Current History, Vol. VIII, No. 3, June 1918: A Monthly Magazine of the New York TimesVarious
History
Current History, Vol. VIII, No. 3, June 1918: A Monthly Magazine of the New York Times
Various
World War, 1914-1918
The Emperor's two letters, and the conversations arising out of
them, will form an essential part of the proceedings before the
committees today. The letter from the Emperor to Prince Sixte of
Bourbon-Parma was communicated to M. Poincaré on March 31 last year,
but it remained in the possession of the Prince, who gave a copy of
it to M. Ribot, by whom it was placed in the archives of the French
Foreign Office. "Let us add," says the Temps, "that in the course
of the interview which he had with Lloyd George at Folkestone a few
days after the copy of the letter came into his possession that M.
Ribot handed a copy of this copy to the British Premier. A little
later in the interview which took place at St. Jean de Maurienne, in
Savoy, between the chiefs of the British, French, and Italian
Cabinets the question was raised as to what should be done in case
the Austro-Hungarian Cabinet took steps toward peace negotiations.
An agreement was come to without difficulty between the Allies as to
the line of conduct to be adopted in such an eventuality. Let us add
that this first letter sent to Prince Sixte had determined the
Allies to ask for further explanations, as the result of which
Prince Sixte received from his imperial brother-in-law a second
letter, which was also communicated to M. Poincaré and M. Ribot. We
have no right to give any indication on this subject, but we believe
we can state that this second letter was regarded unanimously by the
Allies as of such a nature that it would not permit them to pursue
the conversations further."
Kaiser Wilhelm in the following telegram accepted without reserve
Emperor Charles's statement that the Sixtus letter had been distorted:
Accept my heartiest thanks for your telegram, in which you repudiate
as entirely baseless the assertion of the French Premier regarding
your attitude toward French claims to Alsace-Lorraine, and in which
you once again accentuate the solidarity of interest existing
between us and our respective empires. I hasten to inform you that
in my eyes there was no need whatever for any such assurance on your
part, for I was not for a moment in doubt that you have made our
cause your own, in the same measure as we stand for the rights of
your monarchy. The heavy but successful battles of these years have
clearly demonstrated this fact to every one who wants to see. They
have only drawn the bonds close together. Our enemies, who are
unable to do anything against us in honorable warfare, do not recoil
from the most sordid and the lowest methods. We must, therefore, put
up with it, but all the more is it our duty ruthlessly to grapple
with and beat the enemy in all the theatres of war. In true
friendship, WILHELM.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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