Evening star., 1917-09-17
MINISTER RECEIVES
-ASHARP REbUkE
Wrote Representative Borland
Asking Home Duty for His
Drafted Son.
'UNAMERIcAN," THE REPLY

Rebuke for unAmerican sentiments
expressed in correspondence. declara-
enough to live in it is good enough
to defend" and the request that the
communication be read from the pulpit
of Kansas City church. were con-
veyed in letter written by Repre-.
sentative Borland to Rev. J. Sauer OF
Kansas City. whose son. enlisting in
the Kansas National Guard, Is now on
his way to France.
Young Sauer. of draft age. when he
enlisted in the guard believed he was
joining the Quartermaster's Corps, and
that he would not be sent abroad with
the American troops. When the father
learned the young man was to be sent
to France he endeavored to obtain the
the son transferred to a 'stay-at home"
branch of the service. The War De-
partment advised Representative Bor-
land the transfer would not be made.
The boys father then wrote this to
Mr.. Borland, according to the latter:
Opposed to Foreign Service.
tember 1. most heartily, beg of you to
have my son assigned to home duty.
For your private information about
the feeling here 1 give you few facts.
/ wrote twenty farmers in Cass county
last week. Nineteen Of them are op-
countries. Reports from the east insist
regular soldiers have to be forced to
embark for France. Quite a number
obey only with tears. They have been
even fighting their officers, with the re-
suit of $50 killed.
Chicago Examiner gave out Ameri-
can transport sunk with loss of SOC
American soldiers. Some reports have
seventeen transports sunk. l hope these
things to be untrue"
In his reply Mr.. Borland said:
II regret to say that am entirely out
of sympathy with the whole tone and
contents ct your letter of September l.
giving courteous attention to the re-
quest of my constituents should have
called for such a letter.
If this country is good enough to
live in. it is good enough to defena.
If it is good enough for men to come
to to better their fortunes and increase
their opportunities, it is good enough
to be proud of and to fight for. The
British colonists in America did NOT
hesitate to fight their British cousins
freedom was involved. The Spanish
people in nineteen American republics
have not hesitated to take up arms
against their Spanish kinsmen for the
honor and safety of their chosen coun-
try.
Plea for Amsricanism.
NO man who is a genuine American
is anything else but an American. II
he Is not an American and cannot en-
ter in full sympathy into the aspira-
tions of this country. he ought to seek
some country that will welcome citi-
zens of that class do not know. how
ever. where such a country could be
found. Men from all lands and from
every rank of society have enjoyed
privileges in the United States which
they have never enjoyed and cannot
hnd in any other land under the sun.
That is what brought them here, an
that is what keeps them here. The
door was wide open for them to come.
but it is equally wide open for them to
leave. unless they feel that freedom
and the principles of democratic insti
tutions impose a high moral obligation
upon them as citizens.
II am glad to believe that the num-
ber of men who would be willing to
place such stigma upon their own
sons as you have done is comparatively
few. / hope you will read this letter
from your pulpit. that there may be no
misunderstanding of my position in the
matter"