Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-12-08
HOLD ALIEN EDITOR
ON TREASON CHARGE
Raid on Office of Lithuanian
Weekly Results in
Arrests

Federal officials have uncalthCd the
this city since the war began. accord
ing to United States Commissioner
Howard NJ. Long. as the result Of the
raid at the offices OF the Lithuanian
newspaper, Eova. u Socialist weekly.
22j North sixth street.
Joseph V. Stilson. secretary of the
company. was arrested and held in
$4,000 bail on charges of violating
the espionage act.
The raid was made under the direc-
ton of United States Marshal Frank
j. Noonan with startling sapiditN.
Five employees of the company also
We're rounded up and taken into Gus
tody as material witnesses.
. a waCon.loau of correspondence.
records and files was seized.
The specific charge upon which Still.
son was arrested was the distribution
of circular on August - whereby.
ft is alleged. he willfullytand unlawfully
obstructed the recruiting and enlist
ment service Of the United States. The
circular. which was distributed in all
parts of this State and elsewhere. is
said to have contained statements
mitch more serious than anything pub
lished by the German paper TIA Scblatt,
which was raided sevc al months ago.
according to United States Commits.
sioner Long, who heard the case.
The reprinting Of the full circular
containing the ALLEGED reasonable ut
terances is forbidden 10y the Depart
ment of Justice. One Of the al.ege1
statements was to the effect that the
garb Of convict is more honorable
than a soldiers uniform. The cir
cular was signed "Peace-DesirinC
Workingmen." \ suggestion at the
bottom of the circu;ar, which Federal
authorities charge was written BY Still.
SOn. was as follows:
Citizens with their first papers,
physically fit ayd unmarried and with.
out dependentStwhich must he proved
should Immediately. abscond or they
will be taken into the army"
The penalty for the offense. il
proved. is fine of 10000 or an i'm.
Drisonme0t OF ten years.
The raiding party was composed or
Kelly and Kane. deputy United States
marshals: Agent Boiling, Of the De
partment of Justice. and Samuel o.
Wynne, postal inspector. warrant
and two search warrants were served
on Stilson by agents of the Depart
ment of Justice from Washington.
he was the man wanted. The employees
taken into custody to be held as wit
nesses are j. Shukys, 535 North Mar'
shall street. business manager OF tn"
concern: u. Scholl, 81 North Dewey
street; j. ,Jasiulevicius. 13l WOOD
street. and Y. Rudaitis, 5i6 Randolph
street. typesetters and printers.
Stilson. the Federal authorizes say,
has two aliases. Stilsonas and Stasu-
liaicz. and lives at 476 North Sixth
street. At the time the alleged obJec'
tionable letter was circulated the
paper was published at 81 North
Sixth street. The kova Is the
official organ Of the Lithuanian So
cialists of America. At the hearing in
the Federal Building, which folloWed
after the-raid. it was les.
titled that several hundred copies OF
the paper bad been distributed at
church in Wilkes.Barre. Paul Sender
gas, the man who distributed it. was
arrested at the time by Federal agents
and sentenced to three years in the
Federal prison at Atlanta. Ga. The
name of the author of the letter only
recently was learned.
Skulkys. the manager of the concern,