New Mexico state record. (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1914-19??, 1917-06-01
DO NOT DISGRACE STATE
BY FAILING TO REGISTER

to this great Republic OF the Unit
ed States, if those people standing
behind the sinister schemes OF Ger
many are allowed to block the plans
which Uncle Sam has made for Reg
istration Day. There are signs of
revolt in some isolated quarters, all
because good American citizens are
listening to German agents, rather
than to the President and the Con-
gress of the United States.
There is a penalty to pay for in
terfering with the machinery of the
federal government when the nation
is at war,and payment of that pc
nalty can be exacted, but that is not
the point which is uppermost Just
now in the Sunshine State" The
New Mexico Council of Defense
earnestly desires to have the citi-
zens of New Mexico, between the
ages of 2l and 80, make response so
fine and patriotic that not even ad-
verse criticism will follow, much
less the infliction of penalties.
The purpose of this appeal by. the
Council OF Defense is to straighten
the record for the benefit of the
working men, to whom skilfully
worded Misrepresentation have
been made, to whom wilful, delibe-
rate lies have been told. German
agents have put in circulation of the
reports that these stalwart laborers
the backbone of the country-are
the ones to be struck the hardest
|by the socalled Transcription" or
"draft" act, which they denounce as
infamous.
Nothing could be further from the
truth The announced plans of the
administration and of the War De-
partment are to use each and every
man in the place where he is best
fitted to serve. Men serving in use
! full occupations are not going to be
taken, while idlers remain to conti-
nue. their whiting, meanwhile hold
ing forth upon the mistakes OF the
government. The men who will be
taken first are the men who are moi
engaged in work that is helpful to
the community, to the state, to the
nation and to the group CT nations
now in the death struggle to make
the world safe for Democracy"
Americans who have any interest
in the welfare of this nation, who
have any thought for the preserva'
ton of liberty, will not be misled b,
the malicious lies of German work
ers, but will go to the place OF reg
istration and comply with the law
thereby helping Uncle Sam to make
an accurate and complete inven
tory of his "man-power."
| The success of Registration Da,
will mean the death knell of Ger
many's hope to enslavc humanity
while its failure will send German
armies into the fight on all the bat
tie lines with renewed courage ant
zeal. 1t is not surprising, therefore
that German agents in the Unitet
States are doing all in their powe
to make a miserable failure of Reg
.stration Day.
Somewhere in the scriptures oc
ours this phrase: Choose ye thi
day whom ye will serve" Here j
the issue which every American c.
itizen is facing: The United States
in the name of civilization and lib
erty, appeals to him to make sue
cess of Registration Day; The I'm
periai German Government, in tn
name of slavery Snd barbarism, i'm
piores him to make a failure of Reg
istration
Men of New Mexico-will yo
serve the United States or Ger
MANY? There is no middle groun
ito choose Which it be--the Star
and Stripes, or the flag of the Kai
ser?
Fred L. NAH Observation-Disclosures
N MEX. COUNCIL OF DEFENSE.
GUTHRIE SMITH,
Press Correspondent
Santa Fe, N. NJ, June l, 1917.