Montana news. [volume] (Lewistown, Mont.) 1904-191?, 1908-12-10
THE RIGHT OF ASYLUM


The case of Christian RudowitZ.
now before United States Commis-
snioncr Footr 90 meet the demand for
his cxtradition by thr Russian govern
mrnt lays str"ss once NOR" upon the
tenacious activity of the ideals upon
which this country is founded.
Rudowitz maintains that H. is po-
litical refugee. And here come up at
once all the traditions, all the Amcri-
can pride i'm the precious right of
asylum" We are viyidly faced with
the issues that underlay the landing of
the Pilgrims, the coming of the
Huguenots and the immigration of our
Irish citizens
At such "A time we must go back 10
the principles which We have labori-
ously established in the past. We
need not and should not attempt to
prejudice a special case now under
judicial advsement, but We should as
surcdly take new grasp of our old
ideals I'm order To- preserve and protect
them.
We must remember, then, our an
cicnt glory in the faith that in this
country at least men shall be- safe
from the long arm Of religious or po-
litical persecution. The very essence
at freedom, as America has defined IT,
lies i'm this conviction. We have cher
ished the right of asylum as zealously
as the right of free speech.
Legally We have right To- keep clear
the distinction between cNtradition for
criminal and for political offenses. II
has been difficult because the acts
of revolutionists often fail to stand out
In their true meaning. IL is hard for
an isolated refugee to prove that h."
acted from political motives: IL is COM
paratiNrly easy for his vengcful gov
crnment To make out against him n
prima facie cas-" of criminal intent.
our courts have realized this. In
deed, an interesting excerpt quoted by
the New York Evening Post" from
the decisions OF "A federal judge con-
tains this recognition of IL:
II cannot help thinking that every
body knows that there are many acts
of IA political character done without
reason. done against all reason: but at
the same time one cannot look too
hardly and weigh In goide scales the
acts of men not in their political ex-
citcmcnt. An act Of this description
thcring and in furtherance of a politi-
cal rising. even though IL is an act
which may he dcpIored and lamented
/ by those who calmly reflect upon il
after the battle is over"
| obviously" says the Post the in
trntion of the law is that every chance
shall Ice given to the refugee who
pleads his political opinions AS a de-
fcnsc against eXtradition."
Considering present conditions in
their general relations to the right Of
asylum. we have good reason To cx-
anime into the strange energy with
which Russia mas recently begun to
reclaim criminals from our shores.
We have had two such arrests in Chi
cago, and the Pouren and Alexandra
witch cases in the east are recently
| familiar. After many years of i'm
perial Indifference this burst of activ-
| ity calls for some explanation. can
IL be that Russia, after closing all Eu-
| rope. saving England, against her rev
/ olutionary refugees. Is now trying To
close America. too? Such result
would give bureaucratic barbarism an
even frcer hand than IL has today.
Whatever the outcome of the Rudo-
WITT case. IL may be well for our peo-
pie To prepare for n reassertion of the
right Of asylum. We are willing to
| live up to our extradition treaties. but
we may once more have to make a
foreign government understand that
| freedom from political persecution I'm
this country is living fact, not n
bloodless theory. We could do less
| important things than urge upoI
Elihu Root the wisdom OF following
up his action upon the Pouren ease
with diplomatic action In general.