The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1915-12-08

our generous naturalization laws to the
full freedom and opportunity Of Amer
lea. who have poured the poison Of dis
loyalty into the very arteries of our
national life. who have sought to bring
the authority and good name Of our
government into contempt. to destroy
our industries wherever they Thought
1t effective for their vindictive pur-
poses to strike at them and to debase
our politics to the uses Of foreign in
trigue. Their number Is not great as
compared with the whole number Of
those sturdy hosts by which our ma
ton has been enriched In recent gen
erations out of virile foreign stocks.
but it is great enough to have brought
deep disgrace upon us and to have
/ made it necessary that we should
promptly make use Of processes Of law
by which we may be purged Of their
corrupt distempers.
America never witnessed anything
like this before. 1t never dreamed 1t
possible that men sworn into Its 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 in a
high day Of old staked its very life to
free itself from every ENHANCEMENT
that had darkened the fortunes of the
older nations and set up new stand
ard here-that men of such origins and
such free choices Of allegiance would
ever turn In malign reaction against
the government and people who had
welcomed and nurtured them and seek
to make this proud country once more
hotbed Of European passion, A lit.
tie while ago such thing would have
seemed incredible Because it was in.
credible we made no preparation for
it. We would have been almost
ashamed to prepare for 1t. as II we
We're suspicious of ourselves. our own
comrades and neighbors! But the ugly
and incredible thing has actually come
about. and we are without adequate
federal laws to deal with it. urge
you to enact such laws at the earliest
possible moment and feel that In doing
SO am urging you to do nothing less
than save the honor and self respect
/ OF the nation. Such creatures OF pas.
| sion. disloyalty and anarchy must he
lcrushed out, They are not many. but
they are infinitely malignant. and the
hand Of our power should close over:
them at once. They have. formed plots
to DESTROY property. they hare entered
into conspiracies against tue neutrality
Of the government. they have sought
to pry into every confidential trans
action Of the government in order TO
serve interests allen to our own. 1t IS
possible to deal with these things very
effectually. need not suggest the
terms in which they may be dealt With,
wish that it could be said that only
few men. misled BY Mistaken .senti-
ments Of allegiance to the governments
under which they were born. had been
guilty Of disturbing the self possession
and misrepresenting the temper and
principles Of the country during these
days Of terrible war. when lit would
seem that every man who was truly an
American would instinctively make it
his duty and his pride to keep the
scales Of Judgment even and prove hini
self partisan Of no nation but his
own. But 1t cannot. There are some
men among us and many resident
abroad who, though born and bred in
the United States and calling them,
selves Americans. have so forgotten
themselves and their honor as citizeus
as to put their passionate sympathy
with one or the other side In the great
European conflict above their regard
for the peace and dignity Of the United
States. They also preach and practice
disloyalty. No laws, suppose. can
reach corruptions Of the mind and
heart, but should not speak Of others
without also speaking of these and ex
pressing the even deeper humiliation
and scorn which every self possessed
and thoughtfully patriotic American
must feel when he thinks Of them and
of the discredit they are daily bringing
upon us.
What Is more important Is that the
Industries and resources Of the country
should be available and ready for
mobilization 1t is the more impera-
lively necessary. therefore. that we
should promptly devise means for do
ing what we have not yet done-that
we should give Intelligent federal aid
and stimulation to industrial und voca-
tional education, as we have long done
in the large field of our agricultural
industry; that ut the same time that
we safeguard and conserve the natural
resources Of the country we should
put them at the disposal Of those who
will use them promptly and intelli-
gently. as was sought to be done in
the admirable bills submitted to the
last congress from its committees on
the public lands, bills which l earnest
~ recommend in principle to your con.
sideration; that we should put into
earN operation some provision for
rural credits which will add to the ex-
tensive borrowing facilities already
afforded the farmer by the reserve
bank act adequate instrumentalities
by which long credits. may be obtained
on land mortgages and that we should
study more carefully than they have
hitherto been studied the right adapta-
ton of our economic arrangements to
changing conditions.