The new era. (Walden, Colo.) 1906-19??, 1908-04-16
PRESIDENT CALLS FOR FURTHER
LEGISLATION TO WEED OUT
ANARCHIST LITERATURE.
In SPECIAL MESSAGE
DECLARES QUESTION OF SUP.
PRESTON OF ANARCHY TO BE
OF SUPREME IMPORTANCE.

Washington.-In one of the short
est messages which he has yet trans
mitted TO Congress, President RooSe-
welt Thursday called the attention of
that body TO the necessity OF further
legislation on the subject of anarchy
With the message he transmitted a
report reviewing the legal phases of
the question by Attorney General Bona
parte. The message of the President
is as follows:
THE Senate and House of Repre-
scntatives-I herewith submit letter
from the Department of Justice which
explains itself. Under this opinion
hold that existing statutes give the
President the power to prohibit the
postmaster 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 l shall act
upon such construction. Unquestlon-
ably, however, there should be further
legislation by Congress in this matter
when compared with the suppress
sion OF anarchy, every other question
sinks into insignificance. The an
archst is tht enemy of humanity, the
enemy of all mankind, and his is a
deeper degree of criminality than any
other. No immigrant is allowed to
come to our shores if he is an anarch-
list; and no paper published here or
abroad should be permitted circulation
in this country if it propagates anarch-
istic opinions.
(Signed)
THEODORE ROOSEVELT.
"The White House. April 8, 1905"
Besides his direction to the postmas'
ter general to exclude from the mails
such publications as La QUESTION: So
cale. President Roosevelt in his letter
to Attorney General Bonaparte asking
for an opinion on the legal phases OF
the subject, says he has had the par
ticular case called to the attention of
the governor of New Jersey by Secre-
tary Root that the governor may pro-
coed under the state laws.
The opinion of the attorney general,
which the President transmits to Con-
gress. embraces a discussion of the
whole subject from many legal angles.
His first conclusion is that the article
in question, which advocates the use OF
arms and dynamite in annihilating po-
lice and soldiers that anarchy may pre-
vail. constitutes "seditious libel and
is undoubtedly a crime at common
law
He declares that there is no federal
statute which makes such publications
an offense against the United States
and that the federal courts conse-
quently have no jurisdiction in the
matter. That there is full power in the
possession of Congress to make such
publication criminal the attorney gen
eral asserts and quotes Chief Justice
Fuller of the Supreme Court and JUS
tice Field as authority
The greater portion of his opinion is
devoted to the question of whether in
the absence of any legislation by Con
gress, the postmaster general has the
right to exclude such publications. On
this point his conclusion is:
"'The postmaster general will be
justified in excluding from the mails
any issue of any periodical otherwise
entitled to the privileges of second
class matter. which shall contain any
article constituting seditious libel
and counseling such crime as murder,
arson, riot and treason"
This provision, he goes on to say,
does not apply to sealed letters, which
can not be ODened,