New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-12-08
Would Crush Out
DiSlOyai "HypilenS'

| have spoken 10 you lo-0HE' gym
tlemen, upon a single theme, the thor
ough preparation of the nation to care
for its own security and 20 make sure
of entire freedom to play the Impair
tial role i'm this hemisphere and m
the world which we all believe to have
been providentially assigned TO Il. l
have had in my mind no thought OF
anv immediate OF particular danger
arising out of our relations with other
nations. We are at peace with all the
nations of the world, and there IS rea-
son 10 hope that no question IN CON
troversv between this and other gov
ernmeuts will lead TO any serious
breach of amicable relations, grave as
some differences of attitude and policy
have been and may yet turn out to be.
I am sorry to say that the grayest
threats against our national peace ana
safety have been uttered within our
own borders. There are citizens OF
the United States, ! blush to admit,
born under other flags but welcomed
under our generous naturalization
laws to the full freedom and oppor-
tunity Of America, who have poured
the poison of disloyalty into the very
arteries of our national life; who have
sought 90 bring the authority and good
name Of our government into con-
tempt, 20 destroy our industries
wherever they thought It effective for
their viudictve purposes TO strike at
them, and 70 debase our politics to the
uses of foreign intrigue. Their num-
Der is not great as compared with the
whole number of those sturdy hosts
by which our nation has been enriched
in recent generations out Of yirile for
eign stocks; but II is great enough to
have brought deep disgrace upon Us
and TO have made IL 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 be-
fore. Il never dreamed It possible
taat men sworn into its own citizen
ship, 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 standard
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
10 make this proud country once more
q h0tbed of European passion. 1T
tie while ago such q thing would have
seemed incredible. Because IL was IN
credible we made no preparation for 1t.
We would have been almost ashamed
TO prepare for it, as If we were sus-
pici0us Of ourselves. our own COM
rates and reighborsi But the ugly
and incredible thing has actually come
about and we are without adequate
Federal laws to deal with IL. | urge
you to enact such laws at the earliest
possible moment, and feel that in doing
so I am urging you to do nothing less
than save the honor and selt-respect
of the nation. Such creatures Of pas
sion, disloyalty and anarchy must be
crushed 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 have entered
into cOnspiracies agaln5t the neutral
ity Of the government, they have
sought 20 pry into every confidential
transaction Of the government in order
10 serve interests alien TO our own.
Il is possible 20 deal with these things
very efectually. | need not suggest
the terms in which they may be dealt
with.
Preach and Practise Disloyalty.
wish that II could be said that only
a few men, misled by mistaken senti-
ments of allegiance to the governments
rrfrr VIII Oh .rov we've bonn. had been
guilty Of disturbing the self-possession
and incorporating the temper and
principles of the country during these
srrhn . IA
seem that every man who was truly an
American would instinctiyely make it
his duty and his pride to keep the