The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, August 9, 1917, Page 7

& D T R — g TN L g T e B e A P Al Tonpartissn Tader Official. Magazine of the National Nonpartisan League—Every Thursday. 5 Tintered as second-class matter September 3, 1915, at the postoffice at Fargo, North Dakota, under the Act of March 3, 1879. OLIVER S. MORRIS, EDITOR . Advertising rates on application. Subscription, one year, in advance, $2.50; siX months, §1.50. Communications should be addressed to the Nonpartisan Leader, Box 941, Targo, North Dakota, MEMBER OF AUDIT BUREAU OF CIRCULATIONS AN SECT in Ttaly in the middle ages were fought by mercenaries—the father hired out as a soldier to one army, his son to the general on the other side. Sometimes a rival general would offer higher wages than®the enemy soldiers were getting, and they would go over in a body to his side. This was approved war strategy in those days. Did you ever stop to think that the war profiteer of today—the fellow who is making money out of war—is a ‘‘mercenary?’’ He is not a patriot for principle but for profit. He doesn’t care who he sells war munitions or food supplies to, so long as there is money in it. . He happens to be selling them to the United States and her allies now, and he is satisfied to wave the flag and cheer for Uncle Sam. He’s for war _ THE S, C. BECKWITH SPI New York, Chicago, St. Louis, L. AGENCY, Advertising Representatives, oit, Kansas City. 2 Quack, fradulent and irresponsible firms are not knowingly advertised, and we will take it as a favor if any readers will advise us promptly should they have occasion to doubt or question the reliability of any firm which patronizes our advertising columns. WITH CLEAN HANDS INCE the United States entered the war four months ago arrange- S ments have been made to spend fifteen billion dollars for war purposes. This'money must be had soon, if not at once. At least provision for getting it must be made at once. But absolutely every- thing that has been done to raise this vast, hitherto almost unheard-of sum, has been the Libcrt& Loan of two billions. The war tax bill that congress has been playing with originally provided $2,000,0000,000, but but was eut down by the senate finance committee to $1,500,000,000. Even if passed in its original form this bill and the Liberty Loan to- gether will raise less than a third of what must be provided for at once. Where is the rest—the other $11,000,000,000—coming from ? As the situation stands, the government has gone to the people for a $2,000,000,000 loan and.got it. This loan may have been justified as an emergency measure, to fur- nish money until congress could frame a war tax bhill that would take excess war profits and assess heavily the swollen incomes. But what do we hear now? It is stated that, before congress frames an adequate tax bill, that the people are going to be asked to subscribe to another Liberty Loan, equal or greater than the first installment. This should not be done. Such a plan should be opposed by every ounce of energy the people can sum- mon. The government must come to us with clean hands before it asks the poor and the people in moderate circumstances to loan another cent. Loans like the recent Liberty Loan should be the last resort. There are five billion dollars a year of excess war profits BEING MADE NOW BY' THE PEOPLE WHO ARE MAKING MONEY OUT OF WAR. There are untold billions of individual and corporate wealth that should be taxed to the limit. Swollen, mostly unearned incomes are piling up a great store of capital which will remain to oppress the people after the war, unless they are drafted, like our boys have been, to fight autocracy. Let Uncle Sam wait, before coming to the common people for another loan, until he can say: “‘I have taken the excess war profits. I have taxed the swollen, unearned ineomes to the limit. All this I am using to prosecute this war, just as I am using your lives. But I need more money. Will you subscribe to another Liberty Loan?”’ The answer THEN will be ‘‘yes.”” The people will furnish the lives now, and they will furnish the money too, later—after those who are making money out of war and the excessively rich’ HAVE PAID THEIR SHARE. A s Mr. President, go slow on-that second installment of the Liberty Loan, until the government can come to us WITH CLEAN HANDS. * % % Here's some more “patriotism’”: Life insurance companies have at- tempted in several states to attach new clauses known as “war riders,” to outstanding policies. The “war riders” limit or end the liability-of the companies for deaths of policy holders on the battle field. ; * % %k 2 MERCENARIES ISTORY tells us about the old-time mercenary armies. You H remember about them—men served with the army that paid them the best, regardless of right or principle. England hired (German mercenaries to fight the American revolutionists, although Germany had no quarrel with the American colonies. Most of the wars PAGE you bet—and for the good old U. S. A., if you slip him a round profit for it. He’s against an excess war profit tax. Governments are still eruel in many ways, but long ago they abol- ished the mercenary soldier. Let’s abolish, also, the modern ‘‘mer- cenary’’—the fellow who makes money out of war. "Wars will be fewer then, ® % % So far as we know, young men between the ages of 21 and 31 were not called in to have a hearing on whether it was right to fix the draft ages between these limits. Yet congress is calling in and listening to the self-interested war profiteers before fixing the size of the taxes on excess war profits. : ® % % POST OFFICE JOLTED HE Leader took oceasion two weeks ago to point out the methods I which the post office department is using to suppress news- papers and magazines on account of alleged seditious or trea- sonable matter. Since then Postmaster General Burleson and Solicitor 'W. H. Lamar of the department have been somewhat jolted by Judge Learned Hand of the United States district court in New York. A publication denied the mails brought suit for an injunction restraining further interference and denial of the mails, and the judge granted th injunetion. T The decision will not stop the high-handed methods of the Wash- ington bureaucrats. It will not prevent them from declaring other publications ‘‘unmailable’’ without trial or hearing of any kind and without specifying the reasons for denying use of ‘the mails. It may, however, make the post office department a little more careful. The post office bureaucrats were smoked out by the success- ful injunction suit of the New York publication. They were forced to come into court and specify what was treason or sedi- tion in the magazine under con- sideration, which they had refused to_do till the suit was brought. And it develops that they consider advocacy of the répeal of the con- scription law as sedition. They GIVING HIM THE BOOT repeal of the selective draft law as objectionable matter in the magazine. Things have come to a pretty pass in this country if it is treason or sedition to advoecate the repeal of any law. It may be unwise, even folly, to advocate the repeal of conseription, but the Leader insists that any man or publication is within his or its rights under our constitu- tion and free institutions in a&vocating even the repeal of the con< stitution of the United States, war or no war. We had better cease our chatter about a “war for democracy’’ if we are going to deny eitizens the right to criticize the government or question the laws for the con- ~duct of the war. The conscription law may be right and just—cer- tainly if it is right to use it to get men for the army it is also right and necessary to use it to get the dollars to fight the war.~ But there is nothing sacred about the selective draft law and if the majority of the people want it repealed it should be repealed, and those not in favor of it should be allowed the utmost freedom in advocating its repeal, so long as they obey the law themselves and refrain from conspiring to get others to disobey it. - The people of Australia, so far from holding that the principle of eonseription is sacred, last year refused to sanction: ; it by a heavy vote in a referendum. : : Once again, the Leader insists that we still have constitutions, laws and courts in this country and that publicdtions or individuals accused. or suspected of sedition or treason should be proceeded against lawfully. To waive constitutions, laws and courts and suppress . g > specified cartoons advoecating the -