Count Czernin's assertion in his speech of April 2 that Premier
Clemenceau of France had initiated a peace parley with Austria-Hungary
was immediately denied by the French Premier with the curt declaration:
"The statement is a lie." There followed a somewhat extended controversy
on the subject, which Count Czernin sought to utilize for his own
purposes of war diplomacy, and which is placed on record here for the
side lights it sheds on a hitherto secret chapter of the continuous
peace intrigues of the Central Powers.
Premier Clemenceau's curt "démenti" was followed on April 6 by this
official statement from the French Government:
Premier Clemenceau, upon assuming the duties of President of the
Council, found that conversations had been entered into in
Switzerland upon Austria's initiative between the Count
Revertata, a personal friend of Emperor Charles, and Commandant
Armand of the Second Bureau, French General Staff, designated
for that purpose by the French Minister at the time.
M. Clemenceau did not wish to assume the responsibility of
interrupting conferences which had yielded no results, but which
might furnish useful sources of information. Commandant Armand
thus was allowed to continue his journey in Switzerland, upon
the request of Count Revertata. Instructions were given M.
Armand in the presence of his chief by M. Clemenceau as follows:
"Listen and say nothing."
Count Revertata, becoming convinced that his attempt to bring
about a German peace was doomed to failure, in order fully to
characterize his mission, gave Commandant Armand a letter
written in his own hand, dated Feb. 25, 1918, the first sentence
of which reads: "During the month of August, 1917, with a view
to obtaining from the French Government a proposition to Austria
which might lead to future peace and be of such a nature as to
be susceptible of being indorsed by Austria and presented to the
German Government, conferences have been entered upon."
Count Revertata, being himself the solicitor, acknowledges it in
the following terms: "That the purpose was to obtain from the
French Government propositions of peace, under cover of Austria,
for transmission to Berlin."
Such is the fact established by an authenticated document which
Count Czernin has dared to refer to in the following terms:
"Clemenceau, shortly before the beginning of the offensive on
the western front, had me asked whether I was ready to enter
upon negotiations, and upon what basis." In speaking thus he
not only did not tell the truth, but told the opposite of truth,
which in France is termed "lying."
It is but natural that Premier Clemenceau should be unable to
restrain his indignation when Count Czernin, justly anxious as
to the final consequences of the western offensive, reversed the
roles with such audacity, representing the French Government as
begging for peace at the very moment when, with our allies, we
were preparing for the infliction of a supreme defeat upon the
Central Empires.
It would be too easy to recall to what extent Austria has
importuned Rome, Washington, and London with solicitations for
an alleged separate peace which had no other aim than to slip
upon us the yoke which she professes to find to her taste. Who
does not know the story of a recent meeting (in Switzerland, of
course) of a former Austrian Ambassador and a figure high in the
councils of the Entente Allies? The conferences lasted only a
few minutes. Here again it was not our ally who sought the
interview. It was the Austrian Government.
Does not Count Czernin remember another attempt of the same sort
made in Paris and London only two months before that of Count
Revertata by a person of much higher rank? That again, as in the
present case, is authentic, but much more significant proof
exists.