Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1916-1918, 1917-07-27
the public veal in their eagerness to
play to the galleries.
ENEMIES OF THE NATION.


ENEMIES OF THE NATION.
More and more, day by day. the con-
seriousness is borne in upon people In
America that there is but one standard
by which to judge citizens in this coun.
try now. With the coming of war into
tinct realization that while the war
lasts there can be but two sorts OF
people in this country; those who are
loyal and those who are not.
Loyalty does not consist in wearing
flag in buttonhole, nor flying flag
, from porch. Real loyalty goes deeper
than that.
And every day, everyone has an OPP
portunity to express his patriotism in
a more positive, definite and effective
manner than a mere show OF flags. The
real test Of loyalty is the ability to
see these opportunities and the will
ingness to grasp them.
Regard for laws, ordinances and the
rights of our fellows who obey the
statutes constitutes loyalty. A lack of
regard for those things constitutes dis
loyalty. There is no blinking this fact,
no way Of salving it over, no manner
in which It can be stated less bluntly.
No one is more disloyal than the
criminal who breaks the law by selling
away from his solemn duty and per
mits other men to do the fighting he
should do, is no more disloyal than the
bootlegger.
And this is true, right now, entirely
aside from the moral considerations
which for years have been both help
and hfndrance to the agitation for tenn
perance and prohibition. Men are
bending their every effort today to-
ward absolute prohibition for the dura-
ton Of the war, who year or two ago
would not have voted dry" in any sort
Of prohibition election.
The war has changed their views on
the liquor question as on many other
questions. They look at the subject
from the economic standpoint rather
than the moral one. They know Amer
lea needs the full efficiency and effec-
tiveness of its men while the war lasts
and throughout the inevitable period
Of reconstruction which will follow the
war. They know that this effectiveness
VIII UG T6uuCcu W llc CAtCAI sAeAI
liquor is consumed.
In Iowa. where strict prohibition
laws are in effect although they are
not entirely effective. the very exis-
tence Of liquor and the slightest evil
dence Of It's use is proof of the exis-
tence OF bootlegging and disloyalty to
the flag. The bootlegger sells his
wares unlawfully. demanding a premi-
UNI for risking arrest He wakes rich
as his victims become poorer. But
worse than that, he contributes to the
cause of Germany with every sale he
makes.
The time is approaching rapidly
when the utmost physical strength OF
every man In America will not be suffi-
cient to keep an effective army in the
field and an effective civilian equip
ment Of man power in the shops and
factories and on the railways. Women
are being employed in mems jobs now.
and more must accept such employ.
ment The army and navy have begun
to take from America millions OF its
best men,
Every drink Of liquor that is consum'
ed in America from now until peace Is
declared postpones that peace and les.
sens Americas chance for victory.
Every such drink means that Amer
ica's young men must be exposed to
the fury and death dealing warfare Of
the German hosts for so much longer
Every sale Of liquor. whether 1t be in
accordance with local laws or in oppo-
sition to them. is an act of national
disloyalty, and the worst dfsloyalty OF
all Is that of the unscrupulous boot
logger who has not even the sanction
of his city's ordinances or his states
laws for his traffic.
Ottumwa is infested with bootleg.
gers They ply their trade in such an
open manner that men who never saw
the city before can buy enough whisky
for bath within an hour after step
ping off an incoming train. Many Of
these disloyal criminals are known to
the public: many of them are feared
for the political influence they have
welded in the past
1t is time for the reorganized police
department to round them up. send
them TO Jail for maximum terms Of i'm.
prisonncnt and Danish them from the
community the moment they are liber
ated