Bismarck daily tribune., 1915-09-12
GERMAN sYMPATH1ZERs THREATEN TO
KILL MAKERS OF MUNITIONS

|
death and restriction against Ameri-
can manufacturers OF war supplies for
the contending nations in E.lrcDe are
hiding the anxious attention of feder-
al government officials.
When Secretary of War Garrison
recently, without waiting longer for
an opinion upon the propriety of army
officers resigning from the service to
accept positions with commercial
manufacturers iof munitions, accepted
the resignation, of twp officers, he
made it plain that the government rec
ognizes the necessity of looking to
commercial sources of munitions for
defense of the country in case OF war.
With that condition publicly con-
fessed threats against the persons
and properties of American manufac.
Eturers are naturally being most seri-
Eously considered by government Off
cials.e4Fo some time. it is known,
| they have been confronted with this
startling fact: tx. ssl,s
r. Every American citizen. having a
commercial contract with the govern.
ment of any European nation now at
war has received threats of murder,
arson and ot;ler crimes of violence.
The threats are believed to have
come from persons of German nation
ality or sympathies.H srG rt~
,e, Menace Is Considered Serious
~.@How serious is the menace to Amer.
ican manufacturers who have business
contracts with Great Britain and her
allies is noe generally known. The
manufacturers have been reticent
about the anonymous letters they
nave received, bringing threats of
death and destruction. Some OF
those threatened have treated che let
ters as jests; others have regarded
them as, so to speak, an extra trade
hazard; yet others have beeen alarm.
ed and harassed. Eut while all have
kept steadfastly to their contracts to
produce, the dangers have been admit
teddy, real.
The least possible publicity, how
ever, he's been allowed in the n'rtter
Of handling these outward and visible
signs of what is coming 20 'De know
generally as .'the Ger.i:;:ii Mena 2e.'
In two or three cases circumstances
have been such as to make conceal
ment CT the threats impossible.
A conspicuous example Of such in
evtable publicity YVES that of Charles
Schwab, head of the United States
Steel Corporation, whose friends Vir-
tually compelled him TO submit to a
bodyguard. Numerous other manufac-
turers whose persons and homes are
guarded have escaped the popular at
tention which the press centered up,
on Mr.. Schwab through it's stories CT
his protectors.
The mere fact, however, that per
sons who are sympat.lizers or citi-,
zens of Germany are suspected Of
threatening to destroy the lives or
properties of manufacturers of war!
supplies intended for use in opposi-
tion to Germany gives no basis of ac-
tion by the federal government. No
matter how numerous the threats or
how systematic would seem Ito be
their dissemination, any action by the
government would have to be taken
as against individual persons or in
dividual persons in conspiracy, which
in prosecution would amount to the.
same thing.
Government Aid Difficut.
The only preventive measures that
can be taken by the government it is.
believed, are those which could ,sbe
based upon evidence sufficient to jus.
tify arrest and prosecution. Even
were it proven that a foreign citizen
destroyed persons and property in the
| United States with the desire and pur-
pose of aiding foreign government,
the act would have no diplomatic