The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, July 29, 1918, Page 8

» " clippings from newspaper comment: N % ? / / 7 NN SRR RN \5 THE LIBEJZ2 2 A 2, 707, 77 o ~ — a G-U-E-53'S MAYBE THO5-E RUBE-S { '\ WERE RIGHT A-F-T-E-R A-L:L g 'i}fi‘ 23 f 57 " Clears the League, Fair Newspapers Say Supreme Court Acquittal of Townley of Framed-Up Charges Brings Congratulations From the Unmuzzled -Press— How It Is Viewed LY the unmuzzled press com- mented on the acquittal of A. C. Townley, president of the National Nonpartisan league, of the faked-up charges of disloyalty. The silence of the kept newspapers of the big cities was deafening. The ac- tion of the supreme court of - Minnesota in throwing the charges out of court was a severe blow to dishonest editors who have been prodigal with charges of treason against an organization which they were afraid to fight on its merits. The general opinion among friendly editors is that the last obstacle to the progress of the League has been swept away by the favorable de- cision of the supreme court. Leaguers will under- stand the tremendous impression created by the blowing up of the baseless prosecution of the League by reading the way it was received by edi- tors who are brave enough to discuss it. The si- lence of the kept press which has thus been ex- posed again is also sigmificant. Following are DULUTH (MINN.) LABOR WORLD The decision of the supreme court is notable. It effectively disposes of all future attempts to eon- vict the League as a whole on trumped-up 5 and it shows how far prostituted politicians and the sinister influences behind them will go to de- WHAT THE ST. PAUL PAPERS SAID: Nothing. stroy an opponent they dare not fight openly. The decision puts these gangsters in a bad light. It shows they are capable of attempting to destroy - . a political opponent by methods that will not stand # .« the test of a fair court decision, In doing this it discredits the entire attempt of a few politicians to monopolize all the patriotism of the nation by making false accusations against others. HAVRE (MONT.) DAILY PROMOTER In its decision acquitting the head of this or- ganization of being unpatriotic in circulating some of the League’s literature, the supreme court of Minnesota has called the literature circulated a “platform upon which a certain class of citizens are solicited to join an organization, whose avowed purpose is an amelioration 'of alleged evils of present economic conditions.” 3 . That some of these alleged evils at least must be real is shown by the rapidity with which the organization has grown. It has controlled for nearly two years the government of North Dakota and it is claimed that it has in the state of Mon- tana more than 40,000 members. There are coun- ties in the northern tier where the membership runs into the thousands. ; : It is not fair, it is not just and it is not right, therefore, for outsiders to label such an organiza- s -tion as unpatriotic, T;;ege men who have gone into - RS R TR P A TS this organization are just as loyal, just as patriotic and just as good citizens on the whole as will be found in any walk of life. They are simply seek- ing to remedy some of the “alleged evils of present economic conditions,” as the present supreme court of Minnesota has put it. . DENVER (COL.) LABOR BULLETIN The “case was the most important brought against the League by its political enemies. It was the supreme attempt to destroy the League by showing that two separate League resolutions contained matter opposing the war and tending to discourage enlistments. The League itself was placed on trial in the person of its two principal officials. Had these two men been found guilty, the political gangsters, whose power has been threatened in Minnesota, believed that they would have the League completely outlawed and unable to continue its work. DEADWOOD (S. D.) TELEGRAM Those newspapers which have been so vociferous in their denunciations of the Nonpartisan league for “sedition” and “disloyalty,” will now inform their readers, if they play fair, that they were mis- taken; and that the supreme court of the state of Minnesota has held that the statements in the pamphlets issued by the League over which a big hullaballoo has been raised, chiefly for political camouflage, are neither disloyal mor seditious. Therefore the charge against the League, as an organization, falls to the ground. All papers and individuals with any sense of fairness and intent to be just, will now cease mak- ing allegations against the loyalty of the League as an organization. The alleged criminals, Town- ley and Gilbert, whose arrest has been greatly ex- ploited, have been acquitted by the supreme court of Minnesota and the League held to be guiltless of disloyalty in its authorized utterances. : The editor of this paper has carefully read all the reports he could find of such occurrences in Gregory, Butte and other counties. And so far WHAT LEAGUERS CAN DO Any newspaper which printed the stories of the arrest of League officers on the charges that have new been exploded ought to be fair enough to comment editorially, calling the atten- tion of readers to the recent decision of the supreme court, which declared that there was not a disloyal word in - the League platform. Every Nonpar- tisan who subscribes to a kept news- paper ought to mail a copy of last week’s Leader to his editor, together: with a courteous note asking for edi- torial comment. This is the way to make the newspapers feel the ~ force of public opinion. as could be learned, the disloyalty charges against these organizers have been based upon the use of the paragraphs quoted by the court from League literature and the use of quotations from Presi- dent Wilson’s book, “The New Freedom.” The supreme court of Minnesota has now passed upon the former, and found in them no basis for charges of disloyalty or sedition. And inasmuch as the president’s book was published in 1914, when he had been for some time the occupant of the White House and the world war had been started, it is to be presumed that no court, state or federal, will hold any citation therefrom to be disloyal. NEBRASKA STATE JOURNAL It is one of the ‘curious features of the work of the state councils of defense that they often go farther in efforts to convict citizens of disloyalty than the federal government has cared to go. The state councils, which were originally created for the purpose of holding up the hands of the national administration and of stamping out sedition wher- ever it should raise its head, have in a number of cases proved a source of embarrassment to the federal authorities. -In some cases these local bodies have done almost as much harm as good.. Instead of uniting the people for the support of the war they have created irritation whére none was necessary, and have actually delayed the pro- cess of unifying the public which has-been going- - on so satisfactorily during the past year. This Minnesota decision is of importance in WHAT MINNEAPOLIS PAPERS SAID: Not a Chirp. dealing with the Nonpartisan league-in Nebraska. Here the state council of defense has denounced the organization as disloyal, largely on the ground that its leader, Mr. Townley, has been found guilty of circulating seditious literature in. Minnesota. When the supreme court finds that the literature was “nothing more serious than a flamboyant plat- “form” dealing with alleged economic evils, ‘the chief point made against the League falls to the ground. WEISER (IDAHO) SIGNAL It is proved that Mr. Townley has been deliber- ately misrepresented and maligned from one end of the country to the other. R e The net result of the vindication of Mr. Town- ley will rebound to the benefit of the League and it will undoubtedly be thousands of votes stronger in Idaho than it has been. People in all walks of ° life have felt that the demand of the League that big business be curbed in its encroachment upon ° the rights of the American people is founded on justice and right, but have been held back because they are loyal and feared the charges against Mr. i Townley and his associates might be sustained.. They believe in the principles and program of the: . League and now that they find the disloyalty _charges exploded info the thinnest kind of air’ b \r &