"On December 12, 1916, the Imperial German Chancellor, von Bethmann-Hollweg, delivered an address in the Reichstag in which he stated the willingness of the German Empire, under certain conditions, to consider the question of peace with its enemies. [Other statements were then made by the Entente Powers, Germany's allies, and certain neutral powers.] It has been thought advisable at this time to collect the various official statements, and to issue them for convenience in a pamphlet, arranged in chronological order but without expression of individual opinion or commentary. The documents themselves have been taken from official sources whenever available."--Prefatory Note (James Brown Scott, Director of the Division of International Law, Washington, D.C., February 19, 1917), p. [iii].