounds was one in which tho wholo human race Is interestod, and as all nations should recognize their responsibility respon-sibility by preventing outbreaks of war, so, they should Insure, in event of Its outbreak, that it should be conducted con-ducted by rules at least as human as those of our ancestors, which Germany today had disregarded and thrown to the winds. Of the necessity "of freeing the world from tho oppression of Prussian Prus-sian militarism," ho said: "Wc know that if mankind has any birthright it is that of peace and liberty and It is for that we aro fighting. When we are asked how long tho strugglo Is to continue, wo can only reply that it must continue until these things are secured." on |
