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Show J Germany and Her Allies Make an I I Offer of Peace to Hostile Nations I ! London, Dec. 12, 4:36 p. in A Central News despatch from Amsterdam says it is announced officially in Berlin that Emperor William has notified his command- I I frig generals of Germany's peace offer and has informed them it is still uncertain whether the offer will be accepted. Until that uncertainty is ended, the message says, they I are to fight on. The message is quoted as follows: "Soldiers: In agreement with the sovereigns of my affies and with the consciousness of victory I have made an offer I I of peace to the enemy. Whether it will he accepted is still uncertain. Until that moment arrives you will fight on." I London, Dec. 12, 4:59 p. m A general. note of pessimism prevails in London. One prominent official expressed himself to The Associated Press today as being I very skeptical that the .proposed terms would offer even a basis for negotiation. I I! Negotiations For Ending j War Will Be Entered Into Forthwith, is Announced 1 '1 l Propose Restoration of Status Quo$efore War I ' With Exception of Establishment of Indepen- I dent Kingdoms of Poland and Lithuania I j Germany Desires Everlasting Ces- I i sation of Hostilities. I Berlin, Dec. 1 2, by wireless to Sayville. Germany and I j her allies propose to enter forthwith into peace negotiations. I j The propositions which they will bring forward are, ac- I cording to Chancellor von Bethmann-Hollweg, an appeal -for I I the establishment of everlasting peace. I ; t The Austrian, Turkish and Bulgarian governments are I j inaking similar proposals. These proposals also have been I transmitted to the Vatican. I ' Washington, Dec. I 2. Advices from Berlin to the Ger- I ; rnan embassy indicate that Germany's peace terms, in general I measure propose the restoration of -the status quo before the I 5 war with the exception of the establishment of .independent I ; kingdoms of Poland and Lithuania. i Berlin, Dec. 12. By wireless to Say- ) nlle, The following announcement was given out today by the semi-offi- cial Overseas News Agency: ; "The chancellor received this morn- ing one after another the representa- j tives of the United States of America I and Spain and Switzerland, that is, of the states protecting German inter- ' osts in hostile foreign countries. The ;' chancellor transmitted to them a note i and asked them to bring it to the i knowledge of the hostile governments. ' The note will be read today In the l'f reichstag by the chancellor, j To Propose Peace Forthwith. ; "In the note the four allied (central) I; powers propose to enter forthwith on j peace negotiations. The propositions I which the' bring for such negotia- 1 tions are, according to their firm be- lief, apporpriate for the establishment i of a lasting peace, i; "The governments at Vienna, Con- ;t stantlnople and Sofia transmitted ; identical notes and also communicated u with the Holy See and all neutral 1 powers.'" :l News Sent to Wilson, f- Washington, Dec. 12. News that ! Germany and her allies were about to i enter on peaco negotiations was Imme. diately sent to President Wilson, f Speaking for the president, Secretary Tumulty said ho was deeply interested but could make no comment, at least, until It was learned what reception I the proposal would receive from the entente allies, i The state department received its j first information of Germany's propos- if als through The Associated Press des. ? patches from which officials assumed that the offices of the neutrals ad- ;! dressed are asked only to transmit the ! t nrnnnsnl.c Thin -arlll ho rlnnn an far as the United States is concerned, promptly on receipts of the official j despatches in Washington. They will I be forwarded to all the entente coun- 1 tries where the United States rop resent the central powers diplomatically. diplomati-cally. Whether the United States would transmit any comment or suggestion, : it was indicated, depends entirely upon the nature of the proposal and whether it is considered likely of consideration. con-sideration. If the offer is deemed i one on which all -sides might nego tiate, tho United States probably would urge that it bo taken up. Washington, Dec. 12. Germany's peace proposals are understood to propose pro-pose the complete restoration of the occupied portions of Belgium and France in return for Germany's captured cap-tured colonies and to dispose of the Balkan situation because of Its extreme ex-treme complicated nature, in the peace conference. Germany Proposes Peace. London, Dec. 12, 3:37 p. m. A wire-less wire-less despatch from Berlin says that m his speech before the reichstag today ! Chancellor von Bethmann-Hollweg announced an-nounced that Germany together with her allies "conscious of their responsibility responsi-bility before God, before their own nation and before humanity," have proposed to the hostile powers to enter en-ter into peace negotiations." Stock Market Unsetted. New York, Dec. 12. The stock market mar-ket became immediately unsettled today to-day on receipt of the news of tho Teutonic Teu-tonic peace proposals. Munitions and shares of other companies which have profited by the war were most affected, af-fected, Bethlehem Steel dropping 26 points. Cotton Prices Adyance. New York, Dec. 12. The announcement announce-ment of German peace proposals served serv-ed to stop tho decline of the cotton here this morning, prices advancing from the opening pC 18.18c for May to 18.50c or about $3.50 a bale above tho low level of yesterday afternoon. United StaleB Steel fell 3 points and other prominent industrials yielded as much. Trading became feverishly active on the docline and urgent liquidation was ft virion t The selling embraced practically every ev-ery issue in that class of specialties which have been strongest and most activo recently. While tho market was not demoralized in tho first period peri-od of heavy selling, support was evident evi-dent only In the investment issues. London, Dec. 12, 4:15 p. m. An Austrian official statement, referring to the peace offer, says: "When In the summer of 1914 the patience of Austria-Hungary was exhausted ex-hausted by a series of systematically continued nnd ever-increasing provocations provo-cations and menaces and the monarchy, mon-archy, after almost fifty years of unbroken un-broken jpeaco, found itself compelled to dravv the sword, this weighty decision deci-sion was animated neither by aggressive aggres-sive purposes nor by designs of conquest con-quest but solely by the bitter necessity neces-sity of self defense." |