The Butler weekly times. (Butler, Mo.) 1881-1918, 1917-06-14
U. S. FOR NEW EUROPE


Il
Ante Bellum STATUS, President .
Wilson Says.
Washington, June o.-President
| Wilson, in communication to the
new government of Russia, has made
plain the war aims of the United
States and its position on mo an
nexations; no indemnities."
"No territory must change hands
except for the purpose Of securing
those who inhabit it fair chance Of
life and liberty" says the communi-
cation.
"No indemnities must be insisted
on except those that constitute pay
ment for manifest wrong done.
II mo readjustment of power must
be made, except such as will tend to-
i secure the future peace of the world
and the future welfare and happiness
of its, people"
| In unmistakable terms, President
Wilson declares against Germany's
proposal to restore the status quo be-
fore the war
| 1T was the status quo ante out OF
| which this iniquitious war issued"
The says, "the power of the imperial
German government within the. en-
pire and its widespread domination
| and influence outside of that empire.
THAT status must be altered in
such fashion as to prevent any such
liideous thing from ever happening
again"
The Presidents communication
was delivered to the Russian govern
4 ment by Ambassador Francis at Pet
rograd. In full it is as follows:
I'm view of the approaching visit
of the American delegation to Russia
to express the deep friendship of the
American people for the people OF
Russia and to discuss the best and
most practical means of cooperation
between the two peoples in carrying
the present struggle for the freedom
of all peoples to successful consum-
alton, it seems opportune and appro-
pirate that | should state again, in
the light of this new partnership, the
objects the United States has had in
mind in entering the war. Those OBJ
jects have been very much beclouded
the last few weeks by mistaken and
misleading statements, and the issues
at stake are too momentous, too ire
mendous, too significant for the
whole human race, to permit any
neutrality-suspicious. or misunderstand-
ings, however slight, to remain un-
corrected for a moment.
The war has begun to go against
Germany, and in their desperate de-
sire to escape the inevitable and I'LL
innate defeat, those who are in au-
thority in Germany are using every
possible instrumentality, are making
use of the influence of groups and
parties among their own subjects, to
whom they have never been just or
fair or even tolerant, to promote
propaganda on both sides of the sea
which will preserve for them their
influence at home and their power
abroad to the undoing of the very
men they are using.
THE position of America in this
war is so clearly avowed that no man
can be excused for installing it. She
seeks no material profit or aggran-
dizement of any kind. She is ight-
ing for no advantage or selfish OBJ
ject of her own, but for the liberation
of peoples everywhere from the ag-
gressions of autocratic force.
THE ruling classes in Germany
have begun of late to profess alike
liberalty and justice of purpose, but
only to preserve the power they have
set up in Germany and the selfish
advantages which they have wrongly
gained for themselves and their pri-
vate projects OF power all the way
from Berlin to Bagdad and beyond.
Government after government has,
by their influence, without open con-
quest of its territory, been linked to-
gether in a net of intrigue directed
against nothing less than the peace
and liberty of the world. The meshes
of that intrigue must be broken, but
cannot be broken unless wrongs al
ready done are undone; and adequate
measures must be taken to prevent it
from ever again being rewoven or re-
paired.
"Of course, the imperial German
government and those to whom it is
using for their own undoing, are
seeking to obtain pledges that the
war will end in the restoration of the
status quo ante. 1t was the status
quo ante out of which this iniquitous
war issued, the power of the imperial
German government within the en-
|pire and its. widespread domination
and influence outside Of that empire.