The Goldfield news and weekly tribune. [volume] (Goldfield, Nev.) 1911-1947, 1917-03-31
THE SPY MENACE AND THE REMEDY


THE SPY MENACE AND THE REMEDY
Public conversation is filled with apprehension which the Tribune
believes to be due to an exaggeratiOn of the spy menace" The news
papers re filled with stories of reasonable plots, which the Tribune
believes to be, in many instances, unfounded. But these are not nor
NAL times, and the people are not disposed to take any chances they
can escape.
They know there has been plotting in the United States. They
do know that many of these plotters have been tried and have been con-
victed by juries who, having heard the evidence, voted unami
mously that these plotters were guilty, after having been instructed to
give the accused the benefit of every reasonable doubt.
They do know that a bomb was exploded in the capitol of the ma
ton, and that the man who did it later took his own life, before being
tried.
That an attempt was made upon the life of J. Pierpont Morgan.
That cargo after cargo was set on fire at sea by bombs placed
the holds of vessels while those vessels were loading at the docks
and under the protection of the laws of the United States
They do know that men claiming American citizenship have said
and done and published in defense of the kaiser in free America what
would have put any American in Germany with his back to the wall
and his face to a firing squad.
They do know that the greatest gun and munitions maker in the
world before this war was Germany, who supplied munitions for
Beers and British in the South African war; supplied guns and mu-
nions for Japan and Russia in the war between those nations; sup
piled guns and munitions for all the Balkan states involved in the two
recent Balkan wars. That in the months Immediately preceding the
outbreak of this war u per cent of the product of the ordnance de-
partment of the Bethlehem Steel Company in the United States went
to Germany and that she continued to buy and to borrow as
long as she could get her purchases and her borrowings across the
water. That when she could no longer do so her newspapers in Ger
many and the United States cried for an embargo.
They do know that many Germans justified, or tried to justify
destruction of munitions plants operating in strict accordance with the
laws of nations and the laws of this counry-destruction that involved
murder, arson and every other crime that might be necessary to the
success of these plots.
Now, there were many Gernlanlanguage newspapers in this coun-
try; there we're many citizens of German birth or parentage, who
never believed Or never admitted the belief, that any German-Ameri-
can was responsible, directly or indirectly, for these acts, or that he
synpathized with or approved them.
They have vouched to us for the loyalty of every German-Ameri-
can citizen. They have assured us there is no better American than
the man born in Germany who has taken the oath of allegiance to the
United States.
AS to the masses of German-born Americans we believe them,
and at this time W are not going to dispute them as to any case. For
ourselves we are going to waive all exceptions. but there If others
who will not. And the reason they will not is because they know of
The things rected above, from the bomb in the capitol down to the
recent conviction of Bopp and his confederates in San Francisco and
the still more recent confessions regarding the bomb factory in New
Jersey And because the people know these things, we are going to
tell a little story for the moral it points-for the road to confidence
and better understanding that it points.
In the early history of this republic there was lack of confidence
in many sections between the Indians and the whites, and one day
a white man, without provocaton, shot an Indian. And the next day
the red men were seen to be restless; and their leaders were in coun
Gil; and the war paint came into view; and the leaders among the
whites saw trouble ahead = trouble for innocent men and innocent
women and children, red and white. And they went to the red men,
admitting that in their opinion murder had been committed. And they
asked that they, the whites, be given the privilege of dealing with the
murderer in their own way. And they were given the time they
asked. And the war dances stopped.
The whites caught the offender.
And they caused an immediate trial.
And they invited the Indians to attend the trial and to testify
through IN interpreter.
And the offender was convicted.
And he was sentenced to be hanged.
And the execution was in the open.
And all the Indians were invited to attend.
And a achite ian sprung the trap that put the sentence into exc
49,
If there are any German spies in this country there is nobody SO
we'll equipped to catch them IS the German American.
If there are dsloyal Germans masquerading under American
citizenship, there is no other citizen Sc well prepared to expose II"
as the German-born.
The German-language newspapers, including even such worship