Rome, Mar, 19. IGNOR Benito Mussolini, in his surprise meeting with Chancellor Adolf Hitler at the Brenner Pass yesterday, urged Herr Hitler to delay his threatened "great offensive" and agree to further concessions in the eleven-point German proposals for a compromise peace, a high Vatican source understood here last night, Pope Pius, in his 50-minute audience with the United States Under-Secretary of State, Mr.
Sumner Welles, yesterday, was believed to have passed on to the American statesman the peace proposals received last week from the German Foreign Minister, Herr Joachim von Ribbentrop.
Later, Mr. Welles received a return courtesy call from Luigi Cardinal Maglione, the Vatican Secretary of State. Mr, Welles' spokesman at the American Embassy here said the American statesman had no intention of seeing Il Duce again unless Signor Mussolini requested another visit.
It was said Mr. Sumner Welles had found the original German peace proposals were unacceptable and were actually scoffed at in London and Paris. The Vatican source said that, following the talks between the German and Italian leaders, "it is believed the Germans wil make further concessions," He did not indicate, however, how much further it was felt Chancellor Hitler would The eleven German points, upon which the Welles mission refused to comment, it was understood by the Vatican "source, were not actual peace terms but were more in the form of "feelers" which would be elaborated later, Therefore, Signor Mussolini, after learning from Mr, Welles that Herr Hitlers proposals were doomed to collapse unless further concessions were swiftly arranged, called the Brenner Pass meeting after Mr. Welles had arrived in Rome on Friday evening with discouraging news regarding the outlook for peace, the Vatican authority said.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.