Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1915-12-11
FoREIcN AMERICANS.

A traitor has ever been the most
despised Of men; almost any crime
can be forgiven before that of plotting
against ones own kith and kin, work
ing in the interests of the enemy.
That the sentiment towards the traitor
has not changed any of late In this
country was plainly shown by the
throng which heard President Wood
row Wilson denounce in the most
scathing terms those so-called Ameri-
cans who, while enjoying the protec-
tfQn of the American flag, work in
! the interests of foreign nations even
] at TIE risk of involving this country.
I No part of the presidents recent mes
sage TO congress was greeted with
i SO much applause and evident APPROX
al as was his denunciatton of the n.y.
Sphenated Americans. The president
asaid:
am sorry to say that the gravest
Threats against our national peace and
asafety have been uttered within our
own borders. There are citizens of
gthe United States, blush to admit,
8born under other flags but welcomed
Under our generous naturalization
claws to the full freedom and oppor-
@tunity Of America, who have poured
the poison of disloyalty into the very
aarteries Of our national life; who have
asought to bring the authority and
good name of our government into
2contempt, to destroy our industries
wherever they thought it effective for,
stheir vindictive purposes to strike at
them, and to debase our politics to the
uses of foreign intrigue. Their num-
her is not great as compared with the
whole number of those sturdy hosts
by which our nation has been enrich
ed in recent generations out of virile
foreign stocks; but it is great enough
Ito have brought deep disgrace upon
sE,ls and to have made it necessary that
I'VE should promptly make use of pro-
purged Of their corrupt distempers.
like this before. It never dreamed it
possible that men sworn into It's own
citizenship, men drawn out of great
free stocks such as supplied some
of the best and strongest elements of
that little, but how heroic, nation that
lin a high day OF old staked it's very
life to free itself from every entangle-
sament that had darkened the fortunes
aof the older nations and set up new
STANDARD here-that men of such orr
gins and such free choices of al
Segiance would ever turn in malign
reaction against the government and
people who had welcomed and nur-
Stured them and seek to make this
'proud country once more hotbed OF
European passion. A little while ago
such thing would have seemed in
credible. Because it was incredible
I'VE made no preparation for it. We
would have been almost ashamed to
prepare for it, as If we were sus-
fptcious of ourselves, our own COM
.rades and neighbors! But the ugly
and incredible thing has actually come
about and we are without adequate
federal laws to deal with it. l urge
you to enact such laws at the earliest
possible moment and feel that in do
ing SO l am urging you to do nothing
less than save the honor and self
respect of the nation. Such creatures
of passion. disloyalty and anarchy
must be crushed out They are not
many, but they are infinitely malig.
hant. and the hand of our power
should close over them at once. They
have formed plots to destroy property,
They have entered into conspiracies
against the neutrality Of the govern
sment, they have sought to pry into
Every confidential transaction Of the
in order to serve inter
gests alien to our own. 1t Is possible
to deal with these things very effec-
tually. T need not suggest the terms
in which they may be dealt with.
Harry Fnrd's peace party. now out