The Ocala banner. (Ocala, Marion County, Fla.) 1883-194?, 1917-08-17

yet, nor any IHVdSIOu OIL IuSH SUI Wy
an armed enemy to wake them up to
the terrible reality that this nation
is at war with the most formidable
power on earth. But we are
beginning to wake, and the activities
of one Tom Watson, up in Georgia,
with those of his allies in few coun-
ties in Oklahoma and North Carolina.
are giving US sharp admonition that
there are foes at home to be watched
and feared even more just now than
foes abroad.
The day for argument controversy
and dispute has passed and the ma
ton is stripping for battle. He who
is not for us is against us, and the
man who actively uses his influence
to weaken the arm of the government
in organizing an army by sowing the
seed of discomfort and rebellion
among his neighbors. or putting any
form of obstacle in the way of those
charged with the heavy task of pre-
paration for the struggle ahead, comes
perilously near to the dead line that
the traitor from the patriot
1t may not be treason right now to
do this, for we live in a land where
we have always had the fullest free
dom of speech. and to be "agin' the
governmet" was the privilege of any
voter But a stupendous gulf yawns
between those easy-going times when
the quarrel was merely wOrdy war
ended by trip to the ballot box, and
these now upon us when the destiny
of the United States and the peace of
the world are the mighty stakes in
volved. The nation is rapidly co-or-
its powers and marshaling
its resources to the one imperious
purpose of winning the war, and the
poison-tOngued agitator who knows
not the meaning of patriotism will
from now on be sternly reminded that
his wind-jamming by day and plOttong
and prowling by night will be strip
ped of their hypocrisy and deceit and
answer to the name of treason. That
is dreadful word and it carries
dreadful penalty in time of war, and
there isn't doubt that the argus
eyed government at Washington is
right now spotting men all over this
country who are under just suspicion.
and at the proper moment when their
work of agitation ripens into treason
the heavy hand of the big policeman,
Uncle Sam, will land them where
they deserve to be.
Tom Watson is one of the suspects.
The government has him under sur.
veillance. He has done much harm
already in obstructing the operation
of the draft under the specious plea
of testing its constitutionality, and,
intoxicated by his fatal facility for
duping and deceiving uniformed and
ill-informed people. he may, unless
he minds his steps, soon fnd himself
squirming in the iron grasp of the fed
eral government, with the writ OF
habeas corpus gone out of business in
his case. This government is rapidly
passing out of its old loose jointed
easy-going ways, when any lawyer
could stop the works by throwing a
constitutional monkey wrench or
technical pebble in the machinery. II
is becoming taut and tense under
war conditions in which slackers and
traitors and their aiders and abettors
will be promptly informed where they
get off, and the great, mighty pa
triotic body of the American people
will back it up in shutting the
mouths of the agitators and obstruct-
ors of the Tom Watson type and
their sympathizers in and out of con
gress.
Uncle Sam is a grand old gentle
AAAetA AZ PCaSC. OuL 1c Is STdUU Ola
terror in war--as the records fully
disclose-and he is stretching his
great limbs right now, getting ready
for action in way that will fool
whole lot of people who have rever
seen him with his war clothes On. We
may we'll take leaf out % Germany's
book and tolerate no "pacifsm" shat
plots in the rear while the army is
fighting at the front.
Keep your eye on Tom Watson. Tn
Gle Sam, He is a man Of wonderful
generally employed in bad
causes-and the moment his distorted
genius, inspired by his diseased ego.
tism, lures him across that line that
separates the country he owes allegi
ance to from No Mans Land. lock
him up lest you have to hang him for
treason later on.-Quincy Times.