"Sir,--I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your note, dated September 16, communicating to me a note from the Imperial Government of Austria-Hungary, containing a proposal to the Government of all the belligerent States to send delegates to a confidential and unbinding discussion on the basic principles for the conclusion of peace. Furthermore, it is proposed that the delegates would be charged to make known to one another the conception of their Governments regarding these principles, and to receive analogous communications, as well as to request and give frank and candid explanations on all those points which need to be precisely defined. "In reply, I beg to say that the substance of your communication has been submitted to the President, who now directs me to inform you that the Government of the United States feels that there is only one reply which it can make to the suggestion of the Imperial Austro-Hungarian Government. It has repeatedly, and with entire candor, stated the terms upon which the United States would consider peace, and can and will entertain no proposal for a conference upon the matter concerning which it has made its position and purpose so plain. "Accept, sir, the renewed assurances of my highest consideration. "(Signed), ROBERT LANSING, "Secretary of State." * * * * * Transcriber's Notes Obvious punctuation errors repaired. Numerous obvious spelling errors have been corrected. Archaic or unusual words and spellings have not been changed: beneficient, coronated, consolated, conspiration, devotedness, divers, elogius, enflame, enounced, equilibrist, eulogium, fervously, injustifiable, irresistable, instil, Magna Charta, planturous, plebiscit, plebiscitary, preconized, profonated, Roumanian, Servia, subtilties, tragical, treasonably, troublous, tutorage, unbiassed, uncontrovertible, unsufficiently, woful. Both "bolshevik" and "bolchevik" appear and have not been changed. Both "standpoint(s)" and "stand-point(s)" appear and have not been changed. The following inconsistent usages appear and have not been changed: "Mother Country", "mother country", "mother-country", "Mother Land", "Mother land", "mother land", "Motherland". Italic font is indicated by _xxx_ and bold font by =xxx=. Page 34: Duplicate word "His" deleted (His Excellency had just). Page 96 (and elsewhere): "per cent" changed to "per cent." for consistency.