The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, October 14, 1918, Page 6

e et A Tlonpartisén feader Official Magazine of the National Nonpartisan League—Every Week Entered as second-class matter September 8, 1915, at the postoffice at St. Paul, Minnesota, under the Act of March 8, 1879. OLIVER 8. MORRIS, Editor A. B. GILBERT, Associate Editor B. 0. FOSS, Art Editor Advertising rates on application. Subscription, one year, in advance, 82.50:_ sigt months, $1.50. Please do not make checks, drafts nor money orders payable to indi- viduals. Address all letters and make all remittances to The Nonpartisan Leader, Box 575, St. Paul, Minn. MEMBER-OF AUDIT BUREAU OF CIRCULATIONS THE S. C. BECKWITH SPECIAL AGENCY, Advertising Representatives, New York, Chicago, St. Louis, Detroit, Kansas City. : Quack, fraudulent 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. THIS OUGHT TO BE CONCLUSIVE- why this publication from time to time takes exception to some of the violent statements of Theodore Roosevelt. If there are any who doubt the colonel’s fanatical and unfair oppo- sition to the organized farmers, we recommend a recent editorial of his entitled “Spies and Slackers.” In this editorial he declares that the Nonpartisan league has aided German spies, dynamiters and murderers. We reproduce this statement below, together with its complete context. Read and learn what the colonel thinks of the most powerful and influential farmers’ organization in the United States, comprising over 200,000 members, every one a farmer: As for the spies, there is no question as to the treatment needed. They should be shot or hanged. They are public enemies and this is war time and they should no more be dealt with by the civil law than the enemy armies should be so dealt with. The German spies and secret agents and dynamiters and murderers in this country are as much a part of Germany as the soldiers of Yon Hindenburg. "In this country Senator Overman has estimated their number at 400,000. Our official government reports have shown that in obedience to orders from the German government they have carried on in all hostile and even neutral countries a systematic warfare by means of aiding pacifists’ movements, inciting strikes, fomenting disloyalty and employing dynamiters and murderers. They have received aid and co-operation, conscientiously and un- conscientiously, by many evils in pacifist and bolshevik societies and in organizations like the I, W. W. and NONPARTISAN LEAGUE. The activities of the German spies, agents and sympathizers vary from mere disloyal utterances, which the attorney general of the United States has stated to be the cause of most of the disorder in the country, up to seeking to corrupt our soldiers and practicing sabo- tage in our munitions works and factories*for war materials. The former chief of the secret service says that there are a quar- THE great army of Leader readers understands thoroughly STILL RUNNING ~ WILD. AND CALL\NG ALL WHO OIFFER WITH HiM ¢ HUNS AnND TRAITORS. ter of a million of German spies and agents in this country. We have ample law to warrant these being punished with death by sum- mary court martial under military law as military enemies. We have been at war 18 months, but not one spy has thus been ' punished. This means grave remissness in the performance of our duty. g ~-REACHING FOR THE SCHOOLS : HE National Security league has started what it calls “a great campaign of patriotism through education.”’In a re- ] cent bulletin about this “campaign” the Security league says it wants to “lay the foundations for a-permanent system of patri- otic education in the public schools.” It also says that the league - wants to carry “a message of militant patriotism into every nook and: corner of the land”. throukgh the schools. It also says that the -tarism in America. ; Ghassefl league wants “to create a more responsive American citizenship through the medium of better methods of permanent patriotic in- struction in the public schools.” i e This reads well, does it not? But do you know what the Se- curity league means by a-“permanent system of patriotic educa- tion,” and by “militant patriotism,” and by “permanent patriotic instruction”? You do not unless you know what -the Security league is. It is the foremost society in America promoting mili- It means by these high-sounding terms noth- ing less than COMPULSORY MILITARY TRAINING IN THE SCHOOLS. : . The National Security league’s “great campaign- of patriotism through education” is damnable and anti-American and should he immediately suppressed by official government action. Lacking that, it can be headed off by educators with backbone, if there are any such left. The National Security league has an opponent. ‘It is the American League Against Militarism.. The latter has not attempted to use the public schools for its propaganda. What if it did? Yet it is just as much entitled to have the use of the public schools to oppose militarism as the Security league has to use them to pro- mote militarism. 5 The Capital Times of Madison, Wis., hits the nail on the head when it says: One of the indictments which has been made against the German military machine is that the spirit of war has been instilled into the children from the time that they were able to toddle. German chil- dren with sticks over their shoulders trudging back of a pudgy young- ster with a broomstick for a sword have been pictured to the world :: illustrative of the all-pervasiveness of the kaiser system of mili- rism. ’ : e We don’t want that sort of thing in this country. ks We are not satisfied that the activities of. the National Securi !eague are actuated alone by considerations of patriotism.’ The league is_the foremost exponent of military preparedness and compulsory military service in this country.- There are too many- men identified w1_th the Security league who are interested in- financial emoluments arising out of preparédness and compulsory service to make us view with anything but suspicion this campaign of “patriotism” that the league is undertaking. 3 : The danger of the present plan lies in the arrogance of the Se- curity league and the timidity of -educators. # USING FARM PAPERS AGAINST THE FARMERS HE Agricultural Publishers’ association, to which practically all the farm paper publishers belong, deserves severe con- demnation for circulating propaganda of the Mortgage Bankers’ Association of America against the federal farm loan * banks.. Weekly Bulletin No. 130 of the Agricultural Publishers’ association, dated September 10, 1918, commends favorably to members of the association an article by E. D. Chassell, secretary of the farm mortgage bankers. The Chassell article is sent farm papeé'. edl_iors along. with the publishers’ association letter com- mending it. 3 : : e Fine scheme, is it not, to use the farm papers in the fight against the government rural credit banks? We do not know how many fa_rm paper editors “fell” for the Chassell ‘article, but mem- bers of the Agricultural Puhlishers’ association should see that this offense against the farm banks in the interests of farm mort- gage brokers anxious to discredit government rural credits, is properly rebuked at once. b LU N R e e Mr. Chassell of the farm bankers’ association attempts to dis- credit the fz‘i‘m bank law by pretending as-a “friend” to point out some of its weaknesses” and by asking for the correction of these weaknesses.”:.The fact is that he and his associates are against the federal land banks. Y it is-said, appropriated $25,000 at their convention last year: for propaganda against the government rural credit system. Mr. isa self-interested enemy of th 7 A Whatever amendments they want for the law will help THEM, not the farmers. The farm mdr]{:’gagetbankei's; :