Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1908-04-18
WAR ON ANARCHISTS
President Asks Additional Legis-
Iation in Special Message
ATTORNEY GENERALS LETTER
Wants Specific Law Forbdding the
Circulating of seditious
Matter.

Washington, April 10-Stringen
legislation looking TO the suppression
OF anarchiTts particularly in the mat
ter of the dissemination of anarchis
tic literature, is recommended in 4
special message sent to congress
Thursday by President Roosevelt.
The message in full reads:
ITO the Senate and House of Hepre
sentatives:
Il herewith submit a letter from
the department of justice which ex.
plains itself Under this opinion
hold that existing statutes give the
president power to prohibit the post
master general from being used as an
instrument in the commission OF
crime, that is to prohibit the use OF
the mails for the advocacy of murder.
arson and treason; and ! shall act
upon such construction. Unquestlon-
ably, however, there should be fur
Their legislation by congress on this
matter. When compared with the
suppression of narchy every ques-
ton sinks into insignificance. The an
archist is the enemy of all man
kind and his Is deeper degree
of Grim nality than any other. No inn
is allowed to come to our
shores if he is an anarchist; and no
paper published here or abroad should
be permitted circulated in this coun-
try, if il contains anarchistic opinions,
(Signed)
THEODORE ROOSEVELT"
Bonaparte's Views.
Attorney General Bonaparte's letter
accompanying the message contains
an exhaustive review of the statutes
with reference to the use of the mails.
He finds that while there is no law
prohibiting the circulation
of anarchistic publications by means
of the postal service the postmaster
general is fully warranted in taking
the action he did in the case of La
QUESTION: Sociale, an anarchistic pa
per of Patterson, N. j., and adds:
Il advise you that in my opinion
the postmaster general will be Justi-
fed in excluding from the mails any
issue of any periodical otherwise en-
titled to the privileges OF second class
mail matter which shall contain any
article constituting a seditious hoei
and counsellng such crimes as muir
der, arson, riot and treason
He holds that congress has full pow
or under the constitution TO enact
law expressly excluding such matter
from the mails and making 1t a GRIM
inal offense to attempt to use the
mails for its circulation.
But in the absence of competing
he says, "a construc ron OF
the statutes should not be adopted
which would render the officers OF
the government accessories to grave
crimes and convert the postoffice into
an agency destructive OF the ends OF
the government. In several statues
relating to the postoffice service there
has been implied recognition tha'
matter offered for delivery might De
excluded from the mails although no
statute was in existence prohibiting
its transportation
Attorney General Bonaparte charac'
terizes the extracts from La Quesuone
Sociale. which were submitted to MN
and which advocate murder, arson
riot and treason against both the state
and national government as "sedluous
libel and an offense at common law
even if not amenable to the statutes
of the United States as now existing