The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1917-11-17
BY Henry Dwight sedgwick OF the
Vigilantes

| Senator LaFollette has raised the Is.
sue of free speech; he asserts that free.
dom of speech Is IA fundamental right
| and that he II its champion In his de-
| fence he has cited the precedents of
distinguished Americans who spoke
against the policy OF our government
during the Mexican War. and OF great
Englishmen,-Bu Fox and Chatham
who spoke against the policy OF the
British government during the Revolu-
tionary War. On the general principle
OF free speech the whole population OF
America is OF one mind with him.
All Americans have been taught at
home and at school, In college. and out,
by fathers. grand+fathers. school-mas'
ters, text books and newspapers, that
freedom of speech IS fundamental
right In a democratic country, that II
Is the bulwark of what Is good In our
institutions and customs. the means OF
deliverance from what is bad. the de-
fence from foolish novelty, the support
Of wise progress. All OF us honor Mil
toms words: GIVE me the liberty to
know to utter. and to argue freely ac-
cording to conscience. above all other
liberties"
We acknowledge that freedom OF
speech Is at the very base of progress.
but we do not acknowledge that 1t has
no limitations. Every right Is subject
to some limitation. We all assert the
fundamental right to life: but the law
against stealing imposes the Limitation
that even a starving man may not help
himself to another mans bread. We
all assert the fundamental right to pro-
perty, but the law of eminent domain
imposes limitations in the interest Of
the public veal. We all assert the fun.
damental rights of parents over their
children; but. whether parents believe
in an all day outdoor life for the child
rem or wish them to be earning pennies,
the law requires their children to go to
school. AS 1t is in big things, so 1t Is
in little have a right to travel along
the public highway; but II there is a
procession, the police may oblige me to
go a long way round.
The question in the case OF Senator
LaFollette is whether, in time of war,
a senator of the United States shall be
allowed to speak words of comfort to
the enemy He will agree. probably.
that he has no right to do an act that
will give comfort to the enemy; and,
even IL he does not agree land no one
will lightly assign any limitations to
the way.wardness of his mind the re-
mainder of our people will. He must
argue. then. that what he has no right
to do, he has a right to say. But is II
possible to draw a line between speech
and action? Does not the man who in.
stigates an act have his full share of
the responsibility for that act? What
purpose have LaFollette's speeches ex-
cept to produce action by other men?
Treitschke and Bernhard merely deli
vered lectures and wrote books. They
used only voice and pen to proclaim
that the German state has absolute au-
thority over all its citizens, that Ger
man kultur upon an unappreciatiVe
the German army must impose Ger
man kulture upon an unappreciative
world They did nothing. but their
words were sparks that have set Eu-
rope, Asia. Africa and America on fire
The purpose of speeches by United
States senator, whether in the senate
chamber or in hall at st. Paul. is to
cause action, and every speech must
be Judged by the action that 1t tends TO
produce LaFollette's speeches tend TO
hinder the efforts of the United States
to put forth all its warlike strength,
they encourage the l. w. w. to take
advantage of this necessitous time to
gain their private ends; they confirm
the German-Americans and the IRISH
Americans in the belief that they are
justified in their sympathy with Ger
many and their feeling against En-
gland; they give our enemies the notion
that we are a divided people. The /.
w. w, thus encouraged, refuse to work
for the country's good. and spend their
energies to stir up economic jealousy
and strife: German Americans. or some
of them, thus confirmed in their SYM
pathy with Germany, separate them
selves from the patriotic mass of citi-
zens Irish Americans, or some of them,
feel free to do nothing that will help
England; and in Germany people are led
to believe that divided America VIII