The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1917-08-24
BAER WANTS UNITED STATES
OUTLINE OF WAR PLANS


Washington, D. c.: An open demarl
that the United States Immediately
declare its war aims was made by
John N. Baer, Of North Dakota, who
qualified as representative in Con-
gress in succession to the late Henry
7. Helgeson. Elected on the platform
Of the national non-partisan League,
Baer. after taking the oath Of Office,
issued q statement reviewing the rca-
sons for bis election.
"Ny constituents Mr.. BGer de-
clared. "in common with the people q
this naticn, are ready and willing %
pour out blood and treasure withol.
limit in order to defend and preserve
cur country. They DO not lack in 10y
atty and willingness to support the
government in waging war to make
the world safe for democracy. Pa
triotism, however, can not be stirred IN
a war for the destruction of German
autocrGcy in Europe if it is begun By
the suppression OF democracy in Amer
lea.
president Wilson we'll exemplifed
the temper Of the American people
when he said: Once more we shall
make good with our lives and fortunes
the great faith to which we were born
Congress already has pledged tie lives
Of the men Of this nation, and that
without first securing their consent,
but still refuses to conscript the pr
yate fortunes to defray the cost of the
war. To conscript men, and at the
same time allow monopolistic coTpo-
rations to profit upon the worlds
misery, is undemocratic and repug-
rant to American ideals of liberty and
Justice. It is a monstrous injustice
to ask the survivors of bloody fields
to come home and pay the money cost
Of war. 1t is equally unjust TO per-
nit lobbyists to oppose the conscrip-
ton Of wealth without let or hindraEce
while making it unlawful for a mother
to oppose the CONSUMPTION Of the life
Of her son.
Germany holds conquered territory
in France, Belgium and the Balkans
equal in area to her own European ter
ritory prior to the war. Germany
cannot be allowed 70 hold these peo-
pie in subsection, nor to make this
profit as a result Of the murderous
assault upon the peace Of the world
by the imperialists of the European
nations. But while we are fighting 10
destroy German imperialism shall we
fight to support British imperialism ?
Already as a result Of the war Eng
land holds in Africa a million square
miles of territory. After an imper-
isl council had been held recently by
the British and Colonial governments
of the British empire the premier
stated to the world that Great Brit
ain would not relinquish its hold upon
this territory.
president Wilson says that we are
in accord with the aims Of cur allies
and that their aims are in accord with
ours. If that be true then are we not
fighting for imperialism and not for
democracy? While engaged in righ-
teous war against German imperial
ism why should the United States aid
England or any other country in their
imperialistic designs? Let US drag
these questions out before the whole
world and settle them before the bar
of world opinion. If the German peo-
pie and government are now willing
to settle this war on the basis of the
demands of our government we should
no longer continue to war. We can
not know that we are not sending our
young, strong, capable men to die in
the trenches, not for democracy but
for imperialism, unless the thing for
which they fight be explicitly specified,
Shall we deny to the patriotic young
men, the flower of the nation, who go
to suffer and to die in foreign lands
the reasons for which they die?"