The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1915-12-16
THE TEST OF PATRIOTISM.

Not since the Civil war has any
other president given to the congress
such momentous information of the
state Of the union" as President Will
son gave it in an address dealing al
most wholly with the issue Of nation
al defense in its various forms.
No other part of that address was
so momentous as those paragraphs
in which the president asserted that
"the gravest threats against our
peace and safety have been uttered
within our own borders"
TO republic there can be no men
ace from without which is compar-
able to menace of disloyalty from
within. OF all the dangers that con-
front the country, that is the most
difficult to cope with: for we have
made no preparation to cope with it.
AS the president said to congress, a
lirlle while ago we should have been
almost ashamed to prepare for it,
because it would have seemed in
credible . Yet in this crisis we have
discovered that large element in
the population of the United States is
openly, avowedly and boastfully dis
loyal to the United States. In the
solemn, measured words of the presi-
dent, ''they have formed plots to de-
stroy property, they have entered
into conspiracies against the neutral
ity of the government, they have
sought to pry into every confidential
transaction of the government in Or
der to serve interests alien to our
own," and the end is not yet reached.
wit IF
is at the beginning of national de-
tense. Neither armies nor navies
can offer security to a nation if it's
own population is honeycombed with
disloyalty and if allegiance to the
constitution is lying and fraudulent
allegiance.
Let is be remembered, too, that
there are times when violent and
unrestrained partisanship is little less
inimical to the republic than open Sc
dition. That danger now confronts
the coutry as squarely as any other.
We do not say that every member of
congress is bound by patriotism to
accept without question the presi-
dents recommendations for national
defense or for the raising of revenue
to provide national defense. That
would be ridiculous. That in itself
would be form of treachery to
American institutions. Congress has
its own power and it's own duties
which it must never surrender. But
every member of congress is bound
by every consideration of patriotism
to act on high principle and not on
partisanship.
Each man will know whether he is
trying to serve the interests of the
country, or whether he is trying to
put the administration in a hole"
guided by his intelligence and his
conscience, or whether he is seeking
to gain some petty party advantages
at the expense of national welfare.
Each man will know whether or not
he is honestly serving the immediate
needs of the nation, and in such times
as these the senator or representa-
tive who is not honestly serving the
immediate needs of the nation is
branded with q disloyalty no less in
famous than that of the sedition con-
spiritator.
The attitude of foreign govern
ments toward the United States is
bound to be influenced nightly by
this session of congress. AS a people,
can we still stand together in a great
crisis? Can we still work together?
Can we subordinate political and par
tisan jealOusies to the common good
and the general welfare? All Europe
will be watching that.
In all this controversy with Ger
many over submarine warfare and
the LuSitainia massacre, the admin
istration has been heavily handicap
ped by Berlin's confidence in the po-
tency Of the German-American con-
spiracy on American soil. The belief
is still held in high German official
circles that the strength of these dis
loyal elements is such that the gov
eminent of the United States is pow
erless to override their veto. A par
tisan conflict in congress at this time
can only strengthen this German as
surance of divided America. 1t can
only propagate general conviction
throughout Europe that the United
States is so drunk with wealth and
prosperity that the American people
are losing their genius for self-gov-
eminent.
Unless this session of congress is
alive with the inspiration of Amer
lea First unless it is willing to sub
ordinate everything else to that car
dinal principle of patriotism, the fu-
ture of this republic is darker than it
has been at any time since the con-
federacy reached it's highest line on
Cemetery Ridge at GETTYSBURG
York World.