The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1917-06-29
President Wilson Bares
History of German Intrigue

, sons action last December in calling
upon the belligerent nations for 9
statement of the objects for which
they were fighting and the synchro-
nonous sensational declaration of Sec
rotary Lansing to the press indicating
that this nation was on the verge OF
war.
Stocks tumbled and the country be-
came so excited that in order to allay
popular apprehension that war was
at hand, Lansing, after consultation
with the President, issued an explain
atory statement, which, in the opin-
ion Of many, did not explain all, though
it apparently had the effect of calm
ing the country. The veil is lifted in
pamphlet issued by the Committee
on Public Information, of which Geo.
Creel is chairman and the other mem
bers of which are the Secretaries Of
State, War and the Navy.
This pamphlet is entitled GLOW the
War Came to America" and is an of
fetal exposition of the case of the
United States against Germany, the
| first full statement that has come
from any authoritative source since
|
the German Government and the Unit
ed States.
Germany Not Acting in Good Faith.
Generally the mysterious course of
President Wilson and his Secretary of
State was due to the discovery by
this Government that the German
Government did not intend to live up
in good faith to the pledge given to
the United States in the Sussex case:
that merchant vessels would not be
sunk without warning by German
submarines, or without making pro-
vision for the safety of those on
board.
In the first pages of the pamphlet
there is a review of American interna-
tional policy and traditions to show
that the Wilson administration was en-
tirely consistent in its dealings with
Germany on the submarine issue.
Then the present great war is TAX
en- up and mention made of the eff
forts of German agents to stir up
feeling against the United States in
Japan and South America and among
the German people.
"The break would have come soon
err" the pamphlet states, eff our
Government had not been restrained
by the hope that saner counsels might
we'll prevail in Germany"
The President also was restrained,
it is stated in the same authoritative
way, by the sense of responsibility of
this nation towards the nations of
Latin-America, which also desired the
ways of peace, and by the hope that
by keeping aloof from the European
conflict, 1--WE might be free at the end
of the war to bind up the wounds of
the conflict"
These motives held the United
States back, it is declared, but fur
Their complications came to beset the
Government.
eve soon had reason to believe"
it is stated, chat the recent compli-
ance of the German Government (the
pledge to observe the rules of civil
lied warfare at sea- had not been
made in good faith and was only tenn
porary, and by the end of 1916 it was
plain that our neutral status had
again been made unsafe through the
ever-increasing aggressiveness of the
German autocracy."
Then follows the explanation for
the Presidents note asking the bel
ligerents to define their war aims and |
of Secretary Lansing's startling state
mont that America was on the verge
of war. The pamphlet says:
Peace Proposals Arrogant.
at was in this frame of mind, fear
ing we might be drawn into the war
if it did not soon come to an end, that {
the President began the preparation
of his note asking the belligerent
Powers to define their war aims. But
before he had completed it the world
was surprised by the peace move of
the German Government, an identical
note on behalf of the German Empire,
Austria Hungary, Bulgaria and Tur-
key, sent through neutral Powers De-
cember IL, 1916, to the Governments
of the Allies, proposing negotiations
for peace. While expressing the wish
to end this war-'a catastrophe which
thousands of years of common civili-
cation was unable to prevent and
which endures the most precious
achievements of humanity great
sr portion of the note was couched in
terms that gave small hope of last
ing peace.
Boosting of German conquests,
the glorious deeds of our armies the
note implanted in neutral minds the
belief that it was the purpose of the
German Imperial Government to in
sist upon such conditions as would
leave all Central Europe under Ger
man dominance and build up an en-
pire which would menace the whole
liberal world.
Moreover, the German proposal
was accompanied by thinly yelled
threat to all neutral nations; and
from a thousand sources, official and
the word came to Wash
ngton that unless the neutrals used
their influence to bring the war to an
end on terms dictated from Berlin,
Germany and her allies would consider
themselves henceforth free from any
to respect the rights of
leutrals. The Kaiser ordered the neu-
rails to exert pressure on the En-
tente to bring the war to an abrupt
end or to beware of the consequences. |