The weekly Alaska citizen., 1918-02-11
GERMAN AIMS
plague.

Germany with regard to Russia are not work ing out as harmoniously as had been expected by the German government The Russians, or the most powerful group of them, the con gress of workmen and soldiers, has rejected the terms offered by the German government, and the sudden return of the Teuton repre-. sentatives from Brest Litovsk may possibly mean that Germany has refused to make any concession from her territorial demands.
 These demands, while apparently not meeting with the approval of the labor class of Germany, have the support of large and influential portion of the Germans. This is evident from the following petition which was presented by six industrial associations of Germany to the imperial chancellor on May 20, 1915, or nearly year after the beginning of the war: "With regard to the east, the following consideration must guide us. For the great increase in industrial power which we expect in the west we must secure a counterpoise by the annexation of agrcul tural territory of equal value in the east. * It IS necessary to strengthen the agricultural basis of our national economy; to secure room for the expansion of great German agricu- tural settlement; to restore to our empire the German peasants living in foreign land, particularly in Russia,' who are now actually without the protection of the law; finally, 7ve must increase considerably the number of OUT felloao countrynen able to bear arn,s; all these matters require an important extension of the frontiers of the empire and of Prussia toward the east through the annexation of some parts of the Baltic provinces and of the territories to the south of them, while keeping in view the necessity of military defense on the eastern German frontier* * *.
 Az the inhabitants of the new territories and as to what guarantees are necessary to further German influence and industrial life we will France. The 70ar indemnity to be exacted from Russia should, to large extent, cousist in the surrender of territory"
 These six industrial associations were the League of Agriculturists, the German Pea sant League, the Committee of the Christian German Peasant Union, the Central Associa- tion of German Industrialists, the League of the Industrialist and the Conservative Middle Class Association. The influence of these great business and farming organizations can hardly be overestimated. The pan Germans have preached the doctrine of the spells of war to such an extent that the German gov ernment cannot refuse to demand annexa- tions, nor has it shown any tendency to re- pudiate the doctrine.
 | Here again the Middle Europe proposal steps in Says F. Naumann, in 1916: 4 vital mid-Ewobe needs Agrarian territories on its boundaries aud must make the accession easy aud desirable to them. It needs, if possible, an extension of its northern and southern sea coasts; it needs its share in over-sea CO., lonlal possessions But how can all this be talked of now without getting involved in in- conclusive discussions of neutrality or in the coming negotiations at the peace congress.
 And aVho is brebared to say 7VI1ere the future central Ewopean trench made boun- ddries aouH run? Whether they will pass on the inner, or the outer side of Rumania or on this or that side of Bessarabia? Whether they will follow the Vistula or not? Whether Bulgaria is to be included in the Central Flu ropean sphere of interest or not? Whether or not we will secure line of railways to Con- stantinople in the trusty hands of allies? What Mediterranean seaports will come into con- sideration as the starting point of Central European railway lines? What will become of Antwerp? How will the Baltic sea ap- pear after the war? Thus there are hun dred questions unanswered. Their answer will be essentially affected according to whether the German-Austran union is at the bottom something that is desired and deter mined upon or not. Here and here only is the birthplace of Mid-Europe"
 The German designs in the southwest are similar to those in Russia. Listen to F. Naumann, noted German pastor leading churchman, as he shed the light of German Christianity upon the subject:
 "All weakening of German national en- ergy by pacifst associations or analogous ac- tivities reinforces the formidably increasing