Carl seemed sincerely anxious to make sacrifices for peace and was urged
by liberal counselors, such as Foerster and Lammasch, in whom the Allies
had confidence, to meet many of the demands of his discontented Slav
subjects by granting autonomy to the Czechs, Poles, and Jugoslavs.
Negotiations were hampered by the belief of the Italians that immediate
peace with Austria would prevent them from securing the territories they
coveted; by the sullen obstinacy of the Magyars, who were jealous of their
mastery over the Hungarian Slavs, and above all, as Colonel House had
foreseen, by Austria's fear of Germany. In fact it was a stern ultimatum
sent by Ludendorff that brought the wavering Carl back to his allegiance.

In the autumn of 1917, however, talk of peace was in the air and a
definite demand for its consideration was made in a noteworthy speech by
Lord Lansdowne, a Conservative leader in England. Negotiations were
inaugurated between Germany and the new Bolshevik Government of Russia,
and for a few weeks at the beginning of the new year the war-weary world
seemed close to the possibility of a general understanding. For the first
time Lloyd George outlined in specific language the main terms that would
be considered by the Allies. It was President Wilson's opportunity.
Careless of securing an overwhelming military victory, indeed unwilling to
crush Germany, anxious to pledge the Entente to his programme in this
moment of their discouragement, he formulated on January 8, 1918, his
Fourteen Points, upon which he declared the final peace settlement should
be based. His speech was at once an appeal to the liberals and
peace-hungry of the Central Empires, a warning to the military clique in
Germany then preparing to enforce degrading terms upon Russia, and a
notification to the Allies that the United States could not be counted
upon to fight for selfish national interests. He reiterated the principles
which had actuated the United States when it entered the war: "What we
demand in this war, therefore, is nothing peculiar to ourselves. It is
that the world be made fit and safe to live in; and particularly that it
be made safe for every peace-loving nation which, like our own, wishes to
live its own life, determine its own institutions, be assured of justice
and fair dealing by the other peoples of the world as against force and
selfish aggression. All the peoples of the world are in effect partners in
this interest, and for ou