Office of the Historian

File No. 763.72119/2367

The Swiss Chargé ( Oederlin) to the Secretary of State

Washington, October 28, 1918.

Sir: I am instructed by my Government and have the honor to submit to Your Excellency the original German text of a communication from the German Government, dated October 27, 1918, which has today been received from the Swiss Foreign Office.

I beg leave also to enclose an English translation of the above-mentioned communication, the German text of which, however, is alone to be considered as authoritative.

Accept [etc.]

F. Oederlin
[Enclosure—Translation]

The German Secretary of State of the Foreign Office ( Solf) to the Swiss Foreign Office for President Wilson

The German Government has taken cognizance of the reply of the President of the United States. The President knows the far-reaching changes which have taken place and are being carried out in the German constitutional structure. The peace negotiations are being conducted by a government of the people in whose hands rests, both actually and constitutionally, the authority to make decisions. The military powers are also subject to this authority. The German Government now awaits the proposals for an armistice, [Page 396] which is the first step toward a peace of justice, as described by the President in his pronouncements.

Solf

Berlin , October 27, 1918.