PRESIDENT WILSON'S GREETING TO FRANCE, on Bastile Day, July 14, 1917 On this anniversary of the birth of democracy in France, I offer on behalf of my countrymen and on my own behalf, fraternal greetings as befit the strong ties that unite our peoples, who to-day stand shoulder to shoulder in defense of liberty in testimony of the steadfast purpose of our two countries to achieve victory for the sublime cause of the rights of the people against oppression. The lesson of the Bastile is not lost to the world of free peoples. May the day be near when on the ruins of the dark stronghold of unbridled power and conscienceless autocracy, the nobler structure, upbuilt, like your own great republic, on the eternal foundation of peace and right, shall arise to gladden an enfranchised world. PRESIDENT WILSON'S WELCOME TO THE SPECIAL Mr. Ambassador: It is with a sense of deep satisfaction that I receive from your hand the letters whereby you are accredited as the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan on special mission to the United States. It is a pleasure to accept through you from your imperial sovereign congratulations on the entrance of the United States into the great conflict which is now raging. The present struggle is especially characterized by the development of the spirit of co-operation throughout the greater part of the world for the maintenance of the rights of nations and the liberties of individuals. I assure your Excellency that, standing, as our countries now do, associated in this great struggle for the vindication of justice, there will be developed those closer ties of fellowship which must come from the mutual sacrifice of life and property. May the efforts now being exerted by an indigant humanity lead, at the proper time, to the complete establishment of justice and to a peace which will be both permanent and serene. I trust your Excellency will find your sojourn among us most agreeable and I should be gratified if you would be so good as to make known to his Imperial Majesty my best wishes for his welfare, for that of your wonderful country, and for the happiness of its people. I am most happy to accord you recognition in your high capacity. WILSON'S MESSAGE TO THE RUSSIAN NATIONAL COUNCIL AUGUST 27, 1917 [The path of the new republic had continued to be difficult, and at times it seemed impossible to harmonize the desires of the various elements. Workmen, soldiers, and peasants formed their respective councils; and these and other bodies met at Moscow to establish fundamental principles.] President of the National Council Assembly, Moscow: I take the liberty to send to the members of the great council now meeting in Moscow the cordial greetings of their friends, the people of the United States, to express their confidence in the ultimate triumph of ideals of democracy and self-government against all enemies within and without, and to give their renewed assurance of every material and moral assistance they can extend to the Government of Russia in the promotion of the common cause in which the two nations are unselfishly united. WOODROW WILSON. PRESIDENT WILSON'S REPLY TO THE POPE'S PEACE PROPOSALS [EDITORIAL NOTE: At the beginning of the fourth year of war, Pope Benedict had addressed an appeal to the belligerents. His suggestions for the basis of a just and durable peace included disarmament, the evacuation of Belgian and French territory, the restitution of German colonies, and the settlement of political and territorial questions-Alsace-Lorraine, Poland, etc.-in a conciliatory spirit for the general welfare. This appeal from the Pope reached Washington on August 15.] WASHINGTON, D. C., AUG. 27, 1917. To His Holiness Benedictus XV., Pope: In acknowledgment of the communication of your Holiness to the belligerent peoples, dated Aug. 1, 1917, the President of the United States requests me to transmit the following reply: Every heart that has not been blinded and hardened by this terrible war must be touched by this moving appeal of his Holiness the Pope, must feel the dignity and force of the humane and generous motives which prompted it, and must fervently wish that we might take the path of peace he so persuasively points out. But it would be folly to take it if it does not in fact lead to the goal he proposes. Our response must be based upon the stern facts, and upon nothing else. It is not a mere cessation of arms he desires; it is a stable and enduring peace. This agony must not be gone through with again, and it must be a matter of very sober judgment what will insure us against it. His Holiness in substance proposes that we return to the status quo ante-bellum and that then there be a general condonation, disarmament, and a concert of nations based upon an acceptance of the principle of arbitration; that by a similar concert freedom of the seas be established; and that the territorial claims of France and Italy, the perplexing problems of the Balkan States, and the restitution of Poland be left to such conciliatory adjustments as may be possible in the new temper of such a peace, due regard being paid to the aspirations of the peoples whose political fortunes and affiliations will be involved. It is manifest that no part of this program can be successfully carried out unless the restitution of the status quo ante furnishes a firm and satisfactory basis for it. The object of this war is to deliver the free peoples of the world from the menace and the actual power of a vast military establishment, controlled by an irresponsible Government, which, having secretly planned to dominate the world, proceeded to carry the plan out without regard either to the sacred obligations of treaty or the long-established practices and long-cherished principles of international action and honor; which chose its own time for the war; delivered its blow fiercely and suddenly; stopped at no barrier, either of law or of mercy; swept a whole continent within the tide of blood-not the blood of soldiers only, but the blood of innocent women and children also and of the helpless poor; and now stands balked, but not defeated, the enemy of four-fifths of the world. This power is not the German people. It is the ruthless master of the German people. It is no business of ours how that great people came under its control or submitted with temporary zest to the domination of its purpose; but it is our business to see to it that the history of the rest of the world is no longer left to its handling. To deal with such a power by way of peace upon the plan proposed by his Holiness the Pope would, so far as we can see, involve a recuperation of its strength and a renewal of its policy; would make it necessary to create a permanent hostile combination of nations against the German people, who are its instruments; and would result in abandoning the new-born Russia to the intrigue, the manifold subtle interference, and the certain counter-revolution which would be attempted by all the malign influences to which the German Government has of late accustomed the world. Can peace be based upon a restitution of its power or upon any word of honor it could pledge in a treaty of settlement and accommodation? 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. The test, therefore, of every plan of peace is this: Is it based upon the faith of all the peoples involved, or merely upon the word of an ambitious and intriguing Government, on the one hand, and of a group of free peoples, on the other? This is a test which goes to the root of the matter; and it is the test which must be applied. The purposes of the United States in this war are known to the whole world-to every people to whom the truth has been permitted to come. They do not need to be stated again. We seek no material advantage of any kind. We believe that the intolerable wrongs done in this war by the furious and brutal power of the Imperial German Govern |